Outstanding quality is seen as Fat Hen Farm’s business niche
The transition from globetrotting city slickers to weedpulling, hard-working, boot-wearing country folk is very much complete for Alan and Bronwyn Wood, owners and operators of Fat Hen Farm at Kilkivan in Queensland’s South Burnett region.
Both hail from the hustle and bustle of Sydney, NSW, the biggest and most daunting of our ‘big smokes’.
Alan succeeded as an advertising executive and during 20 years of hard slog rose to senior positions with various companies and travelled the world.
Bronwyn also climbed to the top of her ladder in the publishing world and enjoyed global roles involved with running art direction and ultimately sitting at the editor’s desk for national magazines.
The call was finally made that the pressure-cooker world of Sydney’s CBD and their high-pressure senior roles had been fun, but enough was enough. Years of holidaying on the Sunshine Coast, primarily Noosa, drew the couple and their first-born Jemima - who was barely a year old at the time - northwards.
At first, the small family rented a house on eight hectares at beautiful Maleny, atop the Blackall escarpment and worked in the field of fashion, both drawing on knowledge and experience from their previous careers. Bronwyn also maintained her contact with the publishing world, this time as a contributor, essentially to assist with the funds required to drive a family.
From there they moved to the charmingly rustic village of Kin Kin which is perched in the hills midway between Noosa and Gympie, buying a run-down old dairy farm on 70 hectares. By this time Alan and Bronwyn had a second daughter, Charlotte, and another change was due. Moving on from the fashion stakes, Alan tried his hand at furniture making whilst Bronwyn began manufacturing soft furnishings. They ran some cattle on the farm and enjoyed their creative pursuits, but still they hadn’t found their niche.
Eight years ago or so, the family, now four, sold up at Kin Kin and bought a similar-sized property with a highset Queenslander and an assortment of sheds and farming pursuits just east of Kilkivan (220km north of Brisbane). The property was a going concern, farming red claw crayfish and olives.
It would seem that the Wood’s were finally at home. The property was transformed rapidly and farm visits provided plenty of fun and en- tertainment as well as income. Busloads of tourists visited the farm and Alan would deliver a lively rhetoric on the ins and outs of both red claw crayfish farming and the growing and processing of olives into various products.
This continued for some time until a prolonged dry spell set in. Much to Alan’s dismay, he discovered that the dams leaked and water - the major resource necessary for any aquaculture pursuit - became a major issue.
Various attempts were made to save this part of their livelihood, however it soon became obvious that they were futile. Alan even pumped water from elsewhere into a dam, only to heartbreakingly see it disappear overnight.
Fat Hen Creek, which ran along one boundary of the farm, also dried up and the inevitable decision was made to abandon the red claw farming, at least for the foreseeable future. Too much cash would be needed to resurrect the dams into productive crayproducing ponds.
And so, the focus then had to be olive growing and the production of a range of products derived from the fruits of their labour. The farm visits were shut down also. The Woods thought that simply a visit to an olive grove was not enough, whilst the addition of the red claw tours had made for an enjoyable day.
With 650-plus producing olive trees, Alan and Bronwyn turned their attention and hard work toward the agricultural side of their farm. The trees were productive and the quality of the fruit was of a high order.
Olive trees need a cool spell to set the flowers, fruiting from year three and delivering commercial quantities from year five (all olive fruit are born on one-year-old timber). Water is also a major requirement but Alan discovered an old bore on the property which delivers quality water and allows for irrigation of the olive grove when required.
Once again drawing on their initial career experiences, the range of olive products was expanded, a website launched and new packaging created to add some flair to their wares. Bronwyn began an intensive research and development program that resulted in olive oil based skin-care products.
The skin-care range now boasts a dozen specialised products that are highly sought-after at retail and market outlets (Noosa Farmers Markets and Eumundi Markets) as well as by mail order via the website.
Bronwyn manufactures these products herself. They are unrefined and totally chemical-free. Drawing on her own experience with eczema, Bronwyn was able to create products that actually work, and being produced from 100 per cent plant products, they are very skin friendly and suitable for sensitive or irritated skin. Many commercially available skincare potions are chemically laced, and far more expensive than the Fat Hen Farm range.
The benefits of olive oil, Fat Hen Farm extra virgin olive oil in particular, are many. The oil has a high content of mono-unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants. It is rich in vitamin E, oleic acid and also contains vitamins A and K. A true health kick, taken orally or via the skin.
The skin-care range, known as Olive Skin Food, is comprehensive and still growing. Current lines include face cream, night repair cream, scrubs, cleansers, toners, body butter, nourishing oil, lip balm, an oil-based soap and, of course, an aromatherapy massage oil.
The clientele base is strong and many discover Bronwyn’s distinctive products whilst on holiday on the Sunshine Coast. Indeed, many of these clients, and now their friends will be customers for life.
The Woods do not advertise. They rely on repeat custom and word of mouth. They often receive letters of thanks and congratulations, which is an uplifting experience.
On the food side of the business, also sold both via retail and market outlets, the basis of the range is the exceptional quality extra virgin olive oil, and the olives themselves. Early harvested superior-quality fruit results in a smaller quantity of oil from the extraction units, however the quality is outstanding and Alan sees this as their business niche. The Woods do not produce any other oil type.
Fruit for oil production is mechanically harvested, whilst table fruit is carefully harvested by hand. A range of marinated olives are produced - six in total. Three are for retail exposure whilst another three are for sale via
markets. Tempting concoctions such as olives in lemon and oregano, garlic and balsamic, chilli and thyme, natural and other varieties are keenly sought out by olive lovers.
Fruit picked for the table is picked straight into cold water and then graded and put into a 15 per cent brine solution, kept submerged and airtight. Exactly how long debittering takes depends on how frequently the brine is changed, but generally speaking it takes 12 months.
Other items in the food inventory include a delicious caramelised balsamic concoction, black olive tapenade, dukkah (an enticing Egyptian spice mix perfect for coating an oilsoaked chunk of Turkish bread), preserved lemons, and various dressings unique to the Fat Hen Farm range.
The farm is currently growing trees around 14-15 years of age. Corrigiola (an Italian oil fruit), Manzanillo (a Spanish table olive) and Hardys’ Mammoth which are currently unproductive. Trees require pruning on an annual basis and are fertilised with organic fertilisers only. The only pest issues thus far have been minor infestations of lacebug. Spraying with organic fertiliser seems to knock them around, however Alan has discovered that a naturally occurring wasp resident in the Rhodes grass does an even better job. So, the solution seems simply to let the grass grow a bit longer from time to time and this saw a dramatic decrease in the lacebug population.
The Woods generally use Katek Organic fertiliser two to three times annually along with spraying around flowering time - mainly boron (which helps convert flower to fruit).
Whilst they do not use the services of an agronomist, Alan and Bronwyn reference a comprehensive soil-health report that Australian biological agricultural company Nutri-Tech Solutions conducted just prior to them buying the property. They also soil and leaf test to look for deficiencies/ imbalances which they need to address from time to time.
Other pursuits on Fat Hen Farm include a flock of Wilshire horned sheep. These animals have a dual purpose in life in that they underscore the canopy of the olive grove and remove water-shoots. This saves some back-breaking work for the Woods clan, now sporting a third daughter, Mathilda.
The second purpose is to provide lamb for home use. Interestingly the family can taste a hint of olive oil in the flesh, particularly when the sheep have been doing their bit in the olive grove.
In the future, the Woods may expand on the sheep grazing and beef cattle will be introduced to the property, purely on a fattening basis or to carry breeders. In addition, the Hardys’ Mammoth trees will be used as rootstock and the more-productive species will be grafted onto them.
For more information Alan and Bronwyn can be found at SE Queensland’s Eumundi Markets on a Saturday or the Noosa Farmers’ Market on Sunday mornings.
Fat Hen Farm and Olive Skin Food are also distributed throughout a number of gourmet delicatessens and health stores across the country plus many of Noosa’s best restaurants use Fat Hen Farm extra virgin olive oil on their menus regularly.