We aren’t the kind of folks who make fandangled resolutions at the stroke of midnight….nope, not at all!
And we’ve no desire to wipe away 2018 either.
Yes it’s been an exciting year….2 overseas trips (unheard of for this farm-ily!), a feature on a nationally televised rural news program (Thank YOU Landline) and all of our small on farm achievements. But it’s also been the toughest year we’ve ever gone through as a family.
Farming is THE most expensive business to try and buy into
Add to the financial cost, the pressure of a warming climate and a government that really doesn’t appreciate what it takes to regenerate farm lands and we really feel like we’re pushing **it up hill some days, especially as we are both in the ‘average’ age range for farmers world wide and I can assure you that range is not in the 30’s!!
We can confidently say we’ve never worked harder in our lives, then we have this year. Physical exhaustion was a constant companion, but we both felt that if we pushed hard in this first year that it would pave the way for the years to follow.
No resolutions only a pledge
And now that we’ve reached the end of that first year, we don’t have a resolution to make …. more a pledge to you our customers and supporters and we’d love for you to make a few little pledges with us.
We pledge to push HARD to fix this farm. If….and it’s a bit IF….if we can get the ball rolling here fast enough, we are well and truly up for more land. As we continue to learn (the first of this year’s learning happens in early Jan ’19!) we can see clearly how degraded our farm lands and wider environment truly are. Sir David Attenborough isn’t exaggerating when he says we are ‘facing a man-made threat of global scale’.
The choices you make – do make a difference
“WE” …are all implicated in this. Every decision we make contributes….either to positive change or a continuation of the degradation of our planet. “YOU” are already ahead of the bell curve by being here. By buying our foods. “YOU” are with us every time we plant a tree seedling, block up a gully or move an electric fence. The food choices you make DO make a difference…don’t ever doubt that.
Our environment and the wider community need farmers like us, for the health of the land and the health of the people.
We are starting at the very bottom with this degraded farm. Soil carbon, soil fertility, soil water retention, water infiltration ….all are very poor. But with our animals well managed, composting and crop rotation we know we can improve it, which will of course benefit us, but will also boost the native plants and animal communities.
So, what’s your part?
Continue supporting us in what ever way you can. Maybe our bulk portions just don’t suit you…. frustrating I know, but you can share our posts. You can comment and like – social media needs this to make it work. You can pass our newsletters along to your friends. Pool together with a neighbour or work colleague to halve those freight costs if you do order.
Tell folks about us at your next BBQ gathering. Let them know there are crazy arsed farmers out there who are doing good things for the planet…. give them a different perspective of farmers to think about.
Help push the positive changes many farming families are making by supporting them…in what ever small way you can.