Crackpots Rural
Victorian Compliant Orchard Netting Structures
Building a permanent orchard structure with 5mm Netting
Victoria now requires all netted orchard structures to comply with new regulations.
These regulations aim to protect small mammals, birds, and especially bats. Animals were becoming trapped in netting meant to protect crops. This often happened when the netting was loosely draped or had a larger mesh size.
From now on, all netting in non-commercial or household orchards must have an aperture of less than 5mm. This measurement should be taken along each side of the mesh when it’s pulled tight.
Do the regulations apply to me?
The Department of Agriculture hasn’t provided specific definitions for “household,” “hobby farm,” or “commercial operation.” Instead, the Tax Office rules apply. If you grow fruit as a business, the 5mm mesh rule does not apply to you.
If you don’t grow fruit as a business, any netting you use must meet the new standards for Victorian orchard netting.
This includes both temporary throwover netting and netting used in permanent orchard structures.
Bird netting with a Frame
Currently, we use 1 ¼” netting in our EZBuild structure kits. Unfortunately, this netting is too large to meet the new regulations.
Netting is typically measured two ways: knot-to-knot and side-to-side. For our current netting, the knot-to-knot distance is 1 ¼”. Each side of the mesh measures 15mm.
The new regulations require a 5mm measurement on each side of the mesh. This is less than half an inch mesh-to-mesh. Tiny!
Our 1 ¼” netting has several benefits that make it ideal for permanent orchard structures:
- Damage-Resistant: – the netting we use is knotted not knitted. The knotted design limits damage. If the netting tears, the break will only extend to the next knot, preserving the rest of the section.
- Durability: Made with 400 denier, 6-ply UV-stabilized twine, this netting lasts longer. We back it up with a ten-year pro-rata guarantee.
- Easy to Work With: This netting is simple to tension, creating a strong and long-lasting orchard structure ideal for protecting your fruit crops.
We are working with our suppliers to source a compliant 5mm netting.
We’re looking for something that won’t harm wildlife, will protect your edible crops, and still offer the same durability as our current product. It must also be easy to install.
Bat-Friendly Orchard Netting
We are still sourcing the right netting to meet Victorian regulations.
Our goal is to create a 5mm netting that matches the quality of our current product. This ensures strength and durability.
We also want the new netting to integrate seamlessly with our EZBuild installation system.
It’s essential that the 5mm netting can be pulled taut across the orchard structure. A taut net greatly reduces the risk of animal entanglement.
We recommend that orchard structures sit one meter above the canopy of fruit trees. This design minimizes the incentive for bats or birds to land on the netting and accessing the fruit.
For more information about our product range, feel free to contact us by email or phone.
If you’d like to know more, please email or call us.
