Mulloon Creek

The case of the egg job, the animals, the car battery, the cheeky piglets...

and the politics of farming!

...And so it began

This is it! Everything we had been waiting for! To be driving down the driveway to work on a Biodynamic Natural Farm! 

We had received the call from Graham (the Farm Manager) to confirm that we had the job only 3 days before we drove down this road to start work. We were beside ourselves with excitement as the farm represented everything we believed in. This was an opportunity of a life time to learn more about the land, and role up our sleeves and get dirty, and we did...haha!

The phone call itself between Dom and Graham was exciting enough as Graham said to Dom, 'Maybe I might be able to talk you both into full time work'? Jack pot baby!!!!????

This came at a time where we were struggling to make ends meet, living on $20 a day and sleeping on the side of the road. But anything was better than picking mushrooms for 17hrs and getting paid below minimum wage. Things were looking up and we were so grateful. 

The only thing to do was to look for accommodation, but for now the job would do, we'd continue to sleep in our comfy love bug van, and hopefully the rest would sort itself out.

So below is a series of pictures showing the chicken farm we worked on, plus a little bit of interesting facts about chickens (there is more to chicks besides eggs). 

For now take in the views, smell the fresh clean country air and stare off into the trees...Aaaahhhhhh

Below one of the chicken sheds and all the little chickens roaming around on their own land. These chicks are free to roam, eat beetles, worms, grass, and dig up dirt holes to role around in. They do have a lot of freedom here, and it shows in the quality of their eggs.

Below is the view from top of the hill looking down onto one of the chicken sheds, there were 10 sheds in total that were set up for the chickens that are laying eggs (the babies have their own sheds too but weren't yet ready to produce eggs). You can see the white shed to the right hand side of the tree in this pic, and can see how much room that particular flock of chicks had to roam on. Lots & lots...

Below is another view of the huge farm, and behind the clump of trees to the left of the pic is where the factory/processing (packing room) is for the eggs, as well as the modest farm homes for the farm manager and for the farm hand and their partners.

You can see below in each paddock/flock there are 2 sheds for laying as well as ample flowing water and countless feed troughs for the chickens. 

Leonie sporting the latest farm fashion of flannies and gum boots, check out the beautiful clouds behind Leonie. Great views all around.

The farm is filled with so much wildlife. Here Leonie is waiting to capture a wombat coming out of his hole...not today. We had plenty of problems with wombats digging holes under the fences, which would then make it easy access for foxes to get to the chicks.. Dom spent many days helping to fix these fences with new wire and large rocks to help keep the robust and stocky wombats out. Cheeky little wombats! 

Angus cows are here too, Leonie feel in love with these guys.

Isn't he beautiful!

And then there were the big pigs and the little piglets. They got lucky at the end of every day when we gave them a few bucket loads of eggs (eggs that were cracked, deformed, or just not fit for human consumption). These pigs roamed everywhere. Even sometimes to places they weren't meant to (a little more about that story later). They had their own watering hole and just loved attention. 

Below is Leonie taking a picture of all three pig snouts...(snort snort)...lol

This one here reminded us of our little boy Happy. If happy were a pig this is what he would be doing all day long we reckon...haha!

And the babies...The cutest ever and oh so very shy.

Below the pigs getting their afternoon meal of eggs.

So farm life was pretty great, full of animals getting treated the right way, the fresh air and the overall connection with the earth was priceless.

But then there is the other side...the reality side...the side that is sometimes the hardest to admit and the hardest to bounce back from.

We still hadn't found accommodation and we were filling up shower bladders with warm water at work and showering on the side of the road in bushes each day (washing of the chicken poo, the dust and basically the whole farm day). 

And then there was the battery problem...oh this is a chapter on its own. But luckily Leonie took photos to capture that low moment. The whole problem went on for 3 days. It was a nightmare for us as we had just started work on the farm, and on few of the mornings we were about an hour late for work due to this battery problem. It was a tough week this one.

Dom finding out that our battery had a faulty cell and it needed to be replaced. BUT...we had absolutely no money at the time as we were waiting for our first weeks pay from the farm. In the end Tess, Dom's sister bailed us out and lovingly lent us the money that we payed back 

(THANKS TESS YOU'RE A LIFESAVER!!!)

These times come along when we could really do without them of course, but they have also taught us to stay strong, be each others friend and breath through it all.

And we're good to go...

...A biodynamic, organic, free range, free to roam (whatever all that means really??) 

egg farm up close and personal.

Our early morning drives to work were quiet, as we took in the amazing county views of Autumn fog.

Don't worry about the chick's out there in the cold, they generate a lot of body heat and still lay eggs throughout the winter months (apparently even when it's occasionally snowed).

Here Dom is sporting the latest farm wear as he loads up the Ute on Easter Weekend (we were the couple rostered on to work that weekend) with all our egg collecting buckets, egg bins, egg trays, poo scooping buckets...eeek (yes we also had to clean out the area that they laid their eggs in).

This pic is a special one, as Leonie learnt how to drive a manual Ute on the farm....Yippeeeeee!

The cheeky piglets before they escaped from their paddock. More about that later but apparently they do this all the time and some how find their way back to their paddock too...lol

Dom with two of the beautiful chicken guard dogs taking in the view before collecting the eggs. These guard dogs are an Italian variety that are very good at keeping the foxes out. Each paddock of chickens had them there. 

And this is egg collecting at it's best. NO it's not glamorous. NO the chickens don't get their own laying quarters. NO it not a clean job. YES it stinks. YES chickens pick on each other. YES they could have a better living environment.

Below is Leonie picking the eggs, face mask CHECK, gloves CHECK, gumboots CHECK, hair tied back CHECK, CHECK, CHECK!!!

Leonie's words: " I'm a million miles away from my fashion week days modelling 

the latest couture in Europe"...

Here are some interesting chicken facts: 

• Chicken's are omnivores. Which mean they eat every thing and sometimes each other (even you if you gave them the chance).
• Chickens only have one hole for every thing to comes out of them. Eggs, faeces, urine, menstruation, etc). Leonie freaked out about this one. Hence the eggs don't come out beautifully shinny and clean as you see in the supermarket (as you can imagine).
• Chickens have a picking order and when one dies they fight it out to establish who is the new boss. This can sometimes result in death (and yes we would have to pick the dead ones up in our hands and dispose of them).

Dom collecting the eggs (it was a dirty job but someone has to do it).

Leonie showing some of the differences in size you can get (even from same aged chicks).

...The cheeky piglets after their great escape (we found them roaming around up near the picking area and houses). That was a good 20min walk from their actual homes..haha!

Apparently Col (the farm hand) went looking for them later that afternoon to get them back, and they had wondered back themselves. Funny little guys! Did their great escape, got bored and went back to where their food, trough and water was...

...And so it ends. 'What'? you ask. yes it ended, and here is how it unfolded.

From day one, even after our promising discussion with Graham, there was worrying talk about how many hours were being done on the farm, with all three couples (us plus a Scottish couple and a German couple), as well as the regular staff. Management was very concerned about the wages going out every fortnight.

Fair enough. They paid the bills, but they also didn't seem to realise that there was lots of repair and maintenance work that was needed on the farm...and perhaps the age old statement 'you have to spend money to make money'. 

Dom said to Leonie on one of those early days 'don't get too comfortable babe, as I don't know how long we will be here for'. There was just that unrest and uncertainty in the air. 

It became more apparent as time went by then. Hours that we were told would be somewhere around 35 - 37.5 per week, ended up being in the low 30's after a week (that was for every couple by the way). We all talked about it, and every couple was concerned by it. All of us casuals kept the eye on each other and asked questions to find out how long each couple would be staying there for.

We assumed that, as these other couples were limited with working visas, that thy would leave soon, and we would continue on in the safety of our jobs. It didn't work out that way...

When Graham pulled Dom aside one lunchtime, Leonie knew something was wrong straight away. He told Dom that we would probably have to be let go (apparently the big boss said he needed to cut the hours and as we were the newest staff, we were first sacrificed).  Even though Graham tried to cushion the blow by saying that he wasn't 100% sure and would let us know within a few days, the discussion with Dom was clarification enough for us to know our days were numbered.

Yes we were upset, yes were disappointed, but we believe that everything is subject to change, and everything happens for a reason. This made our current situation a little easier to absorb.

We did think that the smart intelligent thing to do as a manager was to ask around and find out who was staying for how long and then let people go, based on that response. We are Australians and made it clear that we were there for the long haul. The German couple told Leonie that they were leaving next month and we would have thought that the Scottish wouldn't be too far behind that (working visas do expire and people come to Australia to work a little bit and then enjoy the land exploring. No one comes just to work on a farm the whole time).  

Had Graham known this would the outcome had been any different? Who knows! Probably not because the way of thinking seemed to be 'last employed, first to go'. We learnt many valuable lessons there that keep us in good stead for the future no doubt. This is what really matters in the end.

So once again we are on the road looking for that secure job we want so badly. Does it exist? Who knows :)

We can confidently say though that the politics of farming claimed another victim.

A short overview - Biondynamics, Organics & Commercial Farming

Before we update you all with what adventures we have been on and the work that we have been doing, we thought it would be a good idea to write a brief overview of Biodynamics, Organics and Commercial Farming.

It is a good idea to know this sort of thing because all the food and produce we consume, fit into one of these pigeon holes. And if your going to put food into your belly, its a good idea to know some of the following vital information:

• Where it the food coming from?
• How is the food grown?
• What type of care has been taken to ensure your food has all the nutrients it is supposed to have? 

From this, you can make your own mind up on wheather or not your gut can process what has gone into your food.

So we'll break it down just a little, because it's a huge subject and one that we are learning more and more about as we get to know the 'Australian Agricultural System'.

Commercial Farming

Chemicals, chemicals, chemicals.... There is a chemical (man-made in a lab and often tested on animals) that is used for every stage of the plants or animals growth. These chemicals are your herbicides, pesticides, fertilisers, worming drugs  & antibiotics. These chemicals are sprayed heavily onto and into the water supply of helpless produce or animals, and the land that sustains them. So the animal (meat), vegetable, pulse, legume, or fruit, comes to your digestive system with a cocktail of chemicals.

Commercial farming is in high demand all over the world, as we live in an age where 'wealth is taking over our health'. We need to ask ourselves 'can our bodies afford the amount of chemicals that we ladle into them'?

Organic Farming

Organic agriculture defines itself by what it avoids or does not use. So they tend to not use the man-made chemicals that the commercial farmers use. But, when it comes to animals, they still use antibiotics governed by law, and your animals will be fed an 'organic grain' instead of grass (or if their natural food source isn't available).

The term organic is so misplaced and over-used to make a quick $$$ these days. Just as importantly, it's best to research into where in the world the 'organic' produce is coming from. It's important to note that some countries that have certified organic labelling on their produce are growing this same produce in contaminated environments (soil, water, air, etc). So what's the point!

Australia is no exception as it battles it's way through the supermarket isles to make it's mark of wealth with the term 'organic'.

Biodynamic Farming

Until a few weeks ago this word 'Biodynamic' was just a fancy word to us (much like superfood, macrobiotic, etc). Then we started to research into it and found what we think is the 'missing link between earth and human'.

Discovered by Rudolph Steiner in 1924, Biodynamics looks at the 'whole' and starts with the soil. It offers ways of healing the living earth before planting and growing; fruit, vegetables and animals. If you were to look at it in terms of building a house (your body) you must always start with building a strong and stable foundation (the soil).

So before any seeds are planted, the soil is first built with 9 Biodynamic preparations and put into the soil at different times of the year, building it up with nourishment. The following are the preparations (known collectively as the 'Compost Preparation') and a little bit about each one:

BD#500 ~ Horn Manure

Is simply cow manure packed into cow horns and buried in the earth during the winter months (masculine in energy).

BD#501 ~ Horn Silica

At the opposite polarity (feminine in energy) is ground silica stuffed into cow horns and buried in the earth during the summer time.

BD#502 ~ Yarrow

The yarrow preparation is made by taking the blossoms of the yarrow plant and sewing them up into a stag bladder, which is then hung in the summer sun & taken down and buried during the winter time.

BD#503 ~ Chamomile

This preparation involves using a bovine intestine, stuffing it full of chamomile blossoms & buring the sausage in the earth for the winter months.

BD#504 ~ Stinging Nettle

First, one must harvest the entire above ground plant at flowering time & bury it in the ground surrounded by peat & moss through out the winter and summer months.

BD#505 ~ Oak Bark

This uses ground oak bark & the fresh skull of a domestic animal, from which all tissue has been disposed of. The bark is then packed into the empty skull and buried in a nearby swamp environment for the winter season.

BD#506 ~ Dandelion

Take dandelion blossoms and sew them up in a sack or pillow made from bovine mesentery and buried into the earth.

BD#507 ~ Valerian

The juice is extracted from the blossoms of the valerian plant which is fermented for a few weeks before use in the soil.

BD#508 ~ Horsetail

A tea is made out of the herb and placed within the soil.

Some of these preparations may seen strange, but we think man made chemicals used on food is stranger!

It doesn't stop here with these preparations either.

Biodynamics is working in harmony with the whole universe. It's a spiritual process between man, the solar system, the seasons, and all the Eco Environments contained within the living earth. It is about NOT raping and pillaging our beautiful mother earth! It is about putting back into her before expecting to take from her! Biodynamics is usually about 'not for profit' (so as not prostitute mother earth and take from her for the mere $$$).

The preparation's above if used and researched properly will produce nutrient dense produce year after year, and after established continual practise, can make up to 14 inches of top soil!

The saying goes, if you put the good stuff in, you will get good stuff out! Biodynamics is a science and a spirituality!

Is this 'modern world', it is hard to find 'healthy' food and produce at arms reach, but let's do the best we can with the resources available to us and see what happens? We are after all...only human beings.