We have said it before, but have been feeling it this week - working as a very small fish in the fresh food business is hard. You don’t need to be reminded how dry it is in our part of the world, but you may not be aware of the consequences… Almost all of the local organic growers we work with haven’t been able to plant out seeds and seedlings for late autumn and early winter as they source their water from on-farm dams which have run dry. Many local livestock farmers are running out of feed, as normally by now some rain has arrived to green the paddocks. This means they are faced with either selling off stock at low prices or bringing in feed, which is currently costing double or triple the usual rate.
The picture here was taken a number of weeks ago now and the dam is lower still but we’re lucky that Footsteps Farm still has enough water to last a little longer yet, hopefully long enough until regular rain comes back, so the supply of rather amazing looking fresh fruit and veg to our little farm shop is still going strong with Patrick and Sally harvesting most days during the week to top up the store.
It’s time like this that us and other small operators really depend on amazing people like you who take the time to source local, smallscale, organic produce. Thanks so much to each and every one of you who puts in the effort, your contribution literally keeps the doors open!
On a lighter note, we’re looking forward to hosting the Edible Gardens Festival sundowner on Sunday 12 May. Be sure to grab yourself a free ticket to the sundowner when booking in through the Edible Gardens Festival website. There will be live music, talks, Footsteps Farm wine and delicious food for sale.
