AGRICULTURE TODAY ■ Thursday, October 25, 2007 15 IMAGINE quarter-acre city gar- dens teeming with fresh fish and vegetables, dotted every few kilometres throughout urban areas across the globe, where nearby residents walk from their home to the farm and purchase their protein and vegetable needs for their families. Imagine minimal or no trans- port costs, no refrigeration or storage costs, and no extra labour costs on top of what the farmers are paid to grow and tend the food. This is the ultimate vision of the ‘ecoCity Farm’. The prototype won a weekly segment of the ABC TV’s New Inventors program last November and is now entering the next stage of development, to test the commercial application of the concept. It is the inspiration of Andrew Bodlovich from Nimbin and Hogan Gleeson, Goolmangar. “I have not seen, nor have I read any international litera- ture on anything that has the potential intervention scale of the ecoCity Farm concept and associated food chain integra- tion,” NSW Department of Primary Industries leader in urban agriculture, David Mason said. “I became aware of some very forward thinking urban agriculture innovation in my Churchill study tour last year. “The ecoCity Farm culture, known as enviroponics, com- bines aquaculture and chemical free greenhouse plant produc- tion that may be capable of organic certification. “It would create enough food from a quarter-acre block to ful- fil a significant part of the daily diet of 300 families.” Mr Mason says the plants in the hi-tech market-garden style farms use the nutrients from water inhabited by fish. The nutrient depleted water is then returned to the fish tanks for reuse. People’s protein needs are met by eating the fish. “The closed system would use only five per cent of the water used by traditional aquaculture systems or traditional farming to produce the same volume of product,” Mr Mason said. “The concept would be adapt- ed to different climates and work in all but the coldest of conditions.” The initial R&D has been com- pleted and planning is now focused on developing a com- mercial scale system over the next 12 months leading on to domestic and then international market entries. “The concept also fits well with farm diversification on existing rural ventures, creating new rev- enue streams as well as often using resources otherwise wast- ed by traditional farming. One revenue stream would be from producing the necessary organic ingredients for fish food. ■ Contact Andrew Bodlovich, Nimbin, 0427 519 975. Andrew Bodlovich, one of the brains behind the ecoCity Farm in the ‘enviroponics’ prototype – a combination of aquaculture and chemical free greenhouse plant production. LEFT: ecoCity Farm grown buk choy. NSW Department of Primary Industries leader of urban agriculture, David Mason, says Australia has an opportunity to lead the world with the innovation proposed by the ecoCity Farm. “I hope it gets the home support it now deserves and requires,” he said. “The concept addresses the sustainabili- ty principle of equity in the food chain, whereby operators benefit by being able to direct-market produce at a retail price, eliminating many of the middlemen in the conventional wholesale market chain. “The operators would become price mak- ers rather than price takers, thereby achieving significantly higher profit mar- gins while still offering produce to cus- tomers at reasonable prices. “The direct to consumer system would allow the ecoCity Farm operator to build strong customer loyalty and to educate customers about their food and related health and ecological issues. “This integrated production, service, marketing and education package would have the capacity to reposition agriculture and associated agribusiness in urbanising parts of the world.” Chance to lead the world ... ecoCity Aims To Target: ecoCity Aims To Target: ■ Existing store chains which carry chemical free food and fresh vegetables ■ Institutional organisations (schools, prisons, remote communities) ■ Independent grocery retail outlets ■ Property developers seeking to create sustainable communities ■ Existing aquaculture businesses ■ Destination attractions in remote areas that have high volume fresh food requirements. ecoCITY Farm Advantages ecoCITY Farm Advantages ■ Strategically position food production and consumption in urban areas in the context of pandemics, globalisation, global warming, natural disasters, human health, community health and environmental health ■ Addresses environment management systems, food safety, food security, integrated pest management and biosecurity ■ Integration with building and city design, including water reuse and organic waste recycling ■ Consistent with developing international trends such as direct marketing, local food and a consumer driven food chain. ■ Contribute to knowledge economy The urban farm of the future INFORMATION about a new Prograze for Horses course, highly relevant to Hawkesbury- Nepean district horse owners, will be available at this year’s Farming Small Areas Expo at Richmond. NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) conservation management officer, Helena Warren, will promote sustain- able grazing in the Hawkesbury- Nepean catchment. She can advise visitors to the Expo on November 9 and 10 about training and on-ground subsidies to farmers for improved grazing management. She will also present a talk on feeding and pasture manage- ment for horses. PROfarm courses, particularly Property Management Planning and Farmbiz, will also be on show in the Expo Pavilion, pro- moted by education marketing officer, Maryke Archbold- Hession. District agronomist Ashley Senn will exhibit information on pastures, weeds and crops and present a talk on pasture estab- lishment and how to have good quality pastures all year round. Lesley Postle, technical officer from DPI’s Emergencies and Strategic Response branch, will exhibit information on biologi- cal control weeds. Anne Oakenful, Science and Research technical officer will exhibit information on testing kits available for worm, soil, water and feed quality and pres- ent a talk on internal parasites in livestock. A free worm count test will be available for producers who bring along fresh samples from sheep, cattle, goats or alpacas. Diana Penson will head up DPI’s bookshop exhibit at the Pavilion. The bookshop exhibit will fea- ture a collection of stock for sale at substantially reduced prices. Books of specific inter- est will include Farming in a Small Way $10 (RRP $27.45), Growing Traditional Flowers Successfully $10 (RRP $20), Better Bull Buying $10 (RRP $22), Grassed Up $10 (RRP $33), Home Fruit Growers Guide $10 (RRP$19.95), and Geared Up $10. Trevor Joseph, manager of Cumberland Nursery, will have available to purchase a wide variety of tube stock and drought smart native plants suitable for properties and gar- dens. Knowledgeable horticultural staff will be available to give advice on plant selection and subsequent care. Farming Small Areas Expo coming LEFT: Meet new friends at the Farming Small Areas Expo at Richmond, November 9 and 10. NSW DPI staff will offer expert advise for many enterprises at its location in the Expo Pavilion. To Present Your Produce Attractively contact: Label Press Manufacturers of FRUIT & VEGETABLE LABELS, SELF-ADHESIVE, GUMMED BACK, NON-TEARABLE, LABELS on ROLLS or SHEETS. PRINTED TO YOUR REQUIREMENTS. MANUAL & AUTOMATIC APPLICATOR GUNS AVAILABLE. 1800 773 207 98 Cobalt Street, Carole Park, Qld. 4300 TL1571138 Always looking for new organic produce from growers • Back to Eden (BTE) is owner-operated and is Sydney’s only fully independent wholesaler of certified organic produce. • For over 17 years the team at BTE have developed a large, diverse customer base all over Australia. • We work to meet the specific needs of our market using a sound professional approach. We are constantly nurturing new markets and developing achievable plans with our suppliers to help them grow their businesses and maximise their returns. • If you are looking for a professional team of committed people to assist the growth of your organic business talk to the team at Back to Eden. email [email protected] BTE is located opposite Sydney markets: Cnr Park & Bedford Road’s Homebush Ph: (02) 9746 0070 Fax: (02) 9746 0040 TL1623744 Fruit, Vegetables, Groceries B N ACK TO EDE ORGANIC FOOD WHOLESALERS online livestock Get into it! A Classified for all livestock www.onlinelivestock.com.au TL1594250
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AGRICULTURE TODAY ■ Thursday, October 25, 2007 15
IMAGINE quarter-acre city gar-dens teeming with fresh fish andvegetables, dotted every fewkilometres throughout urbanareas across the globe, wherenearby residents walk from theirhome to the farm and purchasetheir protein and vegetableneeds for their families.
Imagine minimal or no trans-port costs, no refrigeration orstorage costs, and no extralabour costs on top of what thefarmers are paid to grow andtend the food.
This is the ultimate vision ofthe ‘ecoCity Farm’.
The prototype won a weeklysegment of the ABC TV’s NewInventors program last Novemberand is now entering the nextstage of development, to test thecommercial application of theconcept.
It is the inspiration of AndrewBodlovich from Nimbin andHogan Gleeson, Goolmangar.
“I have not seen, nor have Iread any international litera-ture on anything that has thepotential intervention scale ofthe ecoCity Farm concept andassociated food chain integra-tion,” NSW Department ofPrimary Industries leader inurban agriculture, DavidMason said.
“I became aware of somevery forward thinking urbanagriculture innovation in myChurchill study tour last year.
“The ecoCity Farm culture,known as enviroponics, com-bines aquaculture and chemicalfree greenhouse plant produc-tion that may be capable oforganic certification.
“It would create enough food
from a quarter-acre block to ful-fil a significant part of the dailydiet of 300 families.”
Mr Mason says the plants inthe hi-tech market-garden stylefarms use the nutrients fromwater inhabited by fish.
The nutrient depleted water isthen returned to the fish tanksfor reuse.
People’s protein needs are metby eating the fish.
“The closed system would useonly five per cent of the waterused by traditional aquaculturesystems or traditional farmingto produce the same volume ofproduct,” Mr Mason said.
“The concept would be adapt-ed to different climates and
work in all but the coldest ofconditions.”
The initial R&D has been com-pleted and planning is nowfocused on developing a com-mercial scale system over thenext 12 months leading on todomestic and then internationalmarket entries.
“The concept also fits well withfarm diversification on existingrural ventures, creating new rev-enue streams as well as oftenusing resources otherwise wast-ed by traditional farming.
One revenue stream would befrom producing the necessaryorganic ingredients for fish food.■■ Contact Andrew Bodlovich,Nimbin, 0427 519 975.
Andrew Bodlovich, one of the brains behind the ecoCityFarm in the ‘enviroponics’ prototype – a combination ofaquaculture and chemical free greenhouse plantproduction.
LEFT: ecoCity Farm grown buk choy.
NSW Department of Primary Industriesleader of urban agriculture, David Mason,says Australia has an opportunity to leadthe world with the innovation proposed bythe ecoCity Farm.
“I hope it gets the home support it nowdeserves and requires,” he said.
“The concept addresses the sustainabili-ty principle of equity in the food chain,whereby operators benefit by being able todirect-market produce at a retail price,eliminating many of the middlemen in theconventional wholesale market chain.
“The operators would become price mak-ers rather than price takers, therebyachieving significantly higher profit mar-gins while still offering produce to cus-tomers at reasonable prices.
“The direct to consumer system wouldallow the ecoCity Farm operator to buildstrong customer loyalty and to educatecustomers about their food and relatedhealth and ecological issues.
“This integrated production, service,marketing and education package wouldhave the capacity to reposition agricultureand associated agribusiness in urbanisingparts of the world.”
Chance to leadthe world ...
ecoCity Aims To Target:ecoCity Aims To Target:■ Existing store chains which carry chemical free
food and fresh vegetables■ Institutional organisations (schools, prisons,
remote communities)■ Independent grocery retail outlets■ Property developers seeking to create sustainable
communities■ Existing aquaculture businesses■ Destination attractions in remote areas that have
high volume fresh food requirements.
ecoCITY Farm AdvantagesecoCITY Farm Advantages■ Strategically position food production
and consumption in urban areas in thecontext of pandemics, globalisation,global warming, natural disasters,human health, community health andenvironmental health
■ Addresses environment managementsystems, food safety, food security,integrated pest management andbiosecurity
■ Integration with building and city design, including water reuse and
organic waste recycling■ Consistent with developing
international trends such as directmarketing, local food and a consumerdriven food chain.
■ Contribute to knowledge economy
The urban farm of the future
INFORMATION about a newPrograze for Horses course,highly relevant to Hawkesbury-Nepean district horse owners,will be available at this year’sFarming Small Areas Expo atRichmond.
NSW Department of PrimaryIndustries (DPI) conservationmanagement officer, HelenaWarren, will promote sustain-able grazing in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment.
She can advise visitors to theExpo on November 9 and 10about training and on-groundsubsidies to farmers forimproved grazing management.
She will also present a talk onfeeding and pasture manage-ment for horses.
PROfarm courses, particularlyProperty Management Planningand Farmbiz, will also be onshow in the Expo Pavilion, pro-moted by education marketingofficer, Maryke Archbold-Hession.
District agronomist AshleySenn will exhibit information onpastures, weeds and crops andpresent a talk on pasture estab-lishment and how to have goodquality pastures all year round.
Lesley Postle, technical officerfrom DPI’s Emergencies andStrategic Response branch, willexhibit information on biologi-cal control weeds.
Anne Oakenful, Science andResearch technical officer willexhibit information on testingkits available for worm, soil,water and feed quality and pres-ent a talk on internal parasitesin livestock.
A free worm count test will beavailable for producers whobring along fresh samples from sheep, cattle, goats oralpacas.
Diana Penson will head up
DPI’s bookshop exhibit at thePavilion.
The bookshop exhibit will fea-ture a collection of stock forsale at substantially reducedprices. Books of specific inter-est will include Farming in aSmall Way $10 (RRP $27.45),Growing Traditional FlowersSuccessfully $10 (RRP $20),Better Bull Buying $10 (RRP $22),Grassed Up $10 (RRP $33), HomeFruit Growers Guide $10
(RRP$19.95), and Geared Up$10.
Trevor Joseph, manager ofCumberland Nursery, will haveavailable to purchase a widevariety of tube stock anddrought smart native plantssuitable for properties and gar-dens.
Knowledgeable horticulturalstaff will be available to giveadvice on plant selection andsubsequent care.
Farming Small Areas Expo comingLEFT: Meetnew friendsat theFarmingSmall AreasExpo atRichmond,November 9and 10.NSW DPIstaff willoffer expertadvise formanyenterprisesat itslocation inthe ExpoPavilion.
To Present Your Produce Attractivelycontact:
Label PressManufacturers of FRUIT & VEGETABLE LABELS,
SELF-ADHESIVE, GUMMED BACK, NON-TEARABLE,LABELS on ROLLS or SHEETS.
PRINTED TO YOUR REQUIREMENTS.MANUAL & AUTOMATIC APPLICATOR GUNS AVAILABLE.
1800 773 20798 Cobalt Street, Carole Park, Qld. 4300
TL1
5711
38
Always looking for neworganic produce from growers• Back to Eden (BTE) is owner-operated and is
Sydney’s only fully independent wholesaler ofcertified organic produce.
• For over 17 years the team at BTE havedeveloped a large, diverse customer base allover Australia.
• We work to meet the specific needs of ourmarket using a sound professional approach.We are constantly nurturing new markets anddeveloping achievable plans with oursuppliers to help them grow their businessesand maximise their returns.
• If you are looking for a professional team ofcommitted people to assist the growth of yourorganic business talk to the team at Back toEden.
email [email protected] is located opposite Sydney markets:Cnr Park & Bedford Road’sHomebushPh: (02) 9746 0070Fax: (02) 9746 0040
TL1
6237
44
Fruit, Vegetables, GroceriesB NAACCKK TTOO EEDDEEORGANIC FOOD WHOLESALERS
online livestockGet into it!
A Classified for all livestockwww.onlinelivestock.com.au
TL1
5942
50
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