Future of farming: Innovative approaches transforming agribusiness

Medical-grade honey and fancy feedlots; just two new breakthroughs in Aussie agriculture.

David Gillette masters the art of cattle farming

This article is brought to you by Coles Nurture Fund. Grant applications are now open.

Medical-grade honey and fancy feedlots; just two new breakthroughs in Aussie agriculture.

Roebuck Plains Station, an enormous cattle property surrounding Broome, is a technicolour dream.

During the wet, it’s vivid green; during the dry, it’s sunburnt orange — except for a stubborn verdant belt that clings on all year. It’s made of melaleuca trees, which thrive where the water table is near the surface.

They flower reliably, because they’re not dependent on rain, which makes them perfect fodder for bees.

Just ask David Appleby, a retired commercial pearl diver who is currently in the midst of a second career as a commercial apiarist. Mr Appleby, 68, got his first beehive about 10 years ago as a hobby, but quickly found himself immersed in the world of beekeeping. Eventually, his passion turned into a family-run business; he now runs Walaja Raw Bush Honey with his wife Dianne and their two children. Together they care for about 400 hives, producing premium organic melaleuca honey on this pristine parcel of Kimberley land.

It’s delicious, of course, especially when paired with homemade damper, a thick spread of butter, and billy tea. But it also has antibacterial properties and has long been used in traditional Aboriginal medicine, which is an important connection as Mrs Appleby is a proud Yawuru woman and Traditional Owner and the honey is produced on Yawuru Country.

“I’ve got one of those personalities where I just love to sink my teeth into things,” said Mr Appleby. “I’ll be honest, I go to bed thinking about bees and I wake up thinking about bees. Every day, I do something with the bees, but eventually, when I’m too old, I’ll pass all this on to my kids. It’s a good legacy for my family.”

Mr Appleby’s curiosity means he’s always looking for ways to improve the operation — after all, the better the beekeeper, the better the honey. The business was awarded a Coles Nurture Fund grant of $330,000 in 2023 to create a new medicinal grade honey product with the goal of enhancing Indigenous knowledge and creating local employment opportunities. The result is a gleaming stainless steel processing facility.

“It’s state-of-the-art extraction equipment, it’s really amazing gear,” he said. “We’re extracting magnificent honey, it’s raw and pure. We extracted about 500kg of honey in one day earlier this week.” 

Coles launched the $50 million Nurture Fund in 2015 to help Australian producers innovate and grow. 

Since then, it has offered more than $33 million in financial support to 100 small and medium-sized businesses around the country. Eight grants were awarded in 2023, with a focus on improving sustainability, enhancing animal welfare standards, significantly reducing food waste and diverting waste from landfill.  

Farmers can apply for grants of up to $500,000 and the next round of applications are open from January 29.

Sustainability was top of the list for David Gillett, 62, who owns and operates Jalna Feedlot at Anakie, about 90 minutes west of Melbourne. Mr Gillett is a sixth-generation farmer, the third generation to work this particular property, turning over about 35,000 head of cattle annually while cropping 6800 hectares.

Jalna Feedlot successfully applied for a Coles Nurture Fund Grant of $500,000 in 2019 to build a shed over the feedlot; it covers more than 9400 square metres with seven pens that house up to 1800 beasts at a time. The team successfully applied for a second grant of $300,000 in 2022 to assist with the purchase of a 350kW solar system with a 100kW battery, which now supplies about 95 per cent of the feedlot’s electricity.

“Given our location in the south, winter is always an issue, especially with the mud,” said Mr Gillett. “Now we rotate our cattle through in the last 30 days, on straw bedding, and their performance has been terrific. Since we put it up, we’ve had a lot of interest in this set up — sheds have been going up everywhere.”

The shed has also led to a positive cycle of change by creating a market for cereal straw. Barley straw is used as roughage and wheat straw is used as bedding. After it’s used, the straw is redistributed to the paddocks as fertiliser, which has multiple benefits: it has reduced the need for synthetic fertilisers, increased water retention, increased the overall health of the soil, and increased yield by two tonnes per hectare.

It’s incredibly difficult for farms to reach carbon neutral status, but Mr Gillett said it has always been his intention to reduce his carbon footprint. Every step adds up and makes a big difference over time. 

However, he explained changes of this scale wouldn’t have been possible without the grants.

“We’re a true family business, we’re not a multinational corporation,” he said. “That’s why the Coles Nurture Fund is so important to us, I encourage anyone to apply, it’s a great system. If you’ve got an idea, it fits the criteria and you’re lucky enough to get supported, it’s worth it. We’ve seen tremendous results.”

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Coles launched the $50 million Nurture Fund in 2015 to help Australian producers innovate and grow. From carbon-neutral bananas, to freezing technology that promises to reduce food waste, our latest recipients are proof Aussie farmers are leading the charge when it comes to innovation and sustainability. Apply for the Coles Nurture Fund grant now. Read our policy on commercial content here.

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