Where it all begins
We visit three of our Farmer-Direct farms on the mid-North Coast

by Stevie Bee

Dave Tilley is a big believer in first-hand experience. He was never one to simply order produce from stock availability lists; he was interested in how things were grown and the people who grew them. He’d worked on a farm before coming to Alfalfa House as fruit+veg buyer in March 2006 and had always intended to see where we were getting our Farmer-Direct produce from. So on a crisp bright blue sky day in early August, Dave, his Mum and I headed up the Pacific Highway bound for Rollands Plains, home to three of the farms from whom we buy direct.

Rollands Plains is about 400kms north of Sydney, tucked away to the west of Wauchope on the mid-North Coast. It’s long been regarded as lush, fertile country, typically beef and dairy farms. However, the drought has taken its toll. And while there has been quite a bit of rain lately, the long-range forecast isn’t very encouraging. In fact, water’s always on everyone’s lips.

We visited Gary Branch’s farm, Markira, first. Gary’s sprawling 40 hectares used to be a dairy farm. He’s been growing vegetables here for 12 years. His current crop includes fennel, bok choy, rocket, beetroot, mustard greens, rainbow chard, shallots, and broccolini. That will, of course change as the weather warms and it’s time to plant tomatoes, baby bok choy, beans and herbs such as basil, coriander and parsley.

Apart from supplying Alfalfa House, Gary sells his produce mostly at the monthly farmers’ market in Wauchope and he does up vege boxes for locals. He also collects seeds and markets them as Branch’s Seeds, which we sell in the co-op. He says he’s about 90 percent self-sufficient.

Gary has noticed a growing environmental awareness among local farmers, particularly as a result of the prolonged drought. He believes most have a deeper appreciation of organic farming and more and more are making the switch, although they may not have gone as far as getting certified.

Next it was on to Belinda Atkins’ property, Miles Away. She’s been here three years and grows radicchio, bok choy, radish, broccoli, cabbage, rocket, shallots, carrots and coriander. There’s also a 15 year-old mandarin orchard. And of course, those remarkable triamble and jarrahdale pumpkins that we’ve been enjoying over the past couple of months. Miles Away used to be a peach orchard, but all the trees got mould and died. Belinda also supplies the Beanstalk Food Co-op in Newcastle. We were especially impressed by her long, slender, sweet carrots. Food is such a sensuous delight!

After lunch at Belinda’s, we ventured off to Al Parker’s farm, literally at the end of the road. Al’s farm, a share of a 120-hectare property known as Marlomirican, offers that rare sensation of feeling like you’re away from it all. He’s been here 15 years, the last six in drought, which has cut production by a third to half. He normally gets two picks of silverbeet; this year due to the drought and frosts he’s had just the one. Despite recent rains, it’s still a day at a time – and he has gravity-fed irrigation. The sub-soil moisture has been so severely depleted, he says, it will take years of normal rain to restore it. Al probably won’t plant tomatoes this year; last season’s crop was literally cooked on the vine. Not that he’s complaining. He’ll probably put in shade cloth, especially over the rhubarb and consider different hardier varieties. He’s also planning to plant more broccoli, rhubarb, shallots, rosetta eggplant, beans, onions and baby bok choy. Fruit-wise, it’s fejoras, and perhaps mandarins.

The one thing they all have in common is weeding and mulching. It’s all done by hand. And it’s never ending. Something else they have in common is a firm and abiding belief in what they’re doing. They’re dedicated to organics, to propagating open-pollinated seeds, improving soil quality, and growing in season. As many small farmers will attest, they’re not in it for the money.

Meeting Gary, Belinda and Al confirmed the value of direct communication. Dave suggested crops they might be able to grow for us and they suggested crops we might be interested in, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, silverbeet, fancy and cos lettuce, zucchini, squash, golden apple cucumbers, lebanese cucumbers, purple capsicums, parsnips and turnips. At the moment, there are four farmers in the group so if one can’t supply an item, the others more than likely can.

There’s something refreshing about sitting in the rows between the rocket and broccoli and talking shop. It’s where it all begins. What our meeting also drove home was how hard farmers work, how it’s day-to-day even though they plan ahead and how dependent we are on people like Al, Belinda and Gary.

• Dave Tilley is now learning Chinese in Taiwan in preparation for studying Chinese Medicine there.

August 9, 2007