From fields of yellow flowers to WA’s top end restaurants, BLOCK 275 makes its mark

Turning an idea into reality can be held back by invisible barriers — it might be a fear of failure, or the thought the timing is wrong and not everything is quite aligned. While some producers consider value-adding a way to diversify their core agricultural business, it is not the path for everyone. For farming couple Fiona and Liam Mann, bridging the divide between paddock and plate has opened a world of opportunity. Fiona and Liam produce their own branded cold pressed, non-genetically modified canola oil, BLOCK 275, which is grown then pressed and packaged at their North Eradu property in WA’s Mid West. Fiona said it was consecutive hard seasons in 2018 and 2019 that gave them the push needed to get BLOCK 275 up and running. Four years on, and admittedly still in the foundational years, the couple are starting to see the fruits of their labour. Their success includes a growing following of enthusiastic supporters with users in high end restaurants across WA and one outlet in Melbourne. BLOCK 275 is marketed as boasting many health benefits including having the lowest saturated fats of all dietary fats and is distinctly different to other canola oil in both flavour and colour. Its high smoke point (212C) makes it extremely versatile and suitable for everything from salad dressings to high heat barbecues. The product’s main point of difference is the lack of processing: while commercial canola oil is highly refined (using heat and chemicals to process it), the Manns simply press, filter and package. Fiona said they were on a mission to challenge consumers with a completely new take on a kitchen staple. BLOCK 275 can now be found in a growing number of retail outlets in Perth, the Mid West, the Wheatbelt and South West, and ordered directly online. But the value-adding venture was no overnight success. The Manns’ 1000ha property Midoxgate includes a total arable cropping area of 678ha — small in comparison to other Mid West cropping enterprises. Fiona’s parents own the property, which they bought opportunistically as an addition to their main farm at Pindar, east of Mullewa. Fiona and Liam have been leasing Midoxgate since 2015 and have focused on building up their own plant and equipment to grow a mixture of crops, while also developing their harvest and spray contracting business. Their cropping rotation includes wheat, canola and lupins; however, the grain and contracting income streams are both hugely reliant on seasonal constraints which can create a high level of risk. BLOCK 275 was developed as a third income stream and inspired by the success of Liam’s mate’s cold pressed rapeseed oil business “back home” in Scotland. “Liam had gone home to Scotland in 2016 to visit his family and it was during this visit he started having a closer look at what the Mackenzie family was doing with value-adding,” Fiona explained. “After Liam explored the mechanics of what was involved, he came home convinced this was something we could be doing with the canola we produced on our farm.” The inspiration sparked the investment in a German press and filter, which arrived in 2017. The equipment sat dormant while the Manns invested further in developing their facilities including buying shipping containers, laying concrete and installing electricity. It was two consecutive dry seasons and fluctuating grain prices that pushed the family to prioritise the planning and eventual launch of BLOCK 275 in 2020. The marketing side of the business is Fiona’s domain. A self-confessed perfectionist, she said she was initially nervous about this part of the process and put a lot of time and thought into getting it right. Taking part in a business course for women called Elevate, which is co-funded by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, helped alleviate some of these fears and provided networking opportunities. Fiona said the course guided her through important decisions to create a marketing plan, develop key performance indicators and strengthen the brand. While outsourcing marketing is an option for value-adding paddock-to-plate businesses, Fiona said she wanted to learn herself what was involved. This meant a hands-on approach to designing the logo, packaging, website and social media, as well as a focus on face-to-face marketing at food and agriculture events. Fiona said the first step was developing the logo, which was inspired by the business’s core mission of producing a provenance-based product. The name BLOCK 275 is the Midoxgate block number and the logo depicts an aerial view of the property with the Greenough River meandering through. Next, they selected the right packaging to convey quality and differentiate the product from others such as olive oil and commercial canola oil. “We knew it needed to be different to olive oil but still wanted to use dark glass bottles to protect the oil; this is why we went with the amber coloured bottles and no plastic,” Fiona said. “We also package larger quantities of our oil in tins.” Educating consumers about what is different about their oil has also been a big part of the process of building a presence in the market. Fiona said being an accredited Buy West Eat Best member had helped them connect directly with the food service industry and retail outlets, as well as attending foodie events such as Farmer on a Plate, Meet the Buyer and Plating up WA. Regularly attending markets and trade shows was an important way of connecting with consumers, as well as being available for media engagements and speaking events. Developing relationships with individual chefs was another key aspect of growing brand awareness. This included the likes of prominent WA chefs such as James Cole Bowen, who is using their oil at Gibney in south Cottesloe, and Melissa Palinkas at her east Fremantle restaurant Young George. BLOCK 275 canola oil has won silver medals at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Awards and gold at the Royal Tasmanian Fine Food Awards, while the business itself was a finalist for the 2021 Coles/Weekly Times Farmer of the Year Award and winner of the innovation category of the 2023 Syngenta Growth Awards. Most recently, BLOCK 275 was listed as a “From the Earth” section finalist in the Delicious Harvey Norman Produce Awards. Fiona said the latter was judged by some of Australia’s finest chefs who provided vital feedback and was a great opportunity to develop product visibility. Only a portion of canola grown at Midoxgate is used for the branded product, with the remainder delivered to CBH — an approach that gives the Manns the flexibility to expand BLOCK 275 as demand grows. Ultimately, they aim to reach the point where all canola grown on the property is sold as cold pressed oil. Fiona said this would require investment to expand processing capability but result in a “better budget sheet”, less susceptible to the variables of climate and a fluctuating global canola market. She encouraged any farmers thinking about producing a paddock-to-plate product to have a crack. “Don’t be afraid to do your research and ask questions,” she said. “I’ve found people are genuinely generous with their time and thoughts. Ask for help, don’t be scared to have a go.” Property Name: Midoxgate Who: Fiona and Liam Mann What: Cold pressed canola oil Where: North Eradu Land size: 678ha