Winter hibernation? We wish!

Winter hibernation, one reason we moved to Tasmania.  Real seasons, and when you have a farm things slow down a bit in winter.  Except we only just bought our farm and there is far too much to be getting on with to spend the days sitting by the fire.  Not that we have a fire… well, until we move house next week.  Turns out the place we are living now gets pretty cold during winter, it has been 6 degrees Celsius the last few mornings, and that doesn’t make for a great environment to bring a new baby into.  And since Coreen’s parents bought a house the last time they came to visit, we are moving over there until the house on the farm is finished.  Their house has a wood fire and is better insulated, so promises a much better and warmer home environment for when the kid arrives.

On the house front, we took a bit of time to come around to it but we have now decided to convert one of the farm sheds into our new farmhouse.  It meant that we weren’t plonking a house on top of prime farming land, and will be cheaper and faster to build.  It will also be smaller, forcing us to be a bit more economical and efficient with our designs.  Planning approval has been submitted so fingers crossed that comes back soon so we can crack on.  The goal is to have the place done by the end of October for the start of the season, but since we will be living at Cor’s parents’ house there isn’t a mad rush.

Cor is doing well, getting bigger all the time.  We went out to the Apple Shed for dinner last Friday night to celebrate my last night of drinking until the baby arrives.  From now on it is action stations, the hospital bag is packed and we are ready to go, any time of the day or night.  We have prepped all the stuff for the kid, though I still think you need to be an engineer to understand modern prams.  We have the names narrowed down and have some auspicious Chinese middle names lined up too.

And the farm stuff rumbles on.  I have realised that my drive to have the big silver wattles removed and the new fence put in during April, then May, then June, may push out a bit more yet.  You can spend a few hours over a chainsaw and not make much of a dent in all the trees still growing in the way.  We will certainly have lots of firewood in a few years when it is all dry.  I have also spent a rainy day working with my new excavator, pulling out trees in a section earmarked for new fruit trees.  One of our projects is to get a bunch of different fruit varieties in and going so that in a few years we have all our own fruit on the farm (and not just 5 types of apples!).

Putting the parents to work clearing the silver wattles

We moved the pigs to a new area up by the bush as their old area was rapidly getting too wet and muddy.  They have settled in well, but Peter Pan showed us just how tough he was, ripping his new gate off the wired hinges the first day, and pulling out the gate post the next, all to get to Tinkerbell who was in season.  We had been trying to rest her before putting him back in with her but he was having none of it.  And it is hard to tell a 300kg boar with 3 inch tusks “not tonight, dear, I have a headache”.  So we now have 3 months to get her back in condition for another litter, poor girl!  The weaners are fattening nicely, and should make for great pork come spring.

The new paradise paddocks

Best view on the farm!

What am I going to do with you Pan?

We also have our first lambs.  Turns out our boy Aldo was a bit too enterprising when we first brought him onto the farm (before we could separate him) and there are now little white lambs everywhere.  It is very early to have lambs (we were planning on spring, not winter!) but we have had decent enough weather lately so hopefully they all survive and make the table on Christmas day.

Princess in doggy heaven

Nine male runner ducks were sent off to Disneyland on one very productive day, and poor 83 the cow was culled and turned into t-bones after losing her calf.  A sad day for us.  But there is a lot of meat in our two freezers!

Disneyland day for ducks

So I started this blog thinking that I would just jot a few recent events down and focus on the photos, and after a few minutes realised that there has been a heck of a lot more going on than I thought.  Perhaps the next blog post will have photos of the baby, or the new house, or the lambs, but in the meantime we keep dreaming of that winter hibernation.   With a kid?  Maybe in a year or ten!

Plus we got our very first egg!

The thing we said we’d never do…

… is get married.  We never really saw the point.  A lot of money spent on a big to-do where you don’t get to talk to your friends who come and you stress out about a bunch of stuff that doesn’t matter, and for what?  How could we be any more committed after almost 17 years?  Hell, we have a house together, and now a farm and a baby on the way.  We should be committed.  And surely it doesn’t really matter these days?

Well, just like having a baby (the other thing we said we’d never do), we caved.  We decided that an excuse to get both sets of parents together for the first time in something like 5 years was too good to pass up.  But as usual, we had to do it our own way (with a bit of prompting from Samara!).  We decided to get married on the farm by the dam, and follow it up with a barbecue reception for a few local friends in the shed.  Not a big deal.  We wouldn’t have even told people it was going to be a wedding if we knew that “just a barbecue” might not be enough to pull people out of their routines and get our parents to fly in to Tassie.

It worked out marvellously.  Mostly.  We found an old wood fired barbecue on the farm and got that going great, but when we arrived for the ceremony after heading home to get changed we found that the bottom had swung open, dumping the coals and fire onto the ground and setting fire to the grass, just outside the shed where all our guests were waiting!!!  Ross swung into action and with a bit of ingenuity from him and Roy we rescued the fire, and prevented our shed from burning down in the process.

I must confess to being a little stressed on the day.  Having both sets of parents in town and combining farm jobs with wedding preparations (sorry, barbecue preparations), and baby stuff left me feeling a bit under pressure.  But once it all started it was all good.  The ceremony lasted all of 10 minutes, one of the platypus came up to say hello, we signed the bits and pieces, had a few photos (thanks soooo much Cassy!), we walked past the pigs (as you do), and then kicked off the barbecue.

The barbecue staple was our Wiltshire lamb chops together with lamb “wedding bangers” that we made earlier in the week.  Plus we had asked everyone to bring a plate (how many weddings where you have to do that?) so the salads and desserts were well covered.  Half a dozen bottles of Ralph and Jane’s Wombat Springs Pinot Noir, plus a roaring fire on a chilly starry night, what else could you ask for at a party?

The release of the pressure got to me a little, I drank a bit of red, and then when we got home hit the Scotch with the father-in-law, so Coreen spent her first night as a married woman looking after her sick (inebriated) husband.  Begin the marriage as you mean to go on I say, not to mention that she has been doing this for years so has plenty of practice.  I must have become a bit of a lightweight since leaving London… that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.  Oh, and this story is only on the blog because Coreen has been telling it to everyone high and low and you were bound to hear it eventually anyway.

Our thoughts were with all of you who we wish could have been here.  But then we would rather see you all one-on-one anyway instead of at a big shindig, so to make up for missing our wedding you will just have to come visit instead!

So I will save the farm shenanigans for another post, now for some wedding pics!

We all start walking over to the dam for the ceremony

The ceremony

The Chinese tea ceremony (ie. serving the tea to the parents): an important part of any Chinese wedding

Ross leaps into action and saves the day (and the barbecue, and the shed!)

The barbecue back up and running, a source of warmth when the sun went down

Letter to stakeholders

Dear stakeholders,

Oh, this isn’t for me you are thinking, they must have copied the wrong thing into their blog.  Well, if you are one of “Our Mates”, then as we see it you have a stake in the farm, so you are our stakeholders.

I haven’t done one of these for a couple of years so please be patient…tongue is firmly in cheek…. OK here we go.

Since starting Our Mates’ Farm in November we have experienced a number of challenges as well as identified a number of potential sources of revenue (and fun) for future years.  The challenges that we have faced have stemmed largely from due diligence questions that were never fully answered in the acquisition process.  The main challenge, and quite frankly, disappointment, of the year to date is that Our Mates’ Farm will not be experiencing a bumper apple crop this year.  As stakeholders I am sure you will be well aware that weather conditions have combined to produce a stellar environment for apple growing, and be expecting great results and lots of work this picking season from us.  Unfortunately the neglected condition of the trees has led them to a biennial production state, and as a result we will miss out on the potential gains that this year’s weather conditions could have provided.  This biennial situation means that with careful orchard management and husbandry next year’s crop has the potential to be phenomenal, as we attempt to return the trees to annual production.  Whether weather conditions and prices will align to yield a profit for the coming year’s expected cropping remains to be seen.

The other challenges that we are facing, and are dealing with on your behalf, are related to infrastructure.  Our repairs to the irrigation pump and system are yielding benefits, and water continues to be supplied to the trees we plan to pick this year and keep for next year.  We have recently installed a large 24,000 litre reservoir tank at the top of the property and will soon connect it to our water infrastructure, allowing us to use the existing pipework to gravity feed water to every corner of the property with the turn of a tap.

The fencing of the property remains a challenge, with fences on all four sides of the property proving porous to wildlife, and occasionally Princess.  We know that adding quality fencing will improve the value of our farm, and we have therefore arranged for new fences to be installed in April.  Clearing the existing, overgrown fence lines is a challenging and time-consuming task, and the installation of new fences will be expensive, however we believe you will see the benefits of the investment when you come for a stakeholder site-visit.

The challenge posed by the sheep situation will soon be resolved, with the surplus assets disposed of and profits reinvested into ongoing activities.  All members of the Wiltshire division will be retained, with the exception of one member who is “looking tasty”.  The decision on whether or not to send kaBob to “Disneyland” is still under discussion and stakeholder opinions on this will be sought closer to the time.

In relation to the potential future revenue streams, we have been in close consultation with our apple customer in relation to identifying which varieties of both eating and cider apple would most align with their future ambitions.  The current plan is to graft up to 3 blocks of trees to desirable eating varieties this winter, and graft a number of trees in the blocks with larger rootstock to cider varieties.  A testing program on the success or otherwise of the cider grafts will determine the rollout of these varieties over the balance of the large rootstock trees over the coming years.  In the meantime efforts will be made to return the trees not being removed to annual production.  A holistic, organic program of pest management is currently being developed.

We have identified a number of potential uses for the trees we are removing, including high-value woodchips, however as commercially-sensitive negotiations are currently underway in this segment we cannot provide further specifics without compromising our first mover competitive advantage.

The livestock business is still in a fledgling stage, with our first lowline Black Angus calves expected in March, and our first litter of piglets expected the same month.  Once trees are removed work will have to be undertaken to level paddocks from their current undulating form which is suited for apple trees.  Until hay production is required this is not a pressing concern.  We have an inventory of 80 bales of hay purchased for spring as an insurance policy against our grass.  This policy had a very low purchase cost.

There are also a number of potential side-businesses that require investigation, including, but not limited to:

-  Egg production (we are waiting on the response of the bureaucrats in relation to the stamping question)

- Market gardening

- Accommodation

- Aquaculture (provided we can figure out how to stop cormorants eating the trout)

Finally, to staffing issues.  We have added two WWOOFers who are proving very useful in helping us tackle our challenges.  They are staying in the guest bedroom and Coreen is doing her best to “feed them up”.  Coreen will be leaving the farm on maternity leave in June, however we look forward to bringing our little one into the fold and getting them working for you all just as soon as we can.

Thank you all for your continued interest in Our Mates’ Farm, and with your ongoing support and assistance we can deal with the challenges we face and make our stewardship a shining example for others to follow.

The trench to connect our water tank to the orchard irrigation

Matt, Scott and Hannah (the WWOOFers) work on getting crushed rock out for the tank base

Tank is in place!

Blackberries are coming on!

New life on the farm

Some time for fishing (but no fish!)

Our Mates' Environmental Challenges

When you buy a farm, you aren't just buying the land.  You are also buying into the environmental stewardship (or otherwise) of all the previous owners.  We kind of knew this, but it wasn't until we did some digging about in those cluttered sheds, and had a really good poke around the corners of the property, that the scale of the challenges we now face became apparent.  It is certainly a good reminder that our own stewardship will be judged by the standards of our children, not our own.

5 apple bins of rubbish and counting.... someone obviously lost the directions to the dump.

Lots of stuff that we won't be needing.  Ever.  One of them even reads: Contains boron, kills bees.  I mean seriously, how messed up is that?

Got some metal to get rid of?  Just chuck it in the fire and it.... oh wait, no, it's still there.  Shit.  Should we try and burn it again?

The foundations of an old building, ripped up and piled up together where it can disappear into the grass.  Why?  Who the hell knows?

Hail to the peeps!

Hi all, Coreen here.  We’ve been a bit remiss at keeping you all up-to-date.  Sorry about that.  It really has been getting exponentially busier in our lives as we came closer to completion and then finally completed the purchase of Our Mates’ Farm.  Not just with the (extra)ordinary business of buying a farm, but we’ve been through a learning curve with our increasing livestock, our social media identity is spreading, and Matt has officially come out as a “Geeveston orchardist”.

We experienced a circle of life loop at the farm.  From having to fish out a poor drowned wallaby from the lake and burying it, to releasing a possum formerly resident in the house roofspace, to little chicks hatching out in the incubator to some pretty excited clucking by us (yes, we were clucking), to the trauma of finding one of them dead in the brooder box later that night.

  

 Education never ends, there’s always something new to learn, whether it’s great advice from a neighbour and mentor, or a more formal course we’ve signed up for.  I went to a three workshop series run by Sprout Tasmania on marketing & social media which was great, lots to think about for our own business and having met some really passionate, savvy people.  Matt had a hot time at his Intro to Welding course run by LINC Tasmania, which covered both theory and some practical welding experience.  He was disappointed that the all-day practical course was cancelled the following weekend, but will try and follow it up at a later date.

So that was Cor’s contribution to our blog – she is now off to make cheese!

We have been busily preparing our apples for our first crop.  We purchased a second hand sprayer and have been spraying approximately 3 hectares (out of our 18) with organic chemicals to reduce the incidence of powdery mildew and apple scab or black spot.  It is important to us to use organic materials, even if we aren’t necessarily certified as such.  We want every visitor to our farm to be able to walk into every corner and see nothing that would make them unhappy to buy our produce.  Using organic chemicals still requires safety gear, but they don’t make me worry about going sterile from their use!

The sprayer at work.  Check out that grass eh?

Now you all know we have Bob the lamb, and Princess the dog, but we have been making plans for more animals.  We have bought 14 purebred Wiltshire Horn sheep.  The grass is growing so fast now that on a quiet sunny day you can almost hear it, and in some places there is a danger of losing the dog, even though she is growing like a weed herself.  So we need something to get it down, and the first solution out of the gate are some sheep that we hope to strip graze with mobile electric fences.  Next step: cows!

Some of the Wiltshire horn sheep we bought.  They are lost in the grass!

The eggs also hatched in the incubator.  We started with two dozen eggs, and only had nine hatch.  Unfortunately we lost a couple in the first couple of days, and two seem to have leg issues from the incubation.  The room the incubator was in really fluctuated in temperature a lot and this seems to have affected both our success rate and the chicks themselves.  That said, we now appear to have five healthy little chicks, and two in need of physio.  Construction on their home begins soon….

The survivors!

When a physio and an OT came to visit, we put them work correcting chick gait with rubber bands....

We have had our first house guests!  Cor’s brother flew in for a night’s stay during a conference in Hobart, and I took my Belgian cousins for a four day whirlwind tour of the East coast of Tassie before coming back here for a night.  Kudos to Cor for walking to the farm in this time (35 minutes) and doing so much while I was away.  We also had Rod and Karen pop in for a day of recuperation post the Cradle Mountain track.  Lucky for them it was raining so we didn’t put them to (real) work.  Instead as a physio and OT they were perfect candidates to implement our corrective procedure for our splay-legged chicks!

Casey and I at 6 in the morning before I drove him back to Hobart for his breakfast meeting!

Mia and Luc at Port Arthur

Mia and Luc at Wineglass Bay (such a goofy shot - I had to share it!)

Us and Rod (see chick physio photo for Karen!)

In addition to working our own farm, I have been carefully crafting more “work” for myself.  You see, in a moment of frustration I started a petition regarding the new egg-stamping rules that are coming for Tasmania.  We want to sell eggs at the farmgate of our new farm and these proposed rules were going to make it uneconomic to do so.  There have been newspaper articles (in which they call me a “Geeveston Orchardist”!!), radio interviews, and 7,000 signatures so far.  I have to say that I am a bit uncomfortable as an “activist”.  They were always the most boring people at a party, just a little too earnest for my liking, and normally given a wide berth.  It would seem that I have now joined their ranks but I will at least try to talk about something else!  We are due to present the petition this week so if you want to sign up or share it (and haven’t already), it is here: https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/bryan-green-minister-for-primary-industries-and-water-exempt-small-egg-producers-from-the-new-egg-regulations

So that is my long-winded explanation as to why we haven’t been posting much.  Hope it wasn’t too boring, there has been lots to catch up on!  Until we next time, if we haven't seen you we miss you all, and hope to see you down on Our Mates’ Farm.

I know, exhausting right?

Big step, our first animals!

Since the last post we have been very busy, doing all the things that you do when are buying a farm at the end of the month.  Like pruning on these beautiful, changeable Spring days.

But we have also been doing some other things, like working for Matthew and Sadie at Fat Pig Farm, and attending Matthew's excellent book launch, complete with scrumptious food put on by Michelle and a great BBQ at Nick's place afterwards.  As you would expect, these guys know how to eat (and drink) well.  Such a great event, and a privilege to share in it.

But it has now been dwarfed by an even bigger event in the life of Our Mates' Farm.  Our first animals.

We have 2 dozen chicken eggs in an incubator, and some duck eggs about to go into an incubator of their own, but they won't hatch until the end of the month so it isn't them....

Regular followers of this blog will know about Bob, the bottle lamb we looked after while farmsitting for friends in Cygnet, and Duane and Joan brought him over today, to be our second animal.

But the first?  This beautiful girl:

We have named her Princess.  We had a whole bunch of names from myth and fable ready for her.  Names like Freya, and Sif, hell, even Xena (Warrior Princess).  But instead we end up just naming her Princess, because that what she is, a gorgeous, affectionate, calm little princess.  She is a Maremma sheepdog, and anyone who knows this breed knows that we have let ourselves in for quite a lot, but that if we look after her right, in a little while she will be looking after our farm, and all the animals that are to come.

We owe Julz and Shane from Backfatters a lot for bringing up such a wonderful puppy, plus my Mum and Dad for their help getting her to us.  We just love her to bits.

Introducing Princess and Bob to the farm, and doing some lead training.

She is a farm dog alright, sleeping under the tractor while it is being worked on!

On the home front we have been trying to become as self sufficient as we can, so have lots of cuttings of herbs from Mandy, bought our first citrus trees, Cor has successfully made yoghurt and cheese from Elsie's milk, as well as baked her first loaf of bread, and we are eating mushrooms growing on compost in the garage (and no, they aren't the "funny" kind).  It is brilliant and all happening very fast.

So for now we roll on, getting things ready to takeover the place for ourselves, enjoying great food, and trying our best to get it going.  All for Our Mates' Farm.

Taking the tractor for a drive - that brought some memories back!

First impressions

A nice day today so we spent the morning walking around the farm.  We have been to the farm a few times and are still discovering what is contained within its 79 acres!  Tomorrow we start pruning, now the real work begins....

The view over the dam to the property on our western side (that building you can see).

Looking up the orchard to the bush block.  Our property goes all the way back to the top of that ridge up in the bush.

We have leaf burst and flowering in some parts of the orchard.

Cor checking out the view from the top of the orchard.

Our bush block.  The trees are actually quite lovely...