6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in
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6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in 6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

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23.10.2016 Views

GARDENING COMMUNITY | future feeders keeping it SMALL & DIVERSE A practical system of food growing, and a vision for how we might grow the next generation of farmers, is underway in northern NSW 62 | Good Organic Gardening

future feeders | GARDENING COMMUNITY Opposite: Joel Orchard Words Jo Immig Photos Jo Immig & Joel Orchard Meeting young farmer Joel Orchard was one of those exciting moments in life when you realise you’re looking into the eyes of someone who will actually make the world a better place. Standing among the tulsi basil, alive with bees, words tumble enthusiastically out of his mouth about the future of farming and the role young farmers can play given half a chance. And he grows bursting-with-goodness food, too! Originally from Warrnambool, Victoria, Joel was raised growing backyard vegetables surrounded by rich dairy country. He then headed to Melbourne to study science and got involved in the urban food movement. After a crippling drought in country Victoria, he set his sights on the NSW Northern Rivers where he lives today, drawn by its incredibly rich farmland, which he describes as “embarrassingly underutilised”. Jigsaw farming Inspired by the movement of young farmers returning to the land in the USA and other parts of the world, Joel founded Future Feeders, a collaborative movement bringing together young farmers to address the social sustainability of farming in the face of the growing global and national problem of an ageing farmer population and fewer young people getting into farming. “We need a complete change in the dynamic of how young people are going to access land and develop their own farming enterprises,” says Joel. “We’ve lost what was once a family farming model where the farm got passed on generationally. “We’re seeing this transition to young people who are interested in getting into farming and more or less coming from urban backgrounds, but not able to afford to buy farms or farmland.” One of the ideas he floats is a return to tenant farming. “In the NSW Northern Rivers, there has been a wave of landholders who are essentially hobby or lifestyle farmers,” says Joel. “They have 100-acre blocks where they run a few cattle to keep the grass down, but that’s not growing food. It’s possible they could provide a couple of acres of land for a young farmer to have a house and get a start.” Joel farms on two acres at the Mullumbimby Community Gardens where he grows food using a community-supported agriculture model (CSA). CSA is a system whereby subscribers commit to supporting a farmer for a season, or longer, and in return Good Organic Gardening | 63

GARDENING COMMUNITY | future feeders<br />

keep<strong>in</strong>g it<br />

SMALL & DIVERSE<br />

A practical system of food grow<strong>in</strong>g, and a vision for how we might grow<br />

the next generation of farmers, is underway <strong>in</strong> northern NSW<br />

62 | <strong>Good</strong> <strong>Organic</strong> <strong>Garden<strong>in</strong>g</strong>

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