Tasmanian Potato Grower

This case study documents The Bactivate 5 Program, its application and results at a successful potato grower based in the Meander Valley, Tasmania. The key objectives of the study were to:

• Determine if the Bactivate 5 Program would deliver long-term economic benefit,
• Demonstrate measurable improvement to the growth of the potatoes, the quality of the soil & the increase in the overall crop yield.

• Bactivate 5 Liquid – 1L
• Bactivate BioBoost – 2.5L
• Bactivate Seaweed – 2.5L

Application method: The products were mixed together in a boom sprayer and applied as ground coverage.

Using The Bactivate 5 Program, this prominent grower conducted an initial trial on his potato crop for the 2018-2019 season. Conditions for the season were as follows:

• In January 2019, there was only 10.8mm of rain in Deloraine, far below the mean of 50.3mm,
• The farmer applied 3 times the amount of water he would normally, every 7 days,
• Despite the above, the farmer still had difficulty keeping the ground moist.

• Considering the drought conditions, the farmer still managed to harvest 62 tons per Ha where many other farmers across Tasmania produced significantly lower yields of c. 50 tons per Ha,
• The field Rep for the company to whom the farmer sells, commented that the farmer’s crop was one of the best in Tasmania and ‘impressive’ considering the prevailing conditions,
• As a result of the above results and the feedback from the Rep, the farmer decided to extend his trial of The Bactivate 5 Program to more potatoes, hemp and pasture (for his dairy farm).

• Bactivate 5 Program applied to all potato crop,
• In contrast to the previous year, significant rain set new records this year,
• The Meander valley received 347.8mm of rain from Jan-April 2020. The average for all previous years was 222.6mm. This provided for a challenging season for the Northern Tasmanian potato farmers,
• Water management is essential to minimise tuber problems. Maintaining a moist soil in the ridge at tuber initiation can minimise scab development. Later in the season, excessive water around the tuber encourages powdery scab and lenticel growth.

• Significant increases in return ($), incremental revenue ($), yield (tons), GM improvement ($) & outstanding ROI have already far exceeded the desired objectives of this trial,
  • The farmer harvested 9 Ha in May 2020 which produced an exceptional 89 tons per Ha; a 44% improvement on the prior year. The average for a good harvest (Russet Potatoes) in Tasmania is 50-60 ton per Ha which he even exceeded after only the initial program application & all in very challenging weather conditions,
• Yield & return ($) per Ha has seen a YoY increase of 44%,

• In Year 1 (Y1), the cost of the Bactivate 5 Program represented a minimal 2.1% of annual return ($), further diminishing to 1.5% in Year 2 (Y2) due to the signficant yield increase in the second year,
• The Bactivate 5 Program cost represents a very small proportion of total input costs at c. 2.9%,
• Total input costs for Y1 & Y2 were constant; in Y1 they represented 71% of return, reducing to 49.6% of return in Y2

• GM ($) in Y2 equates to $15,698 per Ha or $141,282k
• For the harvest ROI: Y1: 48:1, Y2: 69:1

• As the harvester was pulling the potatoes, the field Rep and the farmer counted over 40 worms per m2 behind the harvester. This was something that they had never seen prior to this harvest.
• When asked about his view so far re The Bactivate 5 Program, the farmer, who also applied the program to his dairy pasture and hemp crop, stated “These are the best crops I’ve ever grown and I’m over $300,000 up on previous years with some changes to fertiliser and the addition of The Bactivate 5 Program”