Australian Horticulture Grower Reduces Bird Presence By Up To 90%

Gazzola Farms installed the laser bird deterrent in 2018, and a few months later, decreased bird presence by up to 90%.

Delft, the Netherlands, January 14th, 2020 - Gazzola Farms located in Melbourne, Australia, deployed the laser bird deterrent in 2018 to effectively solve bird damage to their celery and lettuce crops. They experienced a significant 90% bird reduction on their farm.

Gazzola Farms is one of the leading vegetable growing operations in Australia. Since 1932 they have been an Australian family-owned and operated company. They focus on providing a variety of lettuce, celery, and Asian greens to sell across Australia. Based on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, Gazzola Farms harvests their crops all year round, which in turn invites intruders onto the farm. The most problematic uninvited guests are wood ducks.

Currently, Dean Gazzola and his brother Alex Gazzola manage over 500 acres in Boneo, Victoria. With the large potential crop yield, the threat of wood ducks increased and they would frequently find 20-30 ducks per field, with the lettuce and celery destroyed. This meant that overnight Gazzola Farms would lose a couple of hundred dollars worth of lettuce as a consequence of ducks foraging. As a result of the severe damage to their crops by the wood ducks, they began the search for a cost and time-effective solution.

The limitations of the traditional bird control methods were not appealing to Gazzola Farms. They attempted to scare birds away with scare guns, but this created a noise disturbance for neighboring properties. Visual methods were not successful as a permanent solution to deter the birds either, as the birds quickly became accustomed to them.

Rapid and effective results from laser bird deterrent

After some time spent searching for an effective solution, Gazzola Farms found the automated laser bird deterrent through E.E. Muir & Sons (an Australian partner of Bird Control Group, manufacturer of the laser bird repellents). Australian owned since 1927, E.E Muir & Sons’ focus is to help Australian Growers with a range of products and services that will keep Agricultural industries flourishing.

The AVIX Autonomic Mark II is a fully automated laser bird deterrent device and the essence of the solution lies in the projection of a laser beam that effectively spooks birds without hurting them. As the green laser beam moves towards the birds they disperse from the area within seconds. According to AVIX Autonomic's exclusive Australian distributor, E.E.Muir & Sons, “Birds see the laser beam differently than humans, we see it as a point of light, but birds see the whole beam. They perceive it as a solid object, like a stick of light, which triggers the danger aspect instinctively and they feel they’re under attack, therefore, this causes them to leave the area.”

After a few months of deploying the laser bird deterrent device, results were seen immediately by Gazzola Farms. They achieved a 90% reduction in bird presence. Dean Gazzola admits, “We are extremely happy with the system, and I would definitely recommend it to my neighbors as it is easy to use and extremely user-friendly. We will continue to get more until all parts of the farm are covered.” Watch a video testimonial of Gazzola Farms here.

Australian vegetable industry suffers from bird damage

Almost 90% of all fresh vegetables stocked at Australian supermarkets are grown in Australia. Australian vegetable growers produce a wide range of vegetable crops for commercial sale to meet the demands of the market. As a result of meeting the market demands, vegetable production in 2018 was the sixth-highest valued agricultural industry in Australia. The gross value of vegetable production increased in 2018 by 5% to 4.1 billion Australian dollars[1].

One of the biggest issues faced by horticultural operations across Australia is crop damage caused by birds. It's a problem that effectively wipes out thousands of dollars of revenue from farms every year.

According to the Australian Department of Agriculture[2], there are at least 60 different bird species, which are known to feed on and damage horticultural crops. With each species possessing marked differences in feeding strategies and movement patterns, getting rid of each and every one of them is a challenging task.

About Bird Control Group

Bird Control Group provides innovative solutions to keep birds at a distance from commercial activities, ensuring a safer working environment and a highly effective way of damage prevention.

Bird Control Group serves customers in aviation, agriculture, industry, oil & gas, recreation, and real estate. Customers include Shell, Total, and Syngenta. Bird Control Group operates in more than 90 countries worldwide with offices in the United States and the Netherlands.

About E.E Muir & Sons

E.E Muir & Sons have been an Australian owned company since 1927. E.E Muir & Sons’ focus is on providing superior services and products to increase farmers’ and Australian growers’ profitability while simultaneously protecting the environment.

About Gazzola Farms 

Gazzola Farms has been part of the vegetable industry for 3 generations and has been growing at current locations on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula since 1992. Their mission is to grow and market high-quality products to local, interstate, and export markets all year round. Ensuring that they cater successfully to a customer's specific requirements.

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