Fresh Food Link - the ‘growing’ connection
LAUNCHED in 2010 Western Australia’s Fresh Food Link is creating networks and connections for small landholders wanting to capture market opportunities.
Fresh Food Link addresses the growing demand for quality locallyproduced food and the popularity of Farmer’s Markets.
WA has almost 60,000 small landholders with properties ranging from one to 100 hectares. It is estimated that 650,000 hectares of agricultural land is controlled by this group. Depending on the viewpoint taken, this is an untapped resource or a significant risk to broad acre farms.
Because a large percentage of these blocks are owned or operated by enthusiastic, but relatively inexperienced city escapees, their knowledge of basic land management skills and awareness of potential hazards, Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA) developed a project to assist the small landholders.
The Small Landholders Information Service (SLIS) was developed in 2004 with a charter to improve farming, land management knowledge and skills in small landholders.
DAFWA’S project officer, Neil Guise, was presented with the 2009 Australia-pacific Extension Network Award for Excellence for his implementation of the program. The major concerns included feral animals, weeds and nutrient run-off. (Neil Guise has since been appointed Regional Director for the South West Agricultural Region).
Across Australia, the land type occupied by small landholders is most often choice productive land with the capacity to produce specialty crops.
SLIS in WA provides the knowledge base for this production, but the next hurdle is the marketing.
There are two parts to a commercial transaction, the supplier on one hand and the buyer on the other.
If either exists in isolation there are no transactions and therefore no profit results. Isolation from the market place is often the only thing preventing a home-based rural business prospering. The real trick is getting both ends to meet.
Fresh Food Link is by definition the next step; the produce has been grown, farmed, fished or processed and needs a market larger than neighbours and relatives if it is to be financially viable.
Fresh Food Link has a register of small landholders and a database of interested farmer’s markets, wholesalers, retailers and processors. It also complements the Eat Best Buy West campaign.
SLIS project manager Yolandee Jones said, “The Fresh Food Link helps connect both sides of the market-place. Producers can find alternative markets, connect with value-adders needing produce, and there is the opportunity to learn by sharing experiences. Members have access to specialized enterprise and marketing events, regular news updates and the SLIS and DAFWA fact sheets and expertise.”
The foundation members of Fresh Food Link produce a wide variety of products from Swan Valley Honey with varietal honey, pollen and honey biscuits; Bare Crush turning 100 per cent fruit into frozen delights; Hamel Homegrown Organics nurturing organic vegetables and melons; Sweeter Banana is a co-op of 29 growers supplying spray-free Carnarvon bananas: Eagle Vale Olives with a range of unique WA olive products; Ha Ve Harvey Cheese is a specialist cheese maker; Perts Pantry creates homegrown and handmade preserves, olive oils, fresh vegies and gift boxes; and the health food manufacturers Fruity Fanatics.
Fresh Food Link is not restricted to small landholders; some of its members have expanded their existing farming operations with a valueadding enterprise.
Fruity Fanatics proprietors John and Deborah Marten are second generation farmers. The family farm at Gingin one hour north of Perth has a two-thousand-tree orchard supplying the oranges used in the fruit juice delights.
“Squeezed, crushed, blended, pureed and frozen - but never sweetened, coloured or preserved,” says Deborah.
“It is labour intensive, but we love the whole business, from the orchard at home through to the markets, field days and festivals.”
The phrase ‘labour intensive’ takes on a whole new dimension when quoting quantities of two bins of oranges a week for 10 months of the year, between 1.5 and 3 tonnes of mangoes in a six week season, 150kg of bananas, 600 pineapples and 50kg of passion fruit pulp.
When the Martens were looking for passion fruit to add to the range, Fresh Food Link found a supply for them. The growers had been selling only whole fresh fruit, but after talking to the Marten’s realized there was also a market for frozen pulp.
Deborah said, “Fresh Food Link is important to us. Because farmers don’t get many opportunities to attend professional development days, the networking and chances of finding other growers is limited. We’re just too busy doing it all.”
Ha Ve Cheese is an example of a small landholder who simply processes the milk produced by other growers. Robert and Penny St Duke source milk from the local Harvey Agricultural College, a dairy goat farmer and a sheep milk producer.
The Ha Ve Cheese factory is a favourite tourist stop with tastings, tours and cheese making classes.
Future plans for Fresh Food Link include a ‘Pick Your Own’ calendar, a roster of locals willing to swap work and/or information, mentoring within communities and field days.