A Red Centre cattle station is cropping across 80 acres and a new trial of garlic could be the tip of the iceberg in terms of farm diversification and expansion.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 3 minutes 15 seconds 3 m 15 s Wally Klein from Orange Creek cattle station said the country is perfect for expanding their cropping business. ( Nathan Coates ) Download 1.5 MB

The three-acre garlic research project is aimed at increasing the number of products grown on the property.

Wally Klein from Orange Creek Station said the work was also about improving the value of their cropping enterprise.

"A friend of mine from Adelaide has grown garlic for a few years and he's looking for some fresh ground," he said.

"And it seems to be quite expensive in the shops.

Wally Klein is keen to expand his cropping enterprise. ( ABC Rural: Nathan Coates )

"It's all new to me and hopefully we can get through this research phase to a position where we can make some money."

Mr Klein said the garlic crop looked good but at the stage his inexperience was keeping him in the dark to some extent.

He said the farm continued to produce lucerne and had done since 1980.

"We also grow sorghum and oats and will try wheat through the winter," he said.

Expansion potential very real

Mr Klein said there was room for another pivot at the existing lucerne farm and that adjacent to the Orange Creek homestead there was room for another 10 irrigation pivots.

"And as you go down the High River, the sky's the limit," he said.

Lucerne is traditionally what has been grown on Orange Creek cattle station south of Alice Springs ( ABC Rural: Nathan Coates )

"There is an amazing amount of beautiful river flats that are available for farming.

"We've also got an application in for a little bit more water so we will see how we go."

Mr Klein said that reducing the cost of fertiliser was key to the farm's viability because of transport costs.

"The main reason we've set up our spelling yards is so that we can collect the manure, compost it and use it for fertiliser," he said.