In Australia's renowned Barossa Valley wine region, a renowned vineyard has long adhered to organic farming practices. However, the high cost of commercial organic fertilizers was a constant challenge. Furthermore, the vineyard produced a large amount of underutilized prunings and fallen leaves each year. Therefore, they decided to build their own powdered organic fertilizer production line.
The vineyard had specific requirements: the production line needed to process prunings, fallen leaves, and sheep manure from the vineyard's own flock, with a daily output of 8 tons. The fertilizer needed to be rich in potassium and trace elements to meet the nutritional needs of grapes. Furthermore, given Australia's strict environmental regulations, the production line had to have comprehensive dust and odor control measures.
We customized a production line that meets Australian standards. Prunings are first pulverized into small pieces in a wood chipper. Then, they are mixed with fallen leaves and sheep manure in a horizontal mixer in a specific ratio. The mixed material is fed into a drum fermenter, which rotates continuously to ensure adequate air contact. The fermentation process is controlled by a computer system that automatically adjusts temperature and humidity. After fermentation, the material is dried in a heat pump dryer, which is energy-efficient and environmentally friendly and meets Australia's strict energy efficiency standards. It is then ground into powder in a crusher and, after passing inspection, packaged into 25 kg bags.
In the 10 months since this production line was put into operation, the vineyard has produced 2,400 tons of organic fertilizer. Applying this fertilizer to 1,000 mu (approximately 1,000 acres) of vineyards has significantly improved soil structure, resulting in plumper grapes, higher sugar content, and enhanced flavor. Winemakers report that the wines produced from these grapes have improved in quality and have received acclaim at international wine competitions. The vineyard manager calculated, "By producing our own fertilizer, we save $300,000 annually in fertilizer procurement costs and have increased wine sales revenue by 15%."
