Around the Mitchell River floodplain to the west of Bairnsdale is the Lindenow Valley, a highly fertile agricultural region sometimes referred to as Gippsland’s food bowl. 

The productive farmland is a powerhouse of vegetable production and helps Gippsland produce about 27 percent of the state's vegetable produce.

But Horticulturalist and Regional Development Officer for Food & Fibre Gippsland, Amanda Gould, told the Monitor “the cost of labour, fertiliser, chemicals, energy, machinery, packing and freight are all growing exponentially and all of that comes off the farmers bottom line”.

The result? “Being profitable trying to get stuff to market is becoming increasingly hard.”

What grows in the bowl? 

The region is known for its broccoli, potatoes, green beans, snow peas, carrots, onions, baby spinach, lettuces, tomatoes and capsicums.

Gippsland has over 9,000 food and fibre businesses. They employ 16 percent of the workforce in the region. About three quarters of the workers are on farms, according to Invest Gippsland.

Gould said there’s no single factor that makes Gippsland such a fertile region to farm, but it’s likely due to the high quality of soil, consistent rainfall and the temperament of the climate.

“Rainfall has been a bit hit and miss recently, but we usually have pretty reliable rainfall than other parts of the state.”

Automation on the rise

Gould said the increasing cost of producing a consistent crop is putting pressure on vegetable farmers throughout Gippsland and many are turning to automation to remain profitable.

She pointed to the growing use of automated soil probes that can read moisture levels in the ground and tell farmers when to water to optimise irrigation.

 “Some of them even link up to weather stations to give farmers accurate, real-time data on making those decisions that will help them get the best yield from their crops.”

Cover image provided by Buch Organics.