Farmers who grow nutrient-dense food whilst enhancing the environment are to be applauded, and the same can be said for the people and companies who support them.
BioRich is a Hawke's Bay company that creates compost out of waste streams.
New Zealand agriculture went through a phase when anyone who wasn't devoted to superphosphate was considered a fringe loony. These days our thinking is changing as scientific research and farmers' own experiences illustrate the advantages of spreading compost on paddocks.
BioRich operates on two sites: Te Tua, near Hastings and Awatoto, near Napier.
Nigel Halpin is BioRich operations manager and operations manager of the Te Tua Station. Nigel says that although the compost the company produces is certified organic most of it goes to non-organic growers.
It is split into four more-or-less equal streams: the Bay of Plenty and the kiwifruit industry, the local Hawke's Bay horticultural industry, Hawke's Bay cropping farmers, and the retail sector and households.
"Adding compost is common practice in conventional kiwifruit and many cropping farms. It is used anywhere soils have been thrashed or there are inherent issues from contouring or previous land uses. Hawke's Bay soil types can change dramatically amongst a 50m row of apples; compost is good for evening out the rows."
BioRich was established in 2004 by Mike Glazebrook. Mike had been a vegetable grower for 10 years and made his own compost. He is a past chairman of Landwise Hawke's Bay, which sponsors research and promotes sustainable farming practices.
From these combined interests and experiences Mike developed BioRich. It takes waste products that would otherwise go to the landfill, adds carbon and produces compost.
The waste streams include manure, fish waste, paunch grass from abattoirs, wastes from food and pet food manufacturers, fruit and grape waste.
Nigel says much of the waste used to go to landfills or was spread out onto sand dunes. "BioRich's mission is to get nutrients out of the waterways of the Heretaunga Plains. Contractors from around the region bring the waste to us for composting."
It is mixed with carbon such as sawdust and bark, placed on airlines for 14 days, then put into windrows and turned as needed.
While it is on the airlines air is pumped into the compost using high volume, low pressure fans. To achieve fast composting it is necessary to maintain the right balance of carbon and nitrogen and the right levels of air and moisture in the mixture.
Nigel says BioRich has built its own fans based on MIRINZ Meat Research 1994. The company has 10 fans operating across its two sites and they are big part of its efficient operation. The cost of running them amounts to $50,000 per year.
BioRich produces 40,000m3 of compost annually, and it sells everything it makes. They are constantly looking for more waste streams to add, as there's such a huge demand for their products.
"You don't have to do much with a good brand. You just have to be consistent. We don't do a lot of marketing now. We are in a good position with word of mouth selling our product."
In 2005 BioRich won the Hawke's Bay Environmental Award for Business because of the work it does to turn a waste product into a resource.
Mixing is a key concept in making compost. In 2014 BioRich received waste diversion funding from the Ministry of the Environment, which supported the purchase of a Jaylor mixer wagon. The addition of the mixer wagon allowed BioRich to divert another 6,500 tonnes of waste from a landfill.
Jaylor is traditionally associated with mixing feed rations for animals, but mixing is mixing and it does an equally excellent job on compost as well.
Nigel: "We use the Jaylor for custom-blending products. These are products we get that are hard to mix. Originally we tried to do it with a loader, but it wasn't efficient. Then we tried a horizontal twin-screw mixer. Finally, we borrowed a friend's Jaylor and found it was really good."
Their Jaylor works hard two days per month when it works for six to eight hours per day. Its capacity is 21m3 and typically handles 400m3-500m3 a day when in use.
It is a 5750 model specified with a heavy-duty gearbox and walls and twin augers lined with stainless steel.
The Jaylor works so hard at BioRich that they wore the stainless steel off the augers in a month. Now they have Hardox wear strips.
BioRich's Jaylor also has two doors on one side and a door at the back so it can quickly empty the compost out into a windrow.
They run their Jaylor via the PTO from a 140hp John Deere 6920 tractor. They load the wagon with the JD loader or with a JCB telehandler.
Compost needs water, and BioRich has added a watering system to the mixer. A main line ringing the top of the mixer adds water. It is hooked up to a 2-inch feed and adds water as it mixes the compost.
After 10 to 15 minutes of mixing, the water is disconnected and the tractor draws it away as the Jaylor unloads into a windrow.
BioRich also makes and spreads custom brews according to the needs of its customers. Custom brews are trucked out and spread using either a Fliegl or Keenan spreader.