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Australian Vermiculture says drought and chemical overuse are contributing to the depletion of soils, but this can be rectified with its special, organic compost, already popular with grapegrowers.

Wine and tablegrape growers who know about it have been ordering huge quantities of the special compost from the large worm farm enterprise at Broken Hill, New South Wales. The compost, which reduces salinity, water consumption and the need to use chemical fertilisers – while promoting soil fertility and crop growth – is produced by Australian Vermiculture and supplied to four states.

The success story began in 2000 when the founder and now operations manager, Brendon Price, a third generation local, used a pitchfork to turn in 2 tonnes of worms in the backyard of his late friend Pro Hart, the celebrated painter. The artist’s daughter, Marie, has carried on her family’s association with Australian Vermiculture by designing and illustrating the packaging for the company’s Supasoil.

The expansion of the business has now reached the stage of a partnership with Murray Valley Winegrowers to host a three-day workshop on sustainable farming, conducted by internationallyrecognised biological authority Elaine Ingham.

“I began the enterprise by looking for ways to utilise organic green waste and at its commercial possibilities with worms and compost to create a tool for treating what was being used as landfill,” Brendon said. “A model treatment tool has now been in use at Broken Hill for some years as a joint venture with the city council, which allows us to operate our enterprise from its waste management facility on the outskirts of the town.

“We use local organic waste as a food source for making our compost with the cooperation of the city council.”

The company’s association with the Broken Hill City Council began in 2002, and two years later Australian Vermiculture forged another agreement with the local abattoirs to take its offal. As research and development continued, the Broken Hill Community Foundation became involved with funding to assist the company to receive accreditation and licensing.

Australian Vermiculture is now licensed by the Environment Protection Authority, accredited organic and with Standards Australia, while aiming to become the first accredited Australian soil foodweb institute composting site by meeting requirements.

“We have a product range made from 100 per cent natural, organic materials of green waste, manures, offal and cardboard,” Brendon said. “Our products have undergone thermal pasteurisation processes to ensure that weed and pathogens have been destroyed."

“In its tailor-made versions, our product rolls out by the road train to table and winegrape growers from the Northern Territory to Menindee, Sunraysia and the Riverland.”

Two years ago, Brendon took his first load of worms out of Broken Hill to Dublin, north of Adelaide, to value-add his biology to composted waste in a partnership with Peats Soils.

Australian Vermiculture now has a range of products, led by its Supasoil at $20 for 22 litres and $49 a cubic metre for its Vermicompost product.

“We may be the only organisation in Australia that targets farming the soil as part of a holistic approach to counter the deterioration of rural land to improve crops and reduce costs, particularly with water,” Brendon said.