Summer on the Mid North Coast is not for the faint-hearted gardener. Farming is inherently a high risk enterprise at the best of times, but never more so than during our summer.
The heat, humidity and rain create the perfect conditions for fungal disease, pest pressure and plant stress. Every year is a bit of a boom-or-bust season for us. Some crops, like tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, usually carry the farm through summer and help balance the books, while others quietly struggle along or abjectly fail.
This past spring and summer was drier than average, and we were hopeful. We really believed improved conditions would bring improved productivity.
But we’ve been disappointed.
None of our crops truly boomed. Most were bust. Our tomato crop was a catastrophic failure. Hundreds of hours of work. A new polyhouse that you helped erect. Result? Close to no return, and the time 'wasted' there meant less time protecting and growing other crops, which compounded the loss.
To be very honest, we’ve struggled to keep the volume of produce flowing to you, meaning our income has been going backwards, while costs continue to rise.
It’s been humbling.
And clarifying.
The financial pressure of this hot season has been very real and overwhelming. It has shown us how vulnerable our income is, and how stressful that vulnerability is. You might remember an email back in January called 'Beware the Little Foxes' when Rod was struggling to 'hold on', and Desley has been going through the same challenges.
These challenges have pushed us to reassess how we run the farm. We’ve realised that sometimes being busy “doing the thing” stops you from stepping back and refining the thing, and nudging it towards profitability.
So here’s what we’re doing:
Prioritising crops. We’ve ranked every crop by profitability and demand so we can focus our time and resources on what best feeds your family and sustains ours. (Tomatoes are still at the top — we are determined to solve that puzzle.)
Division of responsibilities. Scott, Hannah, Wendy and Rod have redistributed roles across the garden to improve efficiency and make sure key functions don’t slip through the cracks.
Harvest team leadership. Our Monday harvest team are champions, rain, hail or shine. Hannah has stepped into the role of Harvest Manager to streamline systems and improve flow from our garden to your table.
Planting schedules. We’ve reassessed succession planting to create more consistency, reduce waste, and offer the widest range of profitable crops possible.
Infrastructure. We are making small investments in facilities and equipment to improve workability and efficiency.
General review. Reviewing management practices, pricing structures, casual employees, and expanding value-added products so we can steward this farm wisely.
But there’s another change we want to share.
For some years Rod has been leveraging his decades of rural living and property experience to help families prepare themselves for a move to country life, and assisting some find their new country home - you may have attended one his Off-grid Living Workshops in the past. His mission in this space has been an extension of our Homegrown Organics mission - to help families flourish.
Last year we decided to formalise this service, and after months of study, certification and preparation, today we launch a real estate buyers agency and rural mentoring service.
Bailey & Co. Property
In this business we aim to help families flourish in a different way - by assisting them find and buy homes that provide the lifestyle advantages they and their children are seeking that create long-term contentment, stability and opportunity.
We know what it feels like to have dreams of a better life, along with paralysing self doubt and uncertainty. We know what risk and financial stretch feel like. We know what it means to lie awake at night doing the numbers and stressing about making an expensive and regrettable mistake.
And if we can help another family step forward towards their goals with clarity and confidence, and into freedom and independence, we want to do that. And if they need mentoring through their first months or year of country life to make the transition as painless as possible, we want to do that.
This new business isn’t replacing the farm. It’s complementing it. It is designed to bring some financial stability to our family as we continue to grow food for your family, and now help other families into their new homes and lifestyles.
And the HUGE bonus for us? We are building Bailey & Co. Property with our girls Katie and Hannah, making it even more meaningful.
Thank you for standing with our family in every season, the abundant ones, and the refining ones.
We’re still your farmers. We’re just strengthening the foundations underneath it.
With love,
Rod, Desley, Scott, Hannah, Wendy & Katie.