Organic Farming Is Being Slowly Hijacked By ‘Big Ag’
G'Day Folks,
The summer veg is starting to hit its stride here on the farm! Like skinny balloons being blown up at a kids party, the Zucchinis fruit are inflating before our eyes and require daily harvests. If you have been following along on our Instagram stories, you will see the kids are earning themselves some much needed Christmas money to spend on our first real family holiday since we began this farming journey in 2019. We are off to Tasmania to visit family over the Xmas break, which means the shop will be closed for two weeks over Christmas and New Years (we will provide closure dates soon).
Mum and Dad will hold the fort and make sure your veggies are watered and weeded whilst we are away (Thanks Mum and Dad!). And we will no doubt be recharged and refreshed to continue growing and feeding our wonderful community in 2025.
I am pleased to announce also, Homegrown Organics from Upper Rollands Plains here on the Mid North Coast will be supplying us with the tastiest tomatoes you will likely ever experience.
We tried many times to grow Tomatoes here, but each time they were wiped out by disease. The truth is, our climate is less than ideal for growing tomatoes. Tomatoes originate from western South America, around modern day Peru which has a wonderful dry and low rainfall climate perfect for growing Tomatoes. They were first cultivated by indigenous people in Central America and Mexico, where they became an integral part of the local diet. The Aztecs and other Mesoamerican cultures used Tomatoes quite regularly in their cooking. Tomatoes made their way into western culture through the Spanish after they had colonised parts of South America.
Rod and Desley from Homegrown Organics, have mastered growing Tomatoes despite our hot, humid and wet summers. They grow in greenhouses and with drip irrigation to keep the tomato leaves nice and dry. Whilst they are not certified organic, Rod and Desley are 100% Organic, they hold open farm days and teach workshops for those wanting to learn how to grow truly organic food.
Their tomatoes are spectacular and I cannot wait to get them into your boxes. I am often disappointed with some of the tomatoes coming from farms further afield, they are sometimes flavourless and give organics a bad reputation.
This leads me to something that I'm becoming increasingly concerned about, organic farming is being slowly hijacked by ‘Big Ag’. That's right, the large scale corporate owned farms are starting to move into organic farming based upon growing consumer demand. What started out as a bunch of hippies that most would roll their eyes at is now becoming more mainstream. Thanks in part to the growing concern of chemicals used in farming (including GMO) and the health implications being more frequently exposed. Demand for organically grown food is increasing and where there's money to be made, you can be sure big business will be knocking at the door.
But money drives the wrong incentive, it drives the lowest cost and disregards flavour. Organic farming is all about flavour, because this is our tongue telling us the thing we are biting into is healthy and full of nutrients. When you bite into Rod and Desleys tomatoes, what your tongue is telling you is that tomato was grown in rich healthy soil, full of diverse and numerous organisms, each unlocking compounds your body rarely receives in food grown with chemical fertilisers in dead soil.
As the Sohip community slowly grows, this will give us more ability to source produce (we are unable to grow ourselves) from farms growing food for flavour, not lowest cost.
If you have ever received fruit and veg from us that is not bursting with flavour, check first whether it is in season and if it is, then know the lack of flavour may be due to either poor weather conditions or the farm its coming from is being squeezed to prioritise lowest cost above flavour.
But also know that we are working hard to grow as much as we can ourselves and source the things we don't grow from farms closest to us who hold the highest value for truly delicious food!
Thank YOU for joining us on this epic journey & supporting Your local farmer!
