Creating a positive legacy through unique farming practices

In the eight years since Bronwyn Neuendorf and her family made the move to sustainable farming practices, their business has received numerous accolades.

RECOGNITION: 9Dorf Farms have again been recognised for their sustainable farming practices, and manager Bronwyn Neuendorf said it was an important accolade for the fourth generation farming business. Picture: ALI KUCHEL

LILYDALE farming business 9Dorf Farms has been practising sustainable production techniques since 2010, and last week were recognised for leading the pack on sustainability in the region.

Manager Bronwyn Neuendorf said receiving the 2018 Environment and Sustainable award at the2018 Lockyer Valley Business, Training and Apprenticeship Awards evening had been an important accolade for the fourth-generation family business.

"It was very exciting to be recognised for what we're doing,” Ms Neuendorf said.

"We're doing something quite different to the normal run of the mill farming.

"It's encouraging to have that recognition.”

The farms produce pasture raised poultry, fodder and sustainable farmed fish, and employs three full-time staff as well as four casual workers to assist in running the seven-day-a-week operation.

The farm has become well known both in the region and well beyond for their top quality products, and Ms Neuendorf said the award would boost their reputation.

"It's good for us because that's what we base our product on, our sustainable way of farming, so to have an award for it just shows our customers that we're doing the right thing,” she said.

The decision in 2010 to move 9Dorf Farms to a sustainable and ethical farming practice has proved to be a hugely successful one for the business

Ms Neuendorf said the success was the result of a lot of hard work that had gone into the business, but the results spoke for themselves.

"We produce absolutely top quality products,” Ms Neuendorf said.

While the move to sustainable practices had proven a successful business decision, she said it was also about ensuring they left a positive legacy behind.

"We want to protect our land and we want to ensure there's something to pass on to our children and grandchildren,” she said.

The Lilydale farm produces pasture-raised poultry, as well as fodder and other crops.

Ms Neuendorf said the farm also ran an aquaculture program, working in tandem with their cropping production, producing between 30 to 50 tons of fish a year.

She explained the water used in the fish farm was recycled on the farm, reducing waste and water costs.

"We use that water on our crops so it doesn't cost us any extra water to farm fish,” she said.

"We're not harming the environment, the water's not being released into water ways and we're not harming the fish stocks in the ocean.”

The last eight years haven't been easy for the family-run business.

Ms Neuendorf said leading the pack meant having to create your own solutions to problems.

"There's not a lot of people that have led the way before us to show us how to do it,” she said.

"With the fish we had to learn a lot of it on our own.

"We've had a lot of mistakes, and it's been a lot of hard yards to try to learn it.”

The farm is also looking to the future with possible expansion plans, including the possibility of pork production as well as other poultry, but Ms Neuendorf said it would have to be done correctly.

"We want to get our head around it and make sure if we're going to do something, we're going to do it right,” she said.