Young ambition: Calling it as they see it at West Pine
They may be young, but Tasmania’s vegetable and fodder-growing West Pine team aren’t afraid to call things as they see it.
Ambition is not a dirty word for business partners Rob Arvier and Hannah Lewis of West Pine near the Tasmanian township of Penguin.
Along with farm manager David King, the young team possesses a fresh, optimistic take on agriculture’s role in both feeding the world, and protecting it from the effects of a volatile climate.
That said, they’re not afraid to call out the inauthenticity inherent in the carbon market, and are working to become not only carbon neutral, but carbon negative in the coming decade.
Growing vegetables and fodder crops across 250ha, Rob and Hannah supply produce into the fresh vegetable market, with about 90 per cent of their produce destined for multinational processors and a local pack house, and the balance sold via their own sales channels, including their farm produce store, The Penguin Pantry.
“This was a traditional fruit and vegetable business we acquired during the Covid downturn,” Rob said. “Today the business has grown to be a store that celebrates local producers and invites considered consumption. The motivation for this investment was two fold; gaining an insight into how we could bring value to our local markets and understanding the challenges of fresh produce procurement and retail.
“What sets us apart is that we’re heavily diversified.
“Hannah and I come from corporate backgrounds. What we’re trying to do is take a very different approach to our business from a sustainability point of view, and understanding the true impact of every activity.”
Approaching agriculture from a non-farming background, Rob and Hannah have entered the world of food production with grand plans.
“We have ambitious growth goals, but this is not hectare-based, it is impact-based,” Rob said.
“We believe that the sector is completely undervalued by policy makers and end consumers. However, we also acknowledge that our industry is quite siloed and does not communicate effectively with policy makers and end consumers.
“It is our role to define and demonstrate value.”
Prior to the establishment of West Pine in 2018, Rob was farming 60ha of land as a sole trader.
Rob and Hannah now lease another 150ha property, purchased by Rob’s business partner, Mark Reeves, and have bought an additional 40ha under the West Pine business name.
The new farm purchases represented a 300 per cent increase in land under management, with the business owning 25 per cent of the land.
“Fortunately experience in joint venture cropping in the purchase provided a clear market entry for the additional area,” Rob said.
“Cropping contracts are generally annual in nature. However it’s really exciting to see some market-leading processors and customers considering multi-season contracts, shared environmental risk and an interest in rotational sustainability.”
Goals for the coming years, along with working towards carbon negativity and improving efficiencies, include developing a “replicable farming model for “robustly future-proofing primary production businesses” in remote and regional Australia.
“It is essential that our output aligns with global UN Sustainability Goals on a community, environmental, and economic level,” Rob said.
SMALL SCALE, BIG AMBITION
Conscious consumerism and a desire to connect deeply with those who eat the food they produce is at the core of the West Pine Ag enterprise.
With the mindset and ethics of a small-scale horticulturalist coupled with the drive of a broadacre operation, Rob and Hannah are keeping an eye on what they grow, and how.
More than 40 per cent of the enterprise is allocated to fodder and grazing crops, with 16 per cent allocated to potatoes, 10 per cent red and brown onions, 10 per cent wheat, a further 10 per cent dedicated to brassicas, 5 per cent carrots, and 6 per cent peas and faba beans.
It’s a rotation that the farm manger David is happy with, and Rob says it works best economically and environmentally.
Vegetables are grown 10 months of the year, with variable times, especially for brassicas.
Cereals and oil seeds have defined planting and harvest windows, following a typical winter-spring sowing, with a summer-autumn harvest.
“Our goal is to have cover crop in as soon as possible after harvest,” Hannah said.
“This is typically a multi-species cover for long term, or simply a cereal for short term. In some instances cover is hard to achieve and we revert to deep-ripped fallow to minimise erosion risk.”
Produce is mostly machine harvested, with most sorting completed on the packing line, or with a processor.
Average rainfall per year is about 1100mm, a figure that Hannah said hadn’t changed dramatically in recent years, “however the distribution of fall has become unpredictable, along with reliability of forecast models”.
A weather station was recently installed by Aglogic as part of a regional network, which is hoped to use to gain specific weather data for the farm.
Rolling hills make up the topography of the property, making installation of fixed irrigation infrastructure a challenge.
The hills are responsible for the smaller-than-average paddock sizes, with 29 paddocks each averaging about 8.5ha.
Deep red ferrosol soils cover the entire property, which supports the growth of improved pastures.
Each block spends roughly two years in a multi-species pasture in a six-year rotation.
About 20ha of land is dedicated to long-term pasture.
“Our farm manager rotationally grazes based on growth rates, season and stock type,” Hannah said.
“Stock also plays an important role in crop residues for us.”
A herd of 100 head of beef cattle, along with 200 prime lambs, are run across the property, with all stock sold into local processors. No stock is sold into the live export market.
It is the fifth season the couple have been farming at West Pine, with 12 employees now working in the business.
“Our focus is on ownership by employees and key partners rather than traditional family succession,” Rob said.
Primary production on the farm accounts for about 90 per cent of the enterprise’s revenue, but only 12 per cent of total earnings.
The balance of income comes from a diverse range of off-farm ventures in environmental compliance, bioenergy, grocery, food and beverage sister businesses, such as The Penguin Pantry where fresh produce grown on farm is sold direct to consumers.
“We do generate a small amount of solar energy on farm, and have been producing biomass pellets on farm for use by third parties,” Rob said.
“The diversity of the business and collaboration with like-minded people is key to our success and without these we would not be here today.”
Recent projects include bioenergy production from cropping residues and production of fertiliser from a baking facility.
“We are a triple bottom line business however farming represents the most risk and lowest returns and diversity is critical to financial sustainability,” Hannah said.
CARBON TRANSPARENCY
Carbon neutrality is a goal they are working towards, but have struggled to achieve, Rob admits.
But accounting software allows West Pine to take a tailored approach to reducing emissions.
“We’re really happy with that, because it’s methodical, and something that has robust information which is valued by consumers and processors right now,” Rob said.
“It’s helping us to build a picture, so that at least we’ve got something to work on rather than something anecdotal.”
Beyond this, West Pine is investing in the best energy efficient and renewable energy technologies that the business can afford.
Changes made on-farm to reduce emissions include upgrading infrastructure such as ageing irrigation pipelines, along with installation of variable speed drives on ageing pump infrastructure.
Installation of paddock drains, cover cropping, rip lines and careful crop rotation planning is central to managing erosion across the property.
“We have made these investments on owned and leased farms,” Rob said.
“We have invested heavily with farm owners in advanced and automated irrigation infrastructure,” Hannah said.
“Irrigation upgrades have led to substantial gains in electricity, water and labour-use efficiency. To minimise erosion we use cover crops and rip lines between and during the cropping season. Our biggest challenge in this space is establishing small-seed crops and heavy run-off from public roads.”
Balancing the books while also paying for upgrades is a delicate act, Hannah and Rob acknowledge.
And profitability is an important element of remaining sustainable.
“We don’t want to do something that’s crazy and cross-financed across another area of the business to look like we’re doing it,” Rob said.
While they hold their ethics in high regard, Hannah and Rob aren’t detached from the reality of running a farming business.
“I heard someone say … you can’t be green if you’re in the red,” Hannah said.
“You have to put financial sustainability first, before you can invest in any other efficiencies.”
It’s this sense of authenticity that runs through the West Pine operation, and is at the centre of Hannah and Rob’s farming ethics.
“Farming is the most noble of all professions,” Hannah said.
“When you strip it all back, it’s what underpins all of society, otherwise we’d all be hunting and gathering.”
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