BFA celebrates a milestone
THE Biological Farmers (BFA) was started by a group of dedicated biodynamic and organic farmers as a means of supporting and promoting organic farming and processing. It was a time when organic and biodynamic farmers were far more the minority than they are now.
“Organics is now mainstream,” said Holly Vyner, General Manager, BFA.
“Total retail value in Australia further to publication of the 2012 BFA commissioned Australian Organic Market Report was tipped to reach A$1B before the end of 2010, an unprecedented mark.
“BFA is the ‘voice of Australian organics’, not-forprofit group representing the lion’s share of industry from farm to fork.
“The BFA is best known for its Australian Certified Organic “Bud” logo which won the Choice award for Best Food Endorsement Program in 2010 for transparency, recognition and trust,” continued Ms Vyner. “It is the most recognised symbol by consumers guaranteeing the organic integrity of foods, fibres and other products in Australia.” THE first and founding chairman of BFA was Gavin Dunn from Four Leaf Milling in South Australia.
“We were a small minority but the climate was very good. We had a lot of involvement with governments and that part was very gratifying.
“We got off to a very good start with a field day of 1,200 people and the farmers involved were all pretty successful which helped our standing in the community.”
BFA didn’t start as a certifying organisation; its initial aim was to help farmers, until people started to expect more from it.
The tradition of the BFA’s well recognized biological farming roadshow started 25 years ago when BFA brought experts from the United States for lecture tours, lifting BFA’s profile and giving it financial backing.
Gavin feels organic farmers back then were different than todays’, who are more motivated by financial reasons.
He says, “Those early days of BFA were a fantastic period, the camaraderie. We had seven directors and there was plenty of social activity.”
The original BFA directors were: Robin Curtis of ‘The Oaks’ in Milmerran QLD; Arthur Dakin (Secretary/Treasurer) of ‘Wirrena’ in Nyngan NSW; Gavin Dunn (Chair) of ‘Four Leaf’ in Tarlee SA; John Greenwood of ‘Mahonga’ in Cobram VIC; Graham McNally of ‘Kialla’ in Greenmount QLD; Bernie Von Pien of ‘Herewood’ in Dalby QLD; and David Williams of ‘Demeter’ in Breeza NSW.
“From memory our initial standards were only a few sheets of paper printed both sides,” recalls Gavin Dunn. “This soon changed.
“As our certification program progressed it was the knowledge and ability of David Williams that truly developed this side of the BFA.”
Doug Haas is an organic vegetable grower in Queensland who took the Chair in 1997 and remained in the position until the AGM earlier this year (2013).
He says, “The BFA represents both organic and biodynamic farmers and hence the broader term ‘biological farmers’ was chosen as the group’s name to promote a simple message that such farmers were using natural methods, not synthetic or unnatural methods to produce their food for consumers.”
“My policy is simple. Organics has to be commercially viable. If it’s not it will never be able to grow.
“It has to be viable to make the industry sustainable and attract proven successful producers and processors. To do that BFA supplys a whole range of excellent services: education, standards and publicising organics.” DAVID Bruer, of Temple Bruer, was the negotiations officer with the Organic Vignerons Association of Australia when BFA approached him with an offer to merge. His business Temple Bruer was propping up the association and he was concerned it couldn’t go on.
He quotes Winston Churchill from December 7, 1941 when describing how he felt when the Vignerons board accepted the offer: “I slept the sleep of the grateful and saved that night.
“It was the first time I’d slept properly in a long, long time.”
David insisted the word ‘organic’ remain in the title, hence the birth of Australian Certified Organic.