Victorian farmer pushing new boundaries after grant

A first-generation berry farmer is looking to extend the berry season in Australia with new methods of farming.

This article is sponsored by the Coles Nurture Fund.

A first-generation berry farmer is looking to extend the berry season in Australia with new methods of farming.

It took 18 months of hard work -  every weekend and holiday spent preparing his property -  but blueberry farmer Scott Carter stuck to his vision. 

Owner of White Cloud Farms, the New Zealand-born first generation berry farmer knew he wanted to build a business with his wife Allison that would push the boundaries of the industry, and create a premium product that Australian customers could enjoy for longer.

Five years ago the couple found a rundown flower farm in Corinella, on Victoria’s Western Port Bay, that they knew would be perfect to develop.

At the time Mr Carter was working as a farm manager in the Yarra Valley, and spent all of his down time working to restore infrastructure at the Corinella property.

“It was a lot of work. But I could see past the mess,” he said, explaining that the property came with two hectares of old steel “tunnels” he knew could be restored to create greenhouses perfect for berries.

“We cleared it out, and put plastic on it (the steel structures), and now it looks a million bucks, which is literally what it would cost me to put two hectares of tunnels in.”

The property also came with a shed that could be converted into a cool room to store the berries, plus dams for irrigation.

While the couple put in the “elbow grease” needed to establish their farm, what they really needed was a boost to innovate, and realise their long term dream.

That boost came last year, when they were awarded a $400,000 grant from the Coles Nurture Fund.

Although they had planted their berries two years earlier, as a startup they simply didn’t have the funds to push their business forward.

“When you’re a startup, every post has to be a winner,” Mr Carter said. “You can’t afford to make mistakes, or take a risk on something else.”

He explained the grant had allowed him to think holistically of different ways he could innovate with White Cloud Farms and extend the premium blueberry season in Australia.

“It’s a significant amount of money that you normally wouldn’t be able to justify spending just on R&D (research and development),” he said.

White Cloud Farms Owner Scott Carter

HOW FUNDING CAN HELP PUSH BOUNDARIES

But taking the “risk” on R&D is already proving hugely beneficial.

While White Cloud Farms are only in their second full year of production, the grant has enabled them to invest in technology that could change the way blueberries are enjoyed in Australia.

For example, they have built a new cool room to store fruit in modified atmosphere bags that extend the shelf life of berries before they are sold. A small proportion of the harvested berries are now stored in the cool room to see how long they can stay fresh for.

“We have about 10 bags in the cool room at the moment, and opened one after 30 days today, which looks really good,” Mr Carter  said. “We’re cautiously building our way up.”

Mr Carter explained that the grant had allowed the couple to push the boundaries in these experiments to help ensure the long term growth of White Cloud Farms.

While a lot of money has gone into things like a state-of-the-art irrigation system, and planting native trees on other parts of his property to improve sustainability, he is also able to spend smaller amounts to ensure they can make the most of any experiments.

“We've done everything right, we’re not cutting corners. We don't want to compromise on the quality,” he said.

He explained even smaller investments are proving worthwhile to ensure he can get complete data on every experiment taken, even down to the seal on the storage bags. They have spent $7000 to test the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels inside the bags so “if they’re doing something funny you know why”.

Mr Carter said the experiments in the cool room had so far shown promising results, with the hope now that he can put a larger percentage of the crop away next year to extend the season by two weeks.

GAME CHANGER

But he said a bigger investment could change the industry more fundamentally.

A large portion of the grant has gone to building netting, in an effort to grow blueberries in different microclimates on the farm. In a year’s time the Carters will know how well blueberries grow in a netting structure versus a tunnel.

Experiments like this could possibly extend the premium blueberry season by another five weeks, giving the chance for White Cloud Farms to really thrive.

“We’ll be virtually the only grower in the country that will understand that properly and be able to analyse the data and numbers,” Mr Carter said.

He is encouraging other primary producers to apply for the Nurture Fund, saying it has been a game changer for White Cloud Farms.

“It has allowed us to elevate our business and scale up. In the next year or two we should know what you can and can’t do and for what reason, and that will give us a strong platform to develop the remaining six hectares of the farm,” Mr Carter said.

“It’s just been phenomenal. It’s a significant amount of money that is going to be really good for the long term (growth) of our business.”

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Coles launched the $50 million Nurture Fund in 2015 to help Australian producers innovate and grow. Applications for Round 13 are now open and will close Friday, 14 February, with small and medium sized businesses encouraged to apply. Read our policy on commercial content here.

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