A moment in time

Almost two years ago, we were among the first to experience long table dining at the newly opened Fat Pig Farm, run by Matthew Evans and Sadie Chrestman, at a local business dinner organised by the Kingborough & Huon Community Enterprise Centre (KHBEC). Last week we were back, for another KHBEC dinner. Paddock to plate has become a cliche these days, but you can see it with your own eyes at Fat Pig Farm. Sadie told us about the philosophy of Fat Pig Farm. It's about a moment in time: the produce harvested and cooked that day is different from any other day. It's also about community: the local producers, growers, winemakers and staff who share a love of real food, as well as the people who come together at the table to eat it. The meal was truly special, from the lemon and ginger hot toddy served on arrival to individual desserts served in glasses to make standing up and networking easy. The Fat Pig Farm team knows how to cater, that's for sure. David and I have wanted to visit for a Friday Feast for ages. We've held out, thinking that friends or family visiting from the mainland might be keen to join us, but to no avail. We'll just have to book it in for ourselves sometime.

Japanese wasabi, grown in Tasmania

On a field trip last week visiting businesses in Tasmania's north west, I saw wasabi growing for the first time and tasted the freshest possible, just picked, trimmed and grated by the founder of Shima Wasabi. Now part of The Tasmanian Food Co. group of companies, it's a fascinating business and the largest grower of Japanese wasabi in the southern hemisphere. They primarily supply fresh wasabi to high end restaurants around Australia. It is grown hydroponically in a large climate controlled greenhouse. The stems (not the roots, as widely believed) are harvested and shipped on demand direct to chefs, chilled to keep it fresh. There's little waste, as the leaves, stems and flowers can all be used as well. Currently, little of their product goes direct to consumers, although you can buy wasabi powder  to make a lovely paste from their web site. That may change, however, with new products and packaging methods currently under development.

Small Farms Expo 2017

We love going to the annual Huon Small Farms Expo out at Ranelagh. We don't have a small farm, just grow a few veggies and have a few chooks. But it's great to look at all the equipment, livestock, seed and feed available and think, "maybe one day". This year there were some great talks from experts, about everything from fencing (how to keep wallabies and possums out, and let your resident wombat in without him destroying your fence) to value-adding to farm produce (in this case, a potato grower who now supplies potato salad to the major supermarkets and makes real vodka from potatoes). Have a listen to this interview with Mark Jessop from the Huon Agricultural Society on ABC Radio's Country Hour about it: he did a great job of explaining why it's such a popular event for people in the valley and beyond. And have a look at this lovely little video from Harcourts Huon Valley showing a drone's eye view of what it looked like on the day.

Making hay

The local pet food store was apologetic. "Sorry we have had to put up the price of hay," read the sign taped to the register. "$19 a bale." It's been a terribly dry season and feed for livestock is scarce. In past years, we've been able to pick up hay for the chook shed at $5 a bale. This year, anyone with bales for sale was really "making hay", as the saying goes.

It's been very tough for farmers, not just in Tasmania. Today I read this great story about a guy from Leeton in NSW who has organised 11 volunteer convoys of road trains carrying $10 million worth of donated hay for farmers doing it tough over the past two years, simply because it was "the right thing to do". Brilliant. I hope that this year the grass will grow and feed will be plentiful. The weather man on ABC Radio's Country Hour program said last week that we're expecting "above average" rainfall in Tasmania over the next few months. I love the sight of freshly baled hay drying out in the paddocks. These ones were in a friend's field down the bottom of our road at Christmas time.

 

Diversification

Many people in Tasmania do lots of different things to make a quid. Take local Huon Valley ceramic artist and farmer of saffron, olives and lavender Lisa Britzman for example. Her business Campo de Flori (field of flowers) had an open weekend for Christmas so we took the opportunity to visit her cute Glen Huon studio yesterday. I wanted to add a few of her ceramic Christmas decorations to the tree David made from sticks this year. Aren't they beautiful? I was left amazed at what she and partner David have achieved on their land. Diversified income streams are a necessity for many and a dream for some, especially in rural areas where full time jobs are few and revenue from one line of business not enough to live on. It's great to see this talented lady making a go of it.

Show Day

This year I did not work on the Hobart Show Day public holiday. It's always a tough one, as the rest of Australia is still working and it's a busy time of year at work. But we took the day off and David and I went to the show. As I have mentioned before, I love a good agricultural show - seeing the cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, the farmyard nursery with the cute yellow ducklings, the horses and even the rabbits and cavies. We patted one of the rabbits and I think it was the softest thing I've ever touched. You can keep the dagwood dogs, the fairy floss and the showbags, but it was still an entertaining day out - although an expensive one for families. It must be said that the Woolworths fruit and vegetables display is not a patch on the one at the Sydney Royal Show and I was disappointed that the old chairlift is no longer there as that part of the showgrounds is now a big construction site. But it was a good thing to do once anyway. Some churros, hot chips and an ice cream later and it was time to go home.

Field of lambs

There is a paddock on the road between Huonville and Ranelagh (we drive past it regularly on our way out to the Summer Kitchen Bakery) that we call the 'field of lambs'. Each spring, it is dotted with ewes and their tiny lambs. So adorable.

Springtime has hit the Huon Valley and there are now 'fields of lambs' everywhere. This one in a former orchard on the banks of the Huon River contains beautiful black-faced sheep and their tiny offspring in amongst the old and dead apple trees. The sight just makes me say "awww" every time I drive past.

Went to Agfest. Did not buy a tractor.

On Saturday, we made the trek up to Agfest 2014 in Carrick for the first time. Somehow, we made it back home without buying a tractor. Organised by the Rural Youth Organisation of Tasmania, this is one huge agricultural festival. There was a bewildering array of farm equipment on offer, including some absolutely enormous machinery with matching price tags. There was livestock, fishing gear, food, craft, irrigation, wine, tools, clothing, services... pretty much anything for anyone in agriculture, from the large farm business to the smallholder. There were sheep dog trials, dressage, a 4WD track, a historic tractor parade, entertainment for the kids - a top day out all round. Apparently it had been pretty wet on Friday, but we got lucky. There was still plenty of mud, but we enjoyed mostly clear skies. We walked and walked all day and finally saw almost everything, before collapsing onto the bus for the trip back to the Huon. We'll definitely be back.

The business of farming

As local chef and restaurant owner Steve Cumper pointed out last week, much of the publicity about Tasmania's agriculture sector goes to the small, niche producers. He's right. I really love what small landholders are doing here, whether that's raising heritage livestock breeds, growing delicacies like mushrooms, wasabi, saffron or truffles or supplying fresh produce to local consumers via farmers markets. However, those we don't hear about so much are the bigger farmers: those with substantial landholdings and diversified businesses, who sell their high volume of produce into mass markets. Those we might call an 'agribusiness'.

Recently I was lucky enough to visit Elverton, a 3000+ hectare farm at Blessington in northern Tasmania, the property of a fellow 2013 Tasmanian Leaders program participant Adam Dickenson and his family. I learnt that managing a farm like this is not too different from running any other complex organisation. The business incorporates beef cattle, lambs, private forestry and crops. It's a constant battle planning for the future of each of these 'business units', anticipating consumer demand, the regulatory environment and of course the weather. There are staff and investment decisions to be made.

It was interesting to see how the farmer manages the asset he is responsible for. Their care for the soil, water, plants and animals while planning for the farm's future viability is very impressive. When I heard about the days spent hand-weeding the land and the creeks and the North Esk River that runs through the property, I suddenly felt ashamed of the Spanish Heath infestation on our own tiny nine acres that I haven't even started to deal with properly. Unfortunately, it needs to be managed in much the same way - hand weeding in conjunction with cut-and-paste of herbicide on larger plants.

The views at Elverton are stunning and the history is fascinating too. Many Tasmanians will know the area from driving through it on the way to Ben Lomond National Park. The historic farm buildings are a tribute to the hard work of previous generations, while the 'tiger tree' stump that Tasmanian Tiger heads were once nailed to is a stark reminder of how things once were. The Tasmanian Tigers now carved into the stump by chainsaw act as a constant motivator for the current generation of Dickensons to ensure a balance between environmental, economic and community outcomes. Their philosophy is that a good farm management decision is one that will benefit their grandchildren.   Here are a few photos from our visit. I hope to get back up that way and see more of the area.

Burnie, city of makers

In one of his stand-up comedy routines, my husband tells a joke about the TV advertisement for Burnie, "city by the sea". Because, let's face it, the vast majority of Australian cities are by the sea, so it's not exactly a unique selling proposition. The signs you drive past on the way into into this town in north west Tasmania tell a different and much better story - they read "Burnie, city of makers". And make stuff they do.

I was lucky enough to visit several businesses in the north west region last week as part of the 2013 Tasmanian Leaders program. The theme of the two-day session was business innovation and that's exactly what we saw. We visited a company that produces 60 percent of the world's pyrethrum; a family business that supplies hydroponic cherry tomatoes to both major supermarket chains in Australia, a supplier of specialist haulage trucks for the mining industry and rail excavators, a manufacturer of molded composites like fibreglass, a whisky distiller and one of Tasmania's top salmon producers. Each of them showed resilience and creativity in tackling market challenges and opportunities. We had dinner with the regional business community at the Makers Workshop in Burnie. It was an absolute eye opener to see what's going on up in the north of Tasmania. Go and have a look - it's amazing.

Vintage day

Today we were invited to help friends in Franklin with vintage - harvesting this year's pinot grapes. Luckily they decided to move the date from yesterday with its alternating waves of sun and icy rain to today's perfect autumn day. A small army of locals armed with cutters and buckets moved up and down the rows, snipping the bunches of grapes off and delivering full buckets to the waiting bins on a truck to be carted away for wine making. We stopped for a delicious morning tea and were treated to a huge lunch spread afterwards, complete with wine and music by Steve and Marjorie Gadd. I could see that so much work had gone into having all of us volunteer helpers on site, I sure hope the harvest was worth it! We really enjoyed the day, chatting with friends and new acquaintances among the vines. It feels great to be tired from working outdoors.