Our Guiding Principles:Ethical Animal Led Management
Quality Sustainability Health through nutrition Customer service |
Named for the trees that shade most of our property, here at Shady Patches Farm, in South East Queensland, we’re all about the soil. We practice regenerative farming, because we care about the global environment, and because we want to leave something worthwhile behind when we’re done. With soil improvement at the heart of all our decisions, diversity is key, and nutrient dense foods our final objective.
We will be starting our operation with free range pork. But a word to the wary – once you’ve tasted free range, there is no going back. Ever. Never again will you be satisfied with dry, white, tasteless pork from the supermarket, when for a couple of dollars more, you can have a party in your mouth, that leaves your body feeling nourished and healthy.
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It's all about the soil...
It is our intention to improve, and in many places create the soil on our property, using regenerative farming methods. And where did we learn those? We borrow wisdom from many people, including Alan Savory; PA Yeomans; David Holmgren and Bill Mollison; Gabe Brown, Joel Salatin and our very own Australian soil expert: Dr Christine Jones. We will be using a combination of swales and contouring along the key lines of our land, to keep as much of the water that lands on our property available for as long as possible. Holistic management practices will be used, with our animals regularly moving around the farm, fertilising the paddocks, breaking capped soils and knocking down oxidised foliage, followed by herds of fowl, keeping down the pests. Finally, the trampled, fertilised, cleansed wake will be sown with a variety of perennial and annual crops (at least eight different kinds), which will be mulched and watered with compost tea. These practices create root mass, which nourishes soil micro ecology, and feeds plants, making everything more nutritious. More nutrients equal great taste and great health, which is why...we're all about the soil.
What do we feed our animals?
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We love our animals, and they are treated very well. All our livestock live in the shade of the trees, eating pasture, while our pigs spend their time sleeping in the shade, wallowing, or digging for tender shoots, grubs and worms. Pigs require a large percentage of protein in their diet, to maximise their growing potential, so we provide additional feeds of fresh and soaked grains and pollard, augmented with supplements like molasses, seaweed meal, apple cider vinegar, kombucha tea, meat meal, and minerals on a regular basis. We worm our livestock once a month, in tune with the moon, using a natural garlic blend, as well as giving dolomite once a week. Antibiotic spray is used only when necessary, to save an animal's life, or reduce discomfort from wounds. Hormones are Never fed to our animals, so it takes 6-8 months for our pigs to be ready for the table. Truly slow food, and you can taste the difference!
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Sustainability
The environment is important to us, on both a local and a global scale. In addition to regenerative farming methods, we minimise packaging, and use sustainable options where packaging can’t be avoided. Meat is sensitive, so it is packaged in plastic, however we suggest you break the bulk packs up and freeze them in reusable containers, rather than plastic bags. This minimises your waste, makes your bins less smelly, and puts less plastic bags into our oceans for turtles to mistake as jellyfish.
Locally Grown Food for Local People
Because our farm is about you (right after the soil); we sell locally. Our desire is to provide locally grown, fresh, nutritious, chemical free food to local people. We use local businesses for our processing needs, but still do as much on farm as we can. Which leads us to the environment. When you buy locally, you are helping our environment. Peak Oil debating aside, oil is a finite resource which won’t last forever. If your food comes from the USA, it is going to require much more fuel, packaging, spraying, and handling than if it comes from just down the road, direct from the farmer who grew it; helping our planet and you to stay healthier.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
Here at Shady Patches Farm, we sell our produce in a new and innovative way, rarely seen in Queensland. Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a farming strategy that came out of Japan in the 1970’s in response to people feeling disconnected from the food they eat, due to an increasingly globalised food system. CSA allows the producer (us) and the consumer (you) to share both the risks of farming, and the benefits. Central in all our minds and hearts at this time are the risks of drought and fire, immediately followed by floods. Regenerative farming practices reduce these risks, by improving the water retention and nutrients in the soil, allowing for long term food sustainability and an improved environment. CSA members invest a ‘share’ in the farmers hard work, costs and the farms harvest, at the beginning of a set period of time; called a ‘season’. By buying prior to the start of the season, the farmer is provided with the capital to continue producing high quality food, and the consumer is in turn supplied with a box of super fresh vegetables, and perhaps a portion of eggs, flowers, herbs, or honey each week throughout the season. Our meat is sold slightly differently, but along similar lines. In order to make use of the whole beast, members are able to buy a quarter, half or whole carcass, with a choice of usable cuts, which they can freeze or use fresh, as desired. These shares can be purchased at the time you require it, or on a payment plan, as product becomes available. Supporting a pig from birth means you have pork available, when you need it again.
