The Wine Blokes

By Jon F.

During my first nights sleep in the Smithbrook house 4 weeks ago, I was awoken and a little alarmed by a glowing, pulsating red light just outside the bedroom window.  On further investigation, I was relieved to find that it was the hatchery for the 100’s of guniea fowl chicks that roam the vineyard feeding on garden weavils and other distructive pests.

 Smithbrook first introduced chickens and guniea fowl into the vineyard after garden weavil were becoming distructive.  In the past, as with many vineyards, chemical insecticides would have been used. The environmental footprint that Smithbrook now employs ensures that chemical sprays are kept to an absolute minimum, if not removed all together.  

There has been a huge demand for guinea fowl, and consequently the price had increased substantially, so Smithbrook took the next step and started started hatching them themselves.

 

For me, this is the ultimate implementation of biological control in agriculture. Many companies can claim to have environmental policies, but many just don’t stack up.  I also love the irony. The damage and distruction caused by weavils, who feed on the leaves and canes of grapevines, had decreased significantly since the introduction of guinea fowl, and the cost of doing more than halved.