Patrick Mickan has been working the land in Beechworth for six years, growing vegetables to supply local restaurants and wholesale outlets. Upon starting, one of the first things he did was notify Indigo Shire Council that Beechworth Natural Farm was certified organic and biodynamic, and they did not want their boundaries sprayed.
"But a couple of times, I've had to tell contractors, 'Oh, you do know this is an organic property?' and the contractors had no idea," Mickan said. "So, I think it's something that needed to be addressed with a better system."
That's precisely what Indigo Shire Council thinks. But as there is no publicly available register of organic farms in Victoria, they have decided to create their own. They have put a call-out to owners of certified organic and biodynamic farms in the area to share their location and contact details, so they can start a conversation about best management.
Source: abc.net.au
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