Sunny outlook for market garden
Green-fingered couple find success in Dunedin, writes
We are not making tonnes of money here, but it’s enough to make us happy and we can employ someone and pay the bills. — Jed Tweedie
ADunedin organic market garden is bucking a national trend of falling sales in small agriculture businesses. Accounting software company Xero released data showing sales for small agriculture businesses in New Zealand fell 7.2 per cent year on year in February.
Sales in the sector fell for three consecutive months, the data shows.
The Xero sales data includes Dunedin organic market garden Vern Paddock Project in Mihiwaka, 3km east of the Orokonui Ecosanctuary.
Vern Paddock Project is owned and operated by married couple Skye Macfarlane and Jed Tweedie.
Sales from their business had increased since it was launched on their almost-11ha home property about three years ago.
Produce was grown on about a third of a hectare across about 180 garden beds, mostly outdoors, Tweedie said.
‘‘I think plants taste better if they have a bit of sun on them.’’
Drivers of the demand have included customers wanting to buy locally grown produce and more people wanting to eat healthy food since Covid hit.
When they bought the property, the plan was to grow organic medicinal herbs, because Macfarlane was a naturopath and medical herbalist.
However, in 2019, a friend opened plant-based cafe Kind Grocer in Vogel St, in Dunedin’s Warehouse Precinct, and asked if they could grow her some organic produce, Tweedie said
‘‘We switched gears at that point and moved over to doing veges.’’
At the time, Tweedie was working as an engineer at Fisher & Paykel.
As the farm got busier, he left that job to work full time on the land about two years ago.
The produce grown on the farm includes a range of leafy greens, root vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and microgreens.
Suppliers of their produce now include New World supermarkets in Dunedin and Four Square in Port Chalmers. Other clients include boutique hotel Ebb in Dunedin.
‘‘We’ve had great orders with them, a real mix of veges,’’ he said.
The couple loved how the chef at Ebb found a way to use all of a product, such as using carrot tops to make pesto.
Demand for their herbs continues to grow from a client, Dunedin natural health company Wild Dispensary, of which Macfarlane was a shareholder.
Since launching the business, they had created a reliable list of clients,
Tweedie said.
‘‘We are not making tonnes of money here, but it’s enough to make us happy and we can employ someone and pay the bills.’’
The Xero data shows jobs in small businesses in the agriculture sector had grown 3.7 per cent year on year in January.
This comes after a period of declining jobs for the first nine months of last year.
Vern Paddock Project employed a staff member about 18 months ago to work 16 hours a week. Their business proved small-scale organic agriculture could work, Tweedie said.
It had taken a lot of hard work, and they would work on how to continue increasing sales, without a need to employ more staff, Macfarlane said.
‘‘It’s a good position to be in. We are lucky to be able to produce food for Dunedin.’’