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Tarcowie
Phosphate Company
The
Tarcowie phosphate company is a business partnership between two farming
families, being
Chris and Danielle Malone and family from Bundaleer
near Jamestown & Ian, Rosemary and Tom Catford and family from
Tarcowie between Jamestown and Orroroo.
Fertiliser
made for farmers by farmers
The
Tarcowie phosphate company manufactures good quality, cost
effective, rock phosphate based fertilizers for agriculture,
horticulture, orchards, viticulture and home gardens using a base of
local rock phosphate discovered in the Tarcowie district of the Southern
Flinders Ranges region of South Australia.
The company excavates and processes all of it's own rock. This gives
better control over product quality and a reassurance of ongoing supply.
Company Development
The
Malone family have been certified organic farmers of cereals, lucerne
and beef cattle for 18 years and have therefore trialed a variety of
natural fertilisers on their property and in their garden over that
time.
Over the past few centuries in agronomy it had been believed that
rock phosphate was ineffective as a supply of phosphorous to plants
unless it was treated with acid. Through years of learning from experts
in biological agriculture, Chris became aware that rock phosphate does
work effectively as a source of Phosphate providing there is enough
microbiology in the soil to break it down. He was able to achieve very
good results using rock phosphate combined with other fertilisers.
The
business venture began with Chris looking for a local source of rock
phosphate in the year 2000 after the awareness that the Kapunda rock
phosphate supply had been nearing its end. At the start of 2002, he
found a deposit on the ground surface on the roadside of Catford’s
property near Tarcowie. The test results of this rock were promising but
the surveying and further testing required to continue the venture at
this point was a major obstacle.
During 2004 the resourceful Catford family
initiated the extensive surveying and drilling program, which was
largely performed by ‘ecophyte technologies’. After determining that
the deposit contained adequate levels of Phosphorous and was extensive
enough to make a viable business proposition, the Catford and Malone
families decided to undertake the mining of rock phosphate as a joint
venture.
The remainder of 2004 and 2005 incorporated
extensive surveying, drilling and testing programs, various surveys
including local fauna, significant indigenous sites within the area, the
Tarcowie Landcare group undertook a survey of the native flora on the
site and a comprehensive mining and rehabilitation program was planned
and written by Danielle. This was approved by PIRSA Mineral resources
department at the end of 2005.
The beginning of 2006 involved a large capital input of setting up
crushing equipment to crush the product. A small amount of biologically
activated phosphate product was processed and sold to interested local
farmers for the 2006 growing season.
Effective and efficient processing of the product had been refined over
the remainder of 2006 and beginning of 2007
with the purchase of a second crushing machine and major modifications
performed by Mid North Fabrications.
The processing is working well and the biological activation part of the
operation is also becoming more refined. Rehabilitation began in mid
2006 with the on site and roadside tree planting by the Landcare group
and will continue in 2007.
Our main product at this point is fecondo.
An innovative blend of mineral rich rock phosphate, blood & bone,
fish emulsion and more. It has a ready supply of beneficial soil microbes and
other natural ingredients to improve plant growth, protect plants from
pathogens, produce full bodied, nutritious, tasty foods and at the same
time, improve the soil health.
The
product has had several name transformations which have included BAPP,
revive and now is being sold as fecondo.
The
product is now registered under the name ‘fecondo’
meaning fertile earth and is ready for sale in bulk on site for
broad acre, and one tonne, 40kg and 10 kg bag quantities for market and
home gardeners.
It is proving to be very beneficial in all
applications including broadacre cereal growing, pasture top dressing,
vegetable growing and garden plant fertilizing such as roses. The severe
drought hit the region in 2006 so the efficacy of the product was
difficult to ascertain, however one local farmer who trialed the product
recorded a better yield with our fertiliser than with the other
fertilisers he had used.
read our testimonials
| Typical
Analysis of Fecondo |
| Nutrient |
Amount |
Phosphate
Calcium
Manganese
Iron
Silica
Potassium
Carbon
Zinc
Copper
Cobalt
Boron
Nickel
Sulpher
Magnesium |
8%
3.5%
3.5%
3.5%
50%
.29%
1.5%
.054%
.012%
.06%
.009%
.0118%
.06%
.14% |
+50
other colloidal trace
elements, some with critical
roles in plant growth |
| Price
- $295/tonne |
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