Sustainability
Sustainability is a core focus of our operations at Red Valley Farms. We are always looking for new ways to reduce our environmental footprint and achieve a circular agriculture system, reducing our dependence on external inputs and recycling resources as much as possible. Our commitment to sustainability guides every aspect of our business practices, supporting the viability of our business and ensuring a greener future for generations to come.
Energy Efficiency
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Solar
At Red Valley Farms, we are excited to announce our latest sustainability initiative - the introduction of solar power to our farm. This investment not only benefits the environment but also ensures a more sustainable future for our business and community.
Stage 1 is expected to reach completion by the end of August 2024, which will bring online a ~1,000kW network of panels across 15 sites.
Utilising solar energy for our packing sheds, office, and irrigation pumps significantly reduces our reliance on mains power and our diesel consumption.
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Mushroom Facility
Growing mushrooms in Lakeland doesn’t come without its challenges but we were determined to ensure that every step of the design considered the environment. To achieve a climate-controlled environment, water is cooled and pumped around the facility in a network of pipes. Our Mushroom shed is part of our Stage 1 solar implementation, which will offset the energy used in this pumping process.
Keeping cold rooms at positive pressure is important to reduce the risk of contamination and also ensures a constant flow of fresh air through the facility. Rather than release this cool air to the outside environment, we pump the filtered air into the roof cavity, creating an insulating layer between the hot Queensland sun and the cold rooms below.
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Banana Packing Shed
Our Banana packing facility utilises water pools to transport the bananas from bunch to box, reducing the potential for bruising, while also pre-cooling the bananas prior to storage. This reduction in fruit temperature significantly reduces the load on our refrigeration systems, thereby reducing power consumption.
In addition, these water pools are a natural temperature regulator for our packing shed, keeping the working environment cool without excessive power usage.
Water Conservation
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Irrigation
We implement various water conservation strategies across the farm with the goal of only using what resources we need. We have installed drainage channels in our fields to divert run-off back into our dams where possible. Regular monitoring of dam water levels and soil moisture ensures we can adjust our irrigation at any time.
Our fully automated irrigation systems allow us to optimise water distribution, providing precise amounts where it is needed. We use drip tubes to distribute water in our avocado orchards and micro sprinklers in our banana plantations, minimising the effects of evaporation and overspray by delivering water directly to the roots of the trees.
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Water Retention
Our use of organic compost increases the amount of carbon in the soil which in turn increases its water holding capacity. By applying compost across our farm, we are able to reduce the amount of water required for irrigation.
Every year we bale our own mulch that we spread in both our banana and avocado fields. This further supports water retention in the soil and minimises evaporation.
Our Mushroom Facility is fitted with rain water tanks and all water used in the production cycle is recycled.
Healthy Soil
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Compost
We established our own commercial compost production site to increase the sustainability of our farm and close the loop of our operation. We repurpose waste from our mushroom and avocado operations to produce quality compost. This compost can then be used on our farm and others in the region to maximise yield while reducing the need for other fertilisers.
We are proud to produce compost using repurposed waste material from our farm. The application of compost onto our avocados and bananas preserves and improves soil quality, increases water retention and increases the quality of our produce.
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Crop protection and fertigation
Our use of organic compost allows us to drastically reduce our reliance on other fertilisers, while our automated irrigation and fertigation system allows precise application of crop protection products directly where they are needed.
We embrace natural pest management by monitoring insect populations in our crops and allowing predator insects to manage pests.
Spreading mulch in the Bananas and Avocados also helps to prevent weed growth, allowing the crop to benefit from all of the soil’s nutrients without competition.
Closed-loop Operation
With the introduction of our newest facility dedicated to growing exotic mushrooms, we have continued our implementation of a closed-loop system which is a source of great pride for us. Our raw material inputs, like sawdust and woodchip, are carefully chosen to ensure they are locally and sustainably grown. Mushroom substrate and any other production waste is repurposed as raw material for compost production. This compost, in turn, is then applied back on the farm to promote the growth of our other products (see more about compost above).
In the dry season, when there is an absence of paddock feed, we feed banana waste to our cattle. Harnessing our waste allows us to make the most of a valuable resource that would otherwise be discarded. It is just one way we are closing the loop in our production cycle and working towards a sustainable future.
Also supporting this closed-loop vision, is our focus on sustainable water management. We aim to capture the majority of our runoff to drain back into our dams, allowing this precious resource to be reused.