AT A GLANCE
Growers: Turf NT, Gavin and Lauren Howie
Property: 785 Anzac Parade, Middle Point NT
Focus: Making sure Turf NT is document compliant and not just physically compliant.
Market: Sporting grounds and residential. Grows Empire Zoysia, Nara Native Zoysia, Jari Blu Zoysia, Greenless Park Couch, Kings Pride Soft Leaf Buffalo, Tropical Buffalo/Couch mix – Carpet Grass, Zoysia matrella – Shadetuff and Paddy Turf – E19.
Above: The Turf NT farm is located at Middle Point, Nothern Territory.
Less than 10-months ago Northern Territory (NT) turf grower, Gavin Howie had his life turned completely upside down following a serious farm accident where his lost both legs. Today, thanks to the amazing support from his family, friends and the turf community, Gavin is returning back to his turf life. Katie Fisher explains how now he has another mission – to be a strong farm safety advocate and remind his fellow growers why it is important to understand everything about Work Health and Safety.
Six years ago, Gavin Howie, and wife Lauren, decided to move into turf production. Gavin was not new to the farming game as he had grown-up on a large pastoral operation 100 kilometres (km) outside of Darwin.
Setting the scene
As many farming families can understand, when children are involved in succession planning there is much to be decided. With Gavin not wanting to see the farm divided-up he made the bold decision to move into another agricultural enterprise – turf farming.
Gavin didn’t make the decision lightly and for three years searched for the appropriate turf site in the Northern Territory.
“My parents were good advocates about doing things properly, so I knew in order to get into this industry I had to do the hard yards,” Gavin explained.
“So, whenever I was on holidays say in Western Australia or Queensland – I would visit turf farms and pick the brains out of the growers. Terry Anderlini from Tropical Lawns at Cairns was a terrific mentor.”
The search finally ended with Gavin and Lauren purchasing Turf NT, a 65-hectare (ha) property located 67km south-east of Darwin at Middle Point.
And thanks to his vast research, today Gavin is associated with turf farms Australia-wide, gaining valuable information and creating alliances in the Turf Industry.
“Growers in the turf industry have only been too eager to offer advice and assistance with tested varieties of turf, such as Nara Native Zoysia, and their production, we really do have the advantage of learning from other people’s mistakes,” he said.
“We use tested practices and purchase only the most reliable and efficient equipment on the market.”
With the research completed and the farm purchased Gavin was able to establish a professional business that hit the ground running from day one. Today Turf NT has 17ha’s of turf, with varieties being; Empire Zoysia, Greenless Park Couch, Tropical Buffalo and Paddy Turf – ET19. The farm has also been trialling Nara Native Zoysia for the past three years to see how it suited the NT conditions and Gavin is more than impressed.
Finding a market
“When we first got into the game, the Defence Force in Darwin was building a lot of residential buildings which offered us a significant amount of work,” he said.
“But the residential market has significantly slowed down and so we now service a lot of sports grounds with Couch. In 2018, we supplied turf to three rugby ovals in Darwin. In the past, sporting grounds had to bring turf in from down south – so we saw this as an opportune time to break into this market.”
With turf having previously been brought in from the south, many businesses in and around Darwin didn’t use it because of the high cost. Gavin saw this as an ideal opportunity to break into this sector!
“The current local economy has really slowed along with residential turf demands that is why we are now concentrating on big jobs such as sporting grounds,” Gavin said.
…thanks to his vast research, today Gavin is associated with turf farms Australia-wide, gaining valuable information and creating alliances in the Turf Industry.
Gavin has just bought a Top Maker to assist with sports ground turf renovations as well as onfarm as turf grows very fast in the north. “It’s a great heavy-duty mower which works well for removing unwanted surface matter such as thatch and weeds,” he added.
With the Nara Zoysia trials now complete Gavin is keen to get the variety into the residential and/or commercial market due to its low watering requirements and drought tolerance.
“Darwin homeowners love their turf yards but need a variety that is viable and can cope with our harsh NT conditions,” he said.
Onfarm management
Back on the farm, NT Turf is well equipped to irrigate the 17ha’s of turf with two inground bores.
In terms of management, the warm, humid conditions have the turf growing at a faster pace than most farms down south. In fact, Gavin said they use a lot of Primo Turf Growth Regulator to slow down the growth.
“The wet seasons are the worst and when it is humid, we could be mowing every second day,” he said.
Gavin said all the paddocks were well-drained to enable them to manage during the wet. And because of the wet there is a lot of leaching which means a “…fair bit of fertiliser is used”.
“Soil-wise we have red loam which is a lot poorer than what the growers have down south, so I try to get a lot of organic matter back into the soil following harvest.”
As a value-add to his business Gavin also runs a cattle feedlot. Having come from a large cattle property it allows him to still indulge in one of his favourite enterprises outside of turf.
Above: Gavin and Lauren Howie back on the farm and happy to be back at work.
A life-changing experience
Fast forward to January 12 of this year. Gavin was busy finishing off the mowing before planning to head off on his annual family holiday to Perth. Lauren and their two children were already in Perth awaiting his arrival the next day, his birthday. But he never made it.
On reflection, Gavin cannot remember the morning of the accident or anything until the ambulance arrived. He woke up and was told he was in a critical condition at the Royal Darwin Hospital and had lost both legs. After spending time in the ICU he was transferred to Sydney for further surgery and to receive prosthetic limbs.
“The brain is an amazing organ, as it’s probably a good thing I don’t remember the accident, the memories would be too painful,” Gavin said.
Gavin stresses that he doesn’t dwell on what happened because he knows how very lucky he is to be alive. In fact, the Doctors mentioned that he was in the two per cent of people that actually survived an accident like his.
“Returning to the farm was never a question,” Gavin stressed. “It was just when.”
Family and friends say it has been his friendly cheeky sense of humour that has carried him through the last nine months. For Gavin, it has been the incredible support of his friends and family that has continued to spur him on and inspired him to go back to the farm.
“Returning to the farm was never a question,” Gavin stressed. “It was just when.”
Today Gavin is back where he wants to be – on the farm and with his family. He still has a long way to go but is determined through rehabilitation to move forward and make his two new prosthetic legs work. He even jokes that he will be a bit shorter!
The life changing event has now left Gavin wanting to be an advocate for farm safety and assist his fellow growers.
“While onfarm we had all the correct farm gear in order and had done all the farm safety training, we were missing a lot of paperwork. This being the case meant dealing with the aftermath of the accident so much harder for Lauren,” he explained.
“We were flat-out keeping up to date with paperwork as well as me having operations and Lauren trying to play wife, mum and farm manager.
“While onfarm we had all the correct farm gear in order and had done all the farm safety training, we were missing a lot of paperwork. This being the case meant dealing with the aftermath of the accident so much harder for Lauren…”
“I can’t stress enough to every turf grower in Australia that farm safety is vital but so is all the paperwork associated with farm safety as well as being heavily insured in the likelihood of a serious accident.
“If you are directors of your farm, remember you are not covered under workers compensation.”
Gavin added that even with one worker on the farm there still needed to be farm safety policies in place.
“Yes, it is hard when you are a small entity because there is lots of red tape – but even though you are small you still must comply with all the Worksafe Laws,” he said. Worksafe Laws,” he said.
In signing off, Gavin Howie has a message for his fellow turf growers – get on the web and find out what your state’s WorkSafe laws are and what you are required to abide by.
Above: Gavin and Lauren Howie with their children and friends at a recent local fundraiser.“Find someone who can come onfarm and help you move forward if you don’t comply,” he added.
“The best way to be proactive is to ask a Worksafe officer to visit your farm – in the long term this will be a help rather than a hindrance.
“Trust me … having this accident has seen my family and my business suffer. So be prepared for the unexpected no matter how bad it may be.”
Addendum
Following Gavin’s accident, many community bodies raised money to help with his rehabilitation and costs. Last May, the TurfBreed grower community raised $35,000 at the Conference Charity Auction to give to Gavin for his recuperation.
“I thought Steve (TurfBreed’s managing director) was joking when he told me how much was raised,” Gavin said.
“It goes to show how tight knit a community the turf growers are – it also goes to show how TurfBreed has bought us all together to be better than ever before!”