Innovative thinking finds market for Gum Park approach

Trev and Janelle Paech run a self-replacing, organic beef and pig herd, selling the meat direct to customers.

They feed their solely pigs using "waste stream" products - organic milk and yoghurt that is unable to be sold due to oversupply or shorter used-by dates, and grain byproduct or "mill run" from an organic miller.

Mr Paech said in one year, they divert as much as 15 tonnes of yoghurt and 15,000 litres of milk from landfill, turning it into a quality pork product.

The young pigs are fed twice a day, using a ration of the milk, yoghurt and grain, with additional seaweed, honey and diatomaceous earth, working out about 2.4 kilograms of the mix per pig each day, as well as access to fresh pasture.

Mr Paech said their available feed did limit some options.

"Rather than adjust the feed to suit the breed, we needed to change the breed to suit the feed," he said.

"We had to throw away the romantic notion of running purebred heritage breed Berkshires."

Three years of "trial and error" resulted in Large White-Berkshire sows and a Landrace-Large White boer, with their offspring producing a "consistent, good quality product".

The four sows each produce two litters a year of about 10 piglets.

They also work on a self-replacing pig herd, breeding the new sows.

They grow for about 14 to 16 weeks until they reach a carcaseweight of about 50kg.

The pigs are weighed each week to monitor their progress. Mr Paech said this means they are used to being handled and going into the yards, which reduces stress when it comes time to go on the truck to the processor.

They do a similar practice with their cattle, getting them used to walking through the cattleyards.

The livestock are killed at the abattoir at Strathalbyn, while Indulgent Meats, Port Elliot, does the cutting and packaging.

The meat is sold direct to customers, to a restaurant and through markets at Willunga or Parafield, with sales from those starting again from December.

"Our relationship with customers is important to us, as we're connecting people with where their food comes from," Mr Paech said.

"A lot of issues in society are through that disconnect."

He said they had a large number of consistent, repeat buyers, as well as a lot of comments about the flavour in their beef and pork taking people back to the food of their childhood.

"That feedback is a pretty big compliment," he said.

RELATED READING: Nomad farms lives by land, welfare values

Regenerative grazing pays off for Cluain

All the pig infrastructure, including shelters, yards, fences and water, is portable so once a drop of pigs has gone, the area is levelled out and able to regenerate, while the next drop of weaned pigs go elsewhere on the property.

Mr Paech said the land recovered very well, with manure adding to the fertility, while the regular rotations minimise the long-term impact on the soil.

He said it was important the stock moved about freely.

"We feel animals should be able to express their full range of behaviours," he said.

"They look pretty happy to me."

Cattle have been at the core of Gum Park since the Paechs returned to their Fleurieu Peninsula farm about nine years ago.

They have been certified organic through the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia for five years.

Mrs Paech said they initially wanted to be organic to avoid too many chemicals near their young children.

"They can help anywhere on the farm and we know they're safe," she said.

Mr Paech said they appreciated being able to reduce exposure to some of the potentially harmful effects of chemicals.

"We're thinking about our health, the health of our animals and land, and the health of our customers," he said.

"We can farm well and happily without (chemicals).

"Nature has a pretty good way of looking after itself - if we work with it, rather than come up with our own solutions, we're better off."

He said they also had a strong bank of customers seeking out their products.

"Most of our customers are looking for what we're producing, whether their reasons are based on fact or emotion, we're here to provide it," he said.

Their 98-hectare property also includes 25ha of bluegums and some land locked up for biodiversity, while they also lease land.

As the bluegums are removed, those paddocks are returned to pasture, with Mr Paech interested to trial different pasture mixes.

As they do not buy in additional feed, relying on 18ha of pasture cut for hay, their numbers vary with the season, but they aim for 20 cows with calves at-foot.

They sell the yearling beef at 180 kilograms carcaseweight to 190kgcwt, dry aged for 14 to 28 days.

They also sell hides, to reduce wastage.

Again, they work on a self-replacing herd, with temperament and quick growth two of the biggest breeding values.

By regular weighing, they have figures on their heifers - and their parents - going back years.

The cattle have access to a mineral trailer to supplement any soil deficiencies.

"Cattle know what they need, and we can see different demands, depending on the country, time of year or time of cycle," Mr Paech said.

He said the benefit was evident within three weeks, with cattle grazing more efficiently and showing improved condition.