Stuart Mackenzie vividly remembers his family's property being inspected to gain its organic status back in 1996.
The 100,000-hectare property, 90 kilometres west of Eromanga in Queensland's far west, was one of the first in the outback to do so.
"I remember the first inspector found the whole thing quite confronting actually," Mr Mackenzie recalled.
"Before that, it was really little farms down on the coast that were doing some organic.
"It was a big learning curve for everyone."
At the time, the property had also been involved in gas exploration and fracking for almost 30 years, with its first well built in 1967.
More risks with gas exploration
While people could be forgiven for thinking the two were not compatible to operate on the same property, organic certifier NASAA Certified Organic (NCO) said it was more common than most people thought.
Certification officer Wambui Gikenye said, while it was possible to do both, the risks were higher on properties where there was gas exploration.
"We understand why people would think those two things cannot coexist," she said.
"There is no one size fits all; it's a case-by-case basis.
"But there will be additional risks that need to be addressed."
Ms Gikenye said fracking and gas exploration activities on a property would most likely mean there were bigger exclusion areas within a property.
"We look at any surrounding activities … and how those activities would affect the organic integrity of the farm," she said.
"In this case, we would exclude certain areas … so you'd only be certifying the productive area and you'd have larger buffer zones.
"There shouldn't be any specific concerns for fracking than [there are with] your neighbour growing crops and spraying all the time.
"It's all about managing the risks."
Industry impacts misunderstood
For Mr Mackenzie, gas exploration had become a normal part of running his property.
"That's never been a problem," he said.
"At the end of the day, they're just someone who comes onto your property. It's no different to trucks moving stock or contractors coming on.
"They know we're organic ... they've been excellent."
This year, graziers and traditional owners in the Channel Country expressed their concerns over the future of their local organic beef industry if gas exploration continued in the area.
Mr Mackenzie said there was often a misconception about gas companies not taking care of the land they were on, but he said that had not been his experience.
"They fence off the areas they're drilling," he said.
"They're so regulated and that's what people don't realise … they're much more regulated than what a grazing property is.
"I get that people worry about what they don't know about, but just look at the facts.
"We've had this industry here for so long and we just haven't had any issues with it."
