NNNorthern Valley News
• New Norcia • Wannamal • Watheroo
Page 18
Please take a copy
Real estate pages 15-17
63
2016
Take me home, country road!
CMAS welcomes a new Rural Ambassador
JULY
Bindoon • Bullsbrook • Calingiri • Chittering • Dandaragan • Gingin • Muchea • Moora
A decent piece of dirt Peter L. Jones
It was twenty-five years ago when Mick Fox – a Pemberton cattle and potato farmer, first saw the size and vigour of livestock from Dandaragan and a mental seed was planted in very fertile ground. Eleven years later that seed germinated when Mick and his wife Delys purchased ‘Arden Fleets’ farm in 2002 – almost 3,000ha of rich and friable sandy loam, 10km north of Dandaragan. The couple made an almost seamless transition from cattle to sheep farming and now run 6,000 breeding ewes, producing around 7,000 prime lambs each season. Maybe there is something magical in the rich Dandaragan soil because an extraordinarily high percentage of the ewes produce twins or triplets, and there are even ewes with four lambs afoot! With ewes comprising 60% merino stock, the wool clip is also significant and comprises a quarter of the annual income from the family’s sheep enterprise. To complement the sheep production, Mick crops 250ha each of lupins and barley. Whilst much of the harvest is consumed by their stock, Mick and Delys have surplus grain to sell each year. Dandaragan has traditionally been a cereal and sheep farming area, but it is now delivering on its earlier promise of large scale, winter potato production and Arden Fleets farm is a major contributor. Mick and Delys’ son David, and David’s wife Bronwyn, spearhead this second major prong of the family business. The family grows seven varieties of potato for Mick Fox unearths a batch of fresh potatoes and a healthy earthworm at his Dandaragan farm
GINGIN
$329,000
the fresh market including Rodeo, Royal Blue and the increasingly popular Maris Piper – the potato of choice in the UK where it is favoured for chipping. A combined total of 1000 tonnes of potatoes, annually, is currently grown for the Potato Marketing Corporation (PMC), which equates to 100 tonnes per week over a ten week harvest.
Potatoes are harvested early in the day, leaving the farm by around 9am on their way to Spearwood for washing and bagging before being distributed to supermarkets. This means Arden Fleets grown potatoes often appear on shelves by early afternoon, just hours after being coaxed out of the richly red Dandaragan dirt – a remarkable achievement. In addition to fresh market potatoes, the Fox family grows 1,000 tonnes of certified seed potatoes destined for local and South Australian farms. Seed potatoes are smaller and are grown to around egg size so that cutting of tubers isn’t required before planting. The combined Arden Fleets potato crop occupies an area of 64ha but is rotated each year so that it will be five years before potatoes are again grown in the same ground. Mick and David use no soil fumigants, minimal pesticides and herbicides, and are understandably proud of the soil management path they’ve taken. Mick scooped out a handful of soil from between potato plants, exposing a plump earthworm right on cue. “This is important to us – healthy soil with lots of worms. This one’s just a baby!” Continued on page 2
LOWER CHITTERING
From $699,000
Lot 16 Bell Rd, Versatile 8-Acre Rural Industrial Block
2152 Chittering Road, Live off the Grid on 40 acres!
The Gingin Rural Industrial Estate is providing for a range of industrial uses on rural living sized lots, where you can work and live on the same property. This 3.4-hectare lot has 135 metres of road frontage, providing excellent access. The land is level, with sandy soil, making it easy to develop to your requirements. 3-phase power is also available.
This secluded rural property offers complete privacy, only 15 minutes from Bullsbrook and 40 minutes from Joondalup. If you need space for horses or just dream of living off the land, this is the place for you. Recently built, 2-storey barn-style home with 3.8kw off-grid solar power, 240 kl rainwater storage and 9m x 6m workshop. About 25 acres of pasture and 15 acres of tranquil bushland.
Craig Hyne 0448 825 833
Craig Hyne 0448 825 833