Last week it was broccoli, today it's brussels sprouts — the powered vegetable trend is making an impact with farmers considering it the way of the future, and cutting down on waste.

After several decades as a market gardener, Quentin Bland felt it was time to try something different.

Our best stories in your inbox Subscribe to Rural RoundUp: Get our best stories from rural and regional Australia every Friday.

"I went into a health food shop a couple of years ago and saw all these powder products and thought 'why aren't we doing something like that?'" he said.

Mr Bland continues to grow broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts on his farm but these days, rather than being sold to supermarkets, it is more likely it will be crushed and turned into powder.

Quentin and his wife Lesley have built a production shed on their property at Kirkconnell in central west New South Wales.

They believe they have created a world first — an organic farm where vegetables are grown, crushed, turned into powder and packaged on the farm.

"The markets require high quality of vegetables, there's always a lot of waste, so we decided we might try another outlet for the waste products," Mr Bland said.

"The stalk and leaf on a broccoli are high in nutrients, but are often thrown away."

Broccoli powder in coffee is proving to be a popular use of dehydrated vegetables. ( ABC Central West: Luke Wong )

Capitalising on superfood trend

Noting a rising consumer demand for broccoli, the Blands felt that it would be the perfect place to start.

"With broccoli being the rage as the new 'superfood', why not dehydrate it and turn it into powder?" Mr Bland said.

The Blands purchased a low temperature dehydrator where the crushed vegetables spend up to 14 hours before being turned into powder form.

"Most vegetables are about 90 per cent water, which the dehydration process removes while retaining the nutritional value," Mr Bland said.

The CSIRO is currently trialling broccoli powder as an alternative source of nutrients, with some people using it in their coffees.

"It can add extra protein and energy to smoothies, can be disguised in pasta sauces for children, and it's being trialled being mixed into homemade bread," Ms Bland said.

"My favourite way of using the powder is in miso soup — it's like a nutrition bomb!"

The Blands said that diversifying their farming operation may also encourage their three sons to consider moving back from the city and one day take over running the operation.

"We hadn't even thought about the idea five years ago, but if it goes well, we'd expect to turn as much as 90 per cent of our vegetables into powder," Mr Bland said.

Nutrition value in vegetable powder

While CSIRO scientists are enthusiastic about the potential uses of vegetable powders, some nutritionists urge caution about the move to dehydration.

Broccoli powder is being trialled in a range of food products including bread, guacamole and banana bread. ( ABC Central West NSW: Renata Gombac )

"Freeze-drying is an efficient food process that does overall maintain good nutritional value in the food, excepting that there is a small loss of water-soluble vitamins, such as Vitamin C," Nutrition Australia dietician Aloysa Hourigan said.

"Having said that, one teaspoon of broccoli powder will only provide you with an eighth of a serve of vegetables."

But could serving vegetables in powder form be useful in helping to improve nutritional intake — particularly for children who are fussy eaters?

"Yes and no," Ms Hourigan said.

"You might improve nutritional intake but you might also put at risk the opportunity for children to understand and experience food as it truly is.

"If parents were to rely on this as 'the way' to enable children to eat enough vegetables, you would be decreasing a child's opportunity to chew vegetables — which is important for the development of teeth, jaw and tongue muscles, and therefore speech development."

Export opportunities for powder

The NSW Department of Industry believes there is an overseas market for Australian vegetable powder.

"This is a very new process: to have a low-temperature organic processing plant set up on a farm that allows the vegetable to retain its nutritional value," Brent Bannister, export advisor with the department, said.

"It's really going to be of interest to a lot of export markets.

"Governments around the world are reacting to the obesity epidemic by encouraging healthy eating.

"Australia is seen around the world as being a clean, green supplier with Australian product being sought out."