Five Kids and a Farm with Riona from Birdland Farm

This week I stopped by Birdland farm in Drysdale to pick up some extra produce to top up our food hub and weekend market supply. As part of my pick up journey I had the pleasure of sitting down with Riona over a cup of tea in the farm kitchen that overlooked her beautiful market garden on a cold and misty Autumn morning. We chatted all kinds of topics relating to her journey as a farmer, mother and the climate of our local food system. Grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy our chat!

So! Tell me a bit about your farm set up?

The farm is a one acre market garden under cultivation with just under 1/4 of that land is being used for seed production. The market garden is no till and certified organic which means use of organic seeds, compost, fertiliser, practising minimal soil disturbance and consciousness of all other farming practises for example the type of tarps being used to ensure no spreading of micro-plastics into the soil. It functions predominantly off a CSA model as well as supplying to restaurants and wholefoods stores across the Bellerine region. A CSA model allows for a deeper relationship to be built between farmer and consumer; a relationship of mutual benefit, where the farmer can come to expect a steady sales outlet, planning their crops and season plan according to subscriptions, and where the consumer benefits in receiving fresh, organic produce filled with nutrients and vitality on a regular basis.

We grow around 30 varieties of vegetables throughout the year, and we’re in the process of adding more culinary and medicinal herbs to the mix, as well as expanding flower production. We have a community of about 10 - 15 volunteers who regularly come by the farm to help out and one contracted staff member coming twice a week for consistent farming input.

And how did you come to be a farmer?

I’ve been on the land here for three and a half years now. First starting as a casual employee for the original owner, to then taking on the veggie box and wholesale supply side of the business and eventually taking over management of the whole market garden which I’ve now been running since March 2023.

I come from a biodynamic background having grown food ever since I can remember. Having grown up within the Steiner community in Germany, my mum working as a kitchen gardener and living in a community where trading of local and biodynamic dairy, poultry and cheeses was a very ingrained part of my upbringing. Every area in Germany seemed to be self sufficient in something so community trading was a strong part of my culture.

How does your farm look throughout the low season?

In the low season / transitional season when things are in the ground but not ready it’s all about staying ontop of succession planting, utilising poly tunnels to extend the growing season. Planning of market gardening is really not talked about enough, it is a precision art to never run out of beetroot! Choose the balance of variety and what’s realistic.

What do you feel are the challenges of local food supplies in Australia?

Within Australia selling directly to customers was very quickly ‘out policied’ and with large supermarkets having a massive monopoly over farmers, it’s impossible for farmers to make sustainable margins on their produce. We’re very ‘top down’ in Australia. While the land area of the country is large, the areas that are densely populated are quite small meaning it really is viable to localise our food system.

Covid was a pivotal time in shifting people’s conciseness around where their food is coming from and so there has been a resurgence in interest in local food which is very promising to see. With the price of produce in supermarkets rising it seems comparable if not more affordable to buy locally. Convince of food is so important in enabling people to be able to buy all things milk, bread, eggs, produce etc all in one place.

Tell me a bit about motherhood alongside running a farm!

I have five children! All of them have been homeschooled with the eldest child being sixteen. The kids are bilingual in German and English! It works really well because the kids come and help out on the farm all while getting a really good dose of ‘life schooling’ learning from the variety of people that come through this place. The kids have so much access to all different kinds of information for example the other farmer who’s here two days a week has a wealth of knowledge about all the bugs and insects in the soil that the kids so love learning about. They also learn a lot about fungi from our neighbours who have a local mushroom growing business and help them to pack buckets of mushrooms for their customers.

My husband and I moved down to the Bellerine about 14 years ago after having two kids in the city with the desire to raise children on country soils. Our family is very socially linked with other farming friends down the road which means the kids help out with the sheep and the cows and are always out in nature.

Farming is a compatible flow with life if you can work things around and manage a way to integrate your life into the farm or integrate the farm into your life or whatever it feels like on that day! Rather than being on someonelses time. It also works as a family of seven trying to buy all organic food would be so expensive, so growing our own food makes so much sense. Along with lots of neighbourhood trades for meat, dairy, services or goods in exchange for vegetables is a really great currency for us!

Why do you think more farms are female led now days?

It’s important to have female led primary producers because it feeds into women’s natural need to nurture and feed their community. I think that’s why women are drawn to farming out of that need. And also other food primary production such as baking bread. Depending on where we are in our cycle as women can prepare us for the contractive and expansive phases of farming. With the rise in female led farms growing networks of support is part of the way in which women naturally weave community.

What do you feel are the barriers to people accessing local food?

Mindset plays a massive part in food accessibly. If there aren’t people and communities out there wanting to support local food systems then it can’t be made available. We have to choose what systems we want to create, if we can all agree that we don’t like the current food systems then sometimes that means paying a little bit more for xyz.

What is it that inspires you about farming?

Farming is really rewarding. We get to spend our life force out in nature experiencing the daily changes in climate and being connected to nature and to be able to stand behind the ethics of what you’re doing with your life and that it’s contributing to the greater good. Also the ability to invest in community and being able to offer community connection is so valuable. Running a market garden is as much about creating a community as it is about growing food and that is what people really look for. We could all survive off two minute noodles but none of us could survive without a sense of community. We’re social beings we’re not meant for isolation! A quote I really like is:

“You have to farm your farm bed and not let your farm farm you”.

Farming is rolling with the punches, maybe motherhood prepares you for that. Not getting unnecessarily flustered. Just dealing with the here and now!

In the winter season, as we put some of our beds to rest, you may find some of Rionas beautiful produce in our Food Hub market, your veg box orders, and the offsite markets we will be attending. We love being a hub where growers from our region can connect, and we’re grateful to have seen the wonderful work Riona is doing on her farm.

A big thanks to Riona for sharing her experience!