Flinders Farm Gate profit recipe

A Mornington Peninsula family has discovered the key to small-scale farm success. See how they are making a living from 34 hectares.

Nick and Jay Young, Flinders Farm Gate, Flinders.

During peak summer months, up to 500 visitors a day stream onto Nick and Jay Young’s Flinders Farm Gate property on the Mornington Peninsula, each paying an entry fee for the experience of harvesting their own sunflowers.

“They stay for picnics, have a glass of champagne and take photos – they love getting photos of kids on hay bales or old tractors as props,” Nick said.

The former finance worker has transformed the family’s 34 hectare weekender, nestled within a green wedge zone five kilometres from the coast at Flinders, into a viable and sustainable agricultural enterprise.

It began as a small-scale garlic operation nine years ago in 2016 but more recently Nick and Jay have diversified with cut flowers, berry picking experiences and on-farm accommodation making up their evolving business model.

Leveraging tourism dollars has helped underwrite their agricultural production costs.

“Ideally we want 40 per cent of our income from garlic, 40 per cent between flowers and berries, and 20 per cent from accommodation on the property,” Nick said.

“It is nice to have that underlying base income so if you did have a season where you lost all your garlic, it insulates you from that a bit.”

AN UNEXPECTED START

Nick’s journey into agriculture began unexpectedly.

“I had a real pull to stay on the farm as much as possible,” he said.

A chance meeting with a chef introduced him to black garlic in 2018, launching his original business, Flinders Black Garlic.

“We were building that up quite nicely, and then covid hit,” Nick said.

The pandemic forced a pivot.

“The first lockdown, everyone was excited and still getting paid so people were cooking at home – we sold lots of garlic online,” he said.

As restaurants closed, Nick and Jay transitioned to fresh garlic production, which proved less labour-intensive than black garlic processing.

Today, their garlic operation spans 1.2ha, with plans to expand to up to 3ha next season and capping at 6ha in the longer term.

However, rising costs have presented economic challenges.

“I found my cost of production was three times higher doing organic than conventional,” Nick said.

“Our cost of production per hectare is about $60,000 for organic, whereas for conventional it is about $20,000.

“When we first started growing organic, there was a price differential – our costs were double what they were for conventional but we were getting double the money so it made economic sense.“

REDUCING GREEN WASTE

Their biggest costs are labour and the extensive use of weed matting, which is essential for organic production but presents its own environmental concerns.

“Weed gunnel is used extensively for weed management, but it’s expensive and cannot be reused when growing garlic at scale,” Nick said.

“Currently, the only method of disposal is sending it to landfill.

“This contributes to the reason organic garlic is so expensive – it’s the high cost of production.”

This challenge sparked his successful application for a 2024 Nuffield Scholarship to help solve the environmental paradox of organic garlic farming and find ways to reduce waste and costs.

The benefits would be two-fold.

“It would encourage producers to consider growing garlic using organic methods, which improves the quality of the garlic and soil health,” Nick said.

“It would also make buying organic garlic more affordable for consumers and open it up to a bigger number of shoppers.”

Organic garlic currently retails for between 25 and 40 per cent more than conventional garlic.

Nick and Jay Young, Flinders Farm Gate, Flinders.

CUTTING COSTS

Nick has already completed extensive international travel for the scholarship, including visits to Indonesia, France, Denmark, California, and Chile.

“As a first-generation farmer, I’ve found it incredibly valuable,” he said.

The scholarship research focuses on finding economically and environmentally sustainable methods for organic garlic production.

Nick, who is on the board of the Australian Garlic Industry Association, said the research aligned with the industry’s strategic plan to help address supply, production, climatic and sustainability challenges.

His immediate plan on the farm is mechanisation.

“We’re in transition from doing it all by hand to mechanising,” Nick said.

“Currently, it takes a week to roll out all the weed matting with eight to 12 people.

“For planting, it can take three to five days, so it’s a two-week process just to get the garlic in the ground.“

At a cost of between $5000 and $7000, Nick hopes to purchase a basic mechanical planter and harvester and have them operational by May 2026.

“I’m not looking to spend a huge amount of money but the most important thing is you could do it with two people and in a short space of time,” he said, cutting labour costs by more than 80 per cent.

For weed management, he is exploring cutting-edge technologies from Germany that use rubber tynes between rows.

“There is all sorts of new technology coming out from laser weeding to precision farming and we are looking to bring some of that to our farm from next season,” he said.

STRATEGIC MARKETING

They have trialled a variety of seedstock over the years with soft neck Italian purple and Dunganski proving the most successful on the clay-loam soil and with their average annual rainfall of 700mmto 800mm.

Growing conditions have been drier than average in recent years and while garlic is not a water intensive crop, irrigation from dams and a bore is available to draw on towards the end of the growing season in spring and early summer.

Soil and leaf analysis tests are conducted for targeted fertiliser application and mixed species cover crops are planted in resting paddocks.

They plant about half a tonne of garlic per hectare and harvest 10 tonnes or more annually.

A third of each harvest is retained as seedstock for the following year.

Ninety per cent of their garlic is sold to a chain of greengrocers in Melbourne via large weekly orders, while the remainder is sold at the farm gate and local retail outlets.

“Australian growers account for only 15 to 20 per cent of garlic consumed in Australia,” Nick said. 

“A lot is imported from China. In terms of price, we couldn’t even come close to competing.

“But the difference in the product is immeasurable. Fresh Aussie garlic versus Chinese – it’s like chalk and cheese.”

ALIGNING CONSUMER DEMAND

Nick has observed shifting consumer preferences that align with his business model.

“There’s been a shift from consumers – not necessarily organic, but where the garlic comes from,” he said.

“The provenance or locale of it has become as important as the organic side.“

Nick and Jay maintain a focus on soil health and sustainability.

“We want to leave the property in a better shape than when we first got it,” he said.

Their soil health has improved significantly with less compaction, weed pressure and improved pH levels.

“We had a great interest in regenerative agriculture and that’s where cover cropping came in,” Nick said.

“We put in radish – it has a big strong root to help break up the soil and that has helped.

“The next step would be to integrate some livestock before we replant into it.”

The couple has a keen interest in agroforestry and together with local Landcare groups, they have planted shelter belts around the perimeter of the farm.

DIVERSITY IS KEY

While running multiple enterprises on the farm can be a juggle, Nick said their strategic diversification across premium garlic production, flower growing and agritourism had created a resilient business model capable of weathering both market fluctuations and seasonal challenges.

Two hectares are dedicated to flowers including sunflowers, dahlias, snapdragons, ranunculus, delphinium and poppies.

The flowers sell for an average of $25 per bunch wholesale and retail for $35 to $40 in local shops.

The newly established berry orchard featuring blackberries, raspberries and loganberries will yield its first harvest this summer.

“We’ll have to develop a pick-your-own bucket system, otherwise we will sell them in punnets,” Nick said.

“Garlic is my passion and how it all started but with farming there are things you can’t control, like the weather, so you have to diversify a bit.”

Nick and Jay Young, Flinders Farm Gate, Flinders.