couriermail.com.au June 2-3, 2012 The Courier-Mail 27FRST

GIVING BACKTO THE LAND

ASK A FARMERwith Alice Gorman

RODNEY EMERICKGreen beans, MulgowieFarming CompanyLocale: Bowen, Lockyer Valley,Glenn Innes, NSW, and VictoriaSeason: Year round (northQueensland May to October;Lockyer October to May)Staff: About 400 in Queensland,NSW and Victoria plus about 50growers who supply to MulgowieSells: Through farmers markets,supermarkets and independentfruit and vegetable shops anddirect to customersQueensland growing regions:Lockyer Valley, Fassifern Valley,Bowen, Burdekin regionMore: mulgowie.com.au

RODNEY Emerick hails from one ofQueensland’s pioneering farmingfamilies, but there was a time when heconsidered pursuing a completelydifferent career.

Emerick was accepted intophysiotherapy at university, but aholiday job on the family farm atMulgowie, in the Lockyer Valley, sethim on a different course.

‘‘I decided to do a bit of work in theholidays," Emerick says. ‘‘I’ve beenfarming now for 30 years."

Rodney, his sister Leisa and herhusband Fabian head the MulgowieFarming Company, a business startedby the siblings’ parents, John and Dell.

Together, the family has grown thebusiness to become Australia’s largestfresh corn and green bean producer.

And even after all these years,Emerick still enjoys watching thecrops grow.

‘‘There’s always new challenges,the weather never gives you the sameset of guidelines," he says.

‘‘I’m a problem-solver by nature andthat’s part of the challenge. I’mconstantly learning about how thecrops respond to nutrients and toweather conditions."

Emerick is a third-generation farmerand the family continues to farm on itsoriginal land at Mulgowie. But thegrowing operation has expanded totake in farms at Bowen, where Emerickis based; Glenn Innes, on the northerntablelands of NSW; and Boisdale, inVictoria’s Gippsland region.

A group of 50 contract farmers also

grow and supply to the MulgowieFarming Company.

Emerick says Mulgowie strives toproduce beans from two locations atany one time.

The Emericks first made a name forthemselves as corn producers but, inthe 1980s, planted green beans.

‘‘Beans are a legume and make theirown nitrogen so they are a goodrotational crop," he says. ‘‘They giveback to the soil what the corn takesout. We started with beans on a smallscale just in the Lockyer Valley and, inthe 1990s, we moved to north

Queensland and now we producegreen beans 12 months of the year."

Each year Mulgowie grows about2000ha of green beans. Each hectareproduces about 10 tonnes of beans.

Emerick says understanding andcommunicating with customers is avital part of being successfulin farming. ‘‘I think it’s happenedbecause we’re good at what we do. Weidentify customer needs," he says.

‘‘We make sure we have the rightattitude about being excellent at whatwe do. We have a competitive spirit.

‘‘Thirty years ago our sales were allthrough the central markets but nowwe also supply direct to retailersand consumers."

Nothing is left to chance whenyou’re operating on such alarge scale. Science andresearch are vitallyimportant to growinggood crops.

‘‘Soil scienceand water qualityscience underpinwhat we’re doing,"Emerick says.

‘‘We haveprocesses inplace butultimatelythoseprocessesdepend onwhatMotherNature isdoing."

Q&A

THE BIG ISSUE‘‘Food security is a real issue, making surewe have the right resources, the right landand water and the people to actually producethe food we need to. Our costs areescalating. Each year, everyone puts theirhand out for a price increase such as freight,fuel, electricity. We haven’t even tried toregister what the carbon tax will mean to ourbusiness. A lot of our costs have been off-setby improved productivity over the past10 years but we’re getting to the stagewhere those savings aren’t really there.’’

SECRET TO SUCCESS‘‘A passionate focus on quality, andexceeding our customer expectations bydelivering a fresh, healthy and exceptionalbean eating experience. A commitment tosustainable farming practices by doing morewith less.’’

PADDOCK TO PLATEPreparation: The ground is prepared four tosix weeks before planting.Planting: The seed is planted and irrigatedand the crop is monitored very closely forpests, disease and any nutritionaldeficiencies.Flowering: Once the plant has flowered thebean forms at the centre of the flower. Ittypically takes about eight weeks fromplanting for the bean to be ready for harvest.Harvesting: Beans are harvestedmechanically. The harvester removes thebean from the stalk and the leaf.Grading/washing: The beans are taken tothe Mulgowie packhouse where they arewashed and graded for size and quality.This generally happens within two hoursof harvest.Distribution: Often beans are dispatched tocustomers by 4pm on the day of harvest.

PRICE‘‘Our beans should sell for between $3 and$5/kg in store.’’

MY green beans never grow straight,they always seem to curl on the ends.Why is that?Emerick says: Make sure your soil is healthyand filled with nutrients to allow a strong rootsystem to develop and a sturdy plant to grow.The soil should be friable, well-drained, soft andloose. Potassium levels should be good and agood indicator is that the bean plant has well-shaped leaves that come to apoint at the growing end of theleaf. The leaf should also be agood colour. Other factors suchas temperature can affect theshape of the bean, but if pickedat the right time it will tasteexactly the same.

Email questions toalice@gormanmedia.com.au

27COURIERMAIL.COM.AU

ONE INGREDIENT with Fiona Donnelly

Paul McGivern is head chef at Jetty South Bank and cooking with butter makes him melt

GROWING up in countryQueensland, butter was always on thetable, sitting on a butter dish withperhaps a gauze cover over it.

It was the kitchen staple. You couldalways run in from working, grab apiece of bread, slather it with butterand go back outside for hours.

Butter, in its pure form, was myupbringing, and its flavour anduniversality have stayed with methroughout my career.

Butter is as important as eggs to me.It’s my go-to ingredient as a chef at theJetty, and at home.

It’s simple but so important, like thefoundations of a great building.

From creating incredible mashedpotatoes to lamb loin, carrot puree topumpkin soup, across all pastries fromcakes to biscuits and stunning sweetcreations, to a simple sandwich –butter brings out the richness and trueflavour in foods.

In the entree dish for the Variety ofChefs Ball menu, butter is paramount.It will enhance the creamy texture andrichness of the parsnip puree, it willflavour the stuffing for the quail and itwill bring the quail to life with heat.

The 2012 Variety of Chefs Ball is heldon June 16 at Hilton Hotel Brisbane.Go to couriermail.com.au/LIFEfor Paul McGivern’s recipe forlemon curd tart.