Our Story | Baupal Park Farm | Organic Macadamia Orchard

BAUPAL PARK FARM STORY

Baupal Park Farm began its story as a conventional Macadamia Orchard. In 2018 it changed hands and began its journey into the world of Organics. This picturesque 40-acre farm is situated on the Bruce Highway in Chatsworth, SE QLD, with approximately 1800 macadamia trees. With big plans to expand and incorporate other native crops, the vision is to build a farm shop and vast vegetable gardens onsite, allowing visitors to come and experience true organic farming.

NATURAL FARMING METHODS & MANAGEMENT

Baupal Park Farm’s main point of difference is the type of farming practice it utilises – Korean Natural Farming (KNF).

Developed in Korea over 500 years ago, Korean Natural Farming is the cultivation of living soil biology (indigenous micro organisms) and bacteria to enhance soil fertility and cation exchange capacity.

It’s a soil regenerative process in order to stop erosion, leaching of nutrients and chemicals, and the use of industrial chemicals; it is an organic process of farming. Baupal Park will take between 3-5 years to become totally organic, and the certification for that process has already begun.

Baupal Park Farm’s new owner, Kate Rose, (formerly a British and ADF Army Officer), is well aware of the long-term plan to achieve this standard, but knows it will be totally worthwhile. Not only will the soil be repaired, but the trees will recover, and the yields will increase and this has already started to occur.

The first harvest since change of ownership saw a 74% increase in crop yield from 2017 to 2018 just through using the Korean Natural Farming practices.

Kate has also started a program of soil conditioning with bacterial washes. These are brewed onsite and added to a fertigation system which is pumped out across the orchards. They are used to feed the protozoa in the soil (Amoebae, Ciliates and Nematodes), which in turn synthesize (digest) the bacteria into naturally occurring nutrients for the trees to be absorbed with the help of ecto and endomycorrhizal fungi. This cycle occurs naturally, but when there was a heavy historical usage of Roundup, this cycle was seriously damaged. So, it needed to be kick started with microbes for the Organic Certification to commence. Here lies the heart of the Korean Natural Farming, movement.

Since the inception of this farming practice Kate has held Korean Natural Farming conferences on the farm, as well as travelled to Hawaii to certify in KNF Level 2 of the farming practice. Her conferences are held twice a year and aim to teach the everyday gardener/farmer how to improve their soil through a simple program of nutrition and healing.

“The key is in the fermentation process. By understanding how to apply microbe top dressings into a solution, how to grow a bacterial wash, or how to make a Fish Amino Acid Liquid, you will see the soil heal itself under the microscope…and all with not purchasing any commercial chemicals.”

FARMING & ARTISAN BAKED PRODUCTS

Before her military career Kate trained as a pastry chef in London learning from the masters; Michael Nadel and John Huber, then going on to work in the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington before venturing out to Ston Easton Park in county Somerset as their Chef de Parte in Patisserie.

Her fudge is to die for.

After working in London, this change gave Kate a love for the countryside and paved her way back to Australia where she finally settled in north Gympie.

So, it’s a natural progression for the farm to start some value adding. The addition of a commercial kitchen was installed in 2019. The next venture is the gourmet farm shop cafe, which is planned to open its doors in June 2022. Watch out for Facebook updates on the “Tasting Night”. This will allow the farm to expand its already growing market base into more and more value-add products using the farms macadamia harvest.

Currently the farm runs market stalls that rotate across the Sunshine Coast in Pomona, Maryborough, Witta, Gympie and Rainbow Beach. Check out our Facebook page for updates or click the calender here.

MEDIA & RESOURCES

Did you know that Baupal means Macadamia in Indigenous language? The word originates from the Wide Bay area of the Gubbi Gubbi peoples and includes bora (clan) for the Gympie region, and in particular the Bauple area for the macadamia tree.

So the nut is really a true native. Pretty cool!

Check out the story to show how our native tree is actually a true Australian. The DNA of the Baupal tree is located from the Mooloo area west of Gympie. All stock of trees come from this source worldwide – now that’s really something to be proud of! Read Story