In 2019, Wayne Schild saw a gap in the food market and the right farming model for his 40-hectare small holding in south west Victoria to launch Grange Garlic – Australia’s only fresh minced garlic. He says the region’s reliable rainfall, rich soils and productive relationship with Southern Rural Water provide the right ingredients for success.
“Traditional grazing or cropping operations weren’t realistic for us due to our size,” he said.
“We trialled several things before landing on garlic. It just continued to grow so well and show us there was an outstanding opportunity for this crop in south west Victoria”.
Garlic is a winter-based crop that’s sowed in autumn and harvested in early summer. Wayne says there are several commercial and artisan growers in Australia who produce fresh loose garlic. But he went down a different path because he spotted a gap in the market.
“Our market research showed us there’s a lot of people who don’t want to chop up garlic, they just want to scoop fresh delicious garlic and get cooking straight away,” he said.
“We also discovered that loose garlic producers got lower prices for bulbs with imperfections. So, we decided to make a premium product that gives consumers what they want and makes us good money”.
Getting the product right took a bit of time and a lot of science because fresh minced garlic can be unstable. However, Wayne and the team got the process right and Grange Garlic is now on shelves across Australia and soon to be exported to Singapore.
Wayne says they’ve been a dry-land commercial horticultural operation for several years, but a changing climate makes water security a big priority.
“Our ability to grow garlic without irrigation demonstrates how well this region is suited to the crop. However, it’s a very expensive seed. And if we don’t have water at the right time the risk is very high,” he said.
“Southern Rural Water helped us secure a 10 megalitre winterfill surface water licence and this gives us the security we need to know we’ve got water in lean times”.
Wayne said Southern Rural Water field officer, Kevin Williams, is excellent at listening and finding solutions to his business challenges.
“Thanks to Kevin’s work ethic and his commitment to great customer service we’re now blessed with the water we need to give us confidence to grow,” he said.
Grange Garlic captures the typically abundant winter flows from a nearby drain to fill their dam for use during dry times.
Wayne says harvesting a resource when it’s plentiful for use during leaner times is a strategy as old as humanity itself. But it must be done sustainably.
“Using water sustainably is the essence of life. Without water no one succeeds so it’s wise use is essential to ensuring the region’s environment, communities and businesses continue to thrive,” he said.
Wayne says the opportunity for high-quality Australian fresh minced garlic is incredible and he is excited about the future.
“Currently, the only other wet minced garlic product available in Australia comes from overseas and is made from a dehydrated product,” he said.
“We offer something so much better and have the right foundations here in south west Victoria to take the world by storm with Grange Garlic.”