Strong value adding opportunities in WA agriculture

Third-generation farmer Ashley Wiese has been farming his whole adult life, but when it came time to expand his business he opted to move into value adding rather than buying more land.

He started planting superfood quinoa in 2009 and in 2016 opened a processing plant on his Highbury farm, delivering a shelf-ready product to Australian retailers, under the Three Farmers brand.

“When we moved into growing and processing quinoa our land had experienced quite a jump in value,” he said.

“Although this was a good thing, it reduced our return on investment as commodity prices had not kept pace with our capital investment in land. We decided to concentrate in intensifying our business rather than expanding.”

Mr Wiese said the quinoa operation represented just a small part of his farming enterprise, which focuses on oat production, and one of the major benefits was exposure to customers and the retail trade.

“Typically as grain producers we have very little connection with our customers. Most of what we produce goes in bulk on to a ship to Asia,” he said. “But lessons we have learnt from our quinoa experience have shaped what we do with other products on the farm. We have gained direct international supply contacts for our oats as a result.”

He said there was plenty of potential for value adding of Australian agriculture, and was confident this would be received well by Australian consumers.

Mullewa farmers Rob and Tanya Kitto have also started value-adding to the produce they grow on farm, after making substantial investment in on-farm storage, milling and packaging equipment.

The Kittos turn lupins grown on their farm into gluten-free flour, and other products including muffin, cake and brownie mixes, under the My Provincial Kitchen brand.

While lupins have traditionally been considered a stock feed, there are many nutritional benefits for human consumption and the Kittos hope that farmer returns can increase if they become recognised as a higher-value product.

Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan said there was huge opportunity to value add to WA’s agricultural products. Last year the State Government issued $3.1 million in grants to support capital investment to 23 companies, ranging from a distillery in the Porongorups to a grain sorter for chickpeas in Kununurra.