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INNOVATION IN PRACTICE
Vermicast: Nature’s own fertiliser
Family owned company Australian Farm and Fencing, located in Wagga Wagga NSW, is on a mission to help more and more Australian farmers recognise what is widely considered the world's best soil restorative or premium organic fertiliser: vermicast.
down by earthworms, containing reduced con- taminants and higher nutrient saturation than the original feedstock. It serves as a potent organic fertiliser and soil conditioner that delivers highly bioavailable nutrients, enhances soil biology with beneficial microbes, and improves water retention and soil structure. Key characteristics and benefits include: • Nutrient Profile : It contains water-soluble nutrients, humic substances, and plant growth regulators that are readily absorbed by plants, often outperforming commercial fertilisers in yield and plant health. • Microbial Diversity : The process of diges- tion through the worm's gut creates a large microbial community of bacteria and fungi that suppress diseases and support plant immunity. • Soil Improvement : Vermicast lowers the Car- bon-to-Nitrogen (C:N) ratio, stabilizes organic matter, and acts as a natural soil builder that can hold 2-3 times its weight in water.
With the introduction of a pelletised vermicast back in 2018, that can be sowed-down using conventional equipment, Australian Farm and Fencing has seen the farming community adopt the use of thousands of tonnes of its pelletised fertiliser product. Initially, farmers were sceptical that the company’s products could provide similar yields to traditional use of synthetic fertilisers but the use over time has proved otherwise, even in dry years. Like most things, innov- ation catches up and transforms great products into even better more user-friendly products. A team of ag-tech innovators set out to transform raw vermicast into a high-performance, granulated product that could be seamlessly used in existing fer- tilising systems traditionally used with Monoammo- nium Phosphate (MAP) and other synthetic fertilisers. The result? A granulated vermicast product that looked, sowed and spread just like MAP—but worked with the soil, not against it. So, what is vermicast? Vermicast, also known as worm castings, is the nutrient-rich end-product of organic matter break-
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