Australian Farmer Of The Year 2016 Winners

From Our Farm To Your Garden

The team at Rocky Point Mulching is proud to announce that the Keith Family has taken out the prestigious Australian Farmer of the Year title for 2016. In what could be considered a challenging time for cane farmers in the Northern Gold Coast area, with talks of urban development and the unsustainability of the industry, this is a true achievement.

The award was announced as part of a ceremony held at Parliament House, Canberra on Thursday 10th November 2016, proudly accepted by Matthew Keith, General Manager and caps a busy year for the third-generation family owned and operated business, Rocky Point Mulching, which focuses on environmental sustainability, renewable resources and recovery development.

Rocky Point Mulching is aiming to position themselves among the leaders in sustainable practices, in both agriculture and manufacturing. Starting out as humble sugar cane farmers, the Keith family diversified farming practices to include the production of organic, recycled garden mulch. This flagship product, sugar cane mulch, is the go-to organic garden mulch for Australian home gardeners. The previous alternative in sugar cane farming was the burning of the leaf which was considered a waste product. This new process of keeping the leaf reduces impact on the environment and increases the value of the crop, which benefits local cane growers in the Northern Gold Coast, Northern New South Wales and Bundaberg/Isis region. This significantly adds to the viability of the sugar cane farming industry, with over one million bags produced and sold annually.

Early 2016 saw the commencement of a new division, Rocky Point Recycling, an urban resource recovery business, salvaging waste timbers to create garden mulches thus reducing landfill. Rocky Point Mulching is constantly innovating with product updates, improvements and certifications to the home and professional gardening range under the Rocky Point Mulching brand. This brand now covers a full range of feeder and decorative mulches, along with potting mixes, garden soils, sands and animal bedding.

From the early days of sugar cane farming under the watchful eye of Alexander and Phyllis Keith, the Rocky Point Mulching farming enterprise has always been owned and operated by family members. Today, 13 members of the family work full-time within the business.

The Australian Farmer of the Year award recognises the farmer who has stood above their peers in the field of agriculture. The Australian Farmer of the Year is awarded to those farming individuals who demonstrate innovation, professionalism and a determination to succeed. They show a strong contribution to the overall success of agriculture in Australia.