November 1, 2010

TENTERDEN COMPANY TAKES OUT TOP INDUSTRY AWARD

Amongst tough competition, Tenterden-based biological fertiliser company Western Mineral Fertilisers has taken out a prestigious business award.

The group won a Western Australian Industry and Export Award, receiving the top accolade in the Innovation
Excellence category announced late last month.

Western Mineral Fertilisers (WMF) managing director and local farmer Stephen Frost said he hoped the win would help entice more farmers to look into reduced-chemical farming methods.

“We know that a farming approach which prioritises generating healthy soils by adding minerals and microbes to the soil works and can help good produce crops, even in tough years like this one,” he said.

“We are hopeful that this award will serve as an endorsement of the success we’ve been able to achieve for growers and lead to more farmers considering a biological program which can provide vital security of crops in challenging years.”

Mr Frost said the award was recognition that through research and the development of specialised fertiliser and soil microbe products, WMF had pioneered the successful development of a broad acre biological farming system.

“The products and the on-farm programs are simple and cost effective, increasing crop and pasture performance by significantly increasing the nutrient availability in the fertiliser, while giving all the side benefits of a sustainable biological system, like enhanced root development, increased carbon input and more drought resistant crops,” he said.

The Tenterden-based company sources up to 60 percent of the material for fertiliser production locally. Coordinated by the Department of Commerce, the Awards honour WA’s "best of the best" and acknowledge outstanding achievement or excellence in developing an innovative commercial product, process, service or technology.

This latest honour follows Western Mineral Fertilisers’ success in three categories of the Albany Chamber of
Commerce & Industry’s 2010 Business Awards in February. The company took out the Albany Port Authority
2010 Agribusiness Award and the Lincolns Award for Businesses with 11 to 20 employees, and jointly won the
HHG Legal Group Business of the Year Award.