Tony and Sue Morgan, Bayles, have been growing organic blueberries and garlic for 15 years and are building up a state-wide clientele.
Their operation, Orchard End Farm, consisted of some paddocks of certified organic horticulture and others which were not certified, but farmed, as organic.
"Our cattle operation is not certified organic," Mr Morgan said.
"We're certified organic for all our horticultural production, our blueberries and our garlic, and anything else we produce.
"It's only one part of the farm.
"The rest of the place, it's run organically but find me someone who's going to pay me a premium for certified organic beef and I'll get the herd certified."
He said his organically-reared cattle went to conventional sales, at Pakenham.
The couple run 40 Limousin cows, bred to a Red Angus bull, and their followers.
They sold their stock as either weaners or stores, depending on the market and season.
The Orchard End Farm was run with nature and soil health in mind with multispecies paddocks, wildlife ponds and hedgerows added to improve biodiversity.
Blueberries were the couple's most successful crop.
Mr Morgan said they "occasionally do something else but primarily it's blueberries and garlic".
"In our area it's a bit iffy growing garlic because it can get too wet," he said.
"We've had three really wet years in a row so we've had three really bad seasons with the garlic.
"We're disillusioned with the garlic at the moment but the blueberries are doing fine."
Ms Morgan said the farm supplied specialist organic greengrocers in Melbourne city.
"They buy in bulk so they might order 20kg a couple times a week," she said.
"They'll come and pick up."
Mr Morgan said there was a premium for the blueberries but it wasn't much.
"The certified organic label makes them very sought after and it's also a really sought after product," he said.
"Once people start to try our blueberries they keep coming back."
Ms Morgan said the couple were starting to fill orders from organic greengrocers further afield, outside Melbourne.
She said it was a low input system for organic horticulture.
"They're fresh so our philosophy is if we pick them, if we haven't actually sold the fresh ones in seven to 10 days, I freeze them," she said.
"You can't guarantee how long they're going to sit in the fridge at a greengrocers."
Mr Morgan said their blueberries had a "very good" shelf life.
"We try to protect that by not letting stuff out of the cool room that's been there a bit too long," he said.
"They go on as frozen product and we sell that as well."
Over the past two years, the Morgans had also been collaborating with Melbourne Water to test the management practices that could be used to reduce problem pasture pests such as Lucerne Flea and Red Legged Earth Mite.
Pasture invertebrate pests can be mis-diagnosed and therefore control measures often don't solve the problem.
On Monday, March 25, the farm will host a results day at the field trial site.
The event will run 10.30am to 1pm at the farm at 55 Number Five Drain Rd, Bayles.
Field presenters included Karen Thomas (Melbourne Water), Tony Morgan (Orchard End Farm), Jade Killoran (Healthy Farming Systems), Jessica Page ( Biological Research Company) and Mick Green (Drift Media).
The results day will be held in the paddock so participants can look at the Morgan's multispecies crops, discuss the results from moving away from traditional pasture to diverse cover crops, grazing management of the multispecies and the next phase to restore a degraded paddock to a 'biodiversity haven'.
The event will examine the use of insectivorous birds and predatory beneficial insects in the field.
Those interested can RSVP to Karen THomas at karen.thomas@melbournewater.com.au.
