As we farewell the warm Summer days, welcome the beautiful Tasmanian Autumn with the crisp, cooler days, changing colours and shorter days, you should sit back and enjoy the read of our latest issue of The Dirt.

Latest News

We are very excited to announce our 2020 cohort of the Sprout Producer Program. We have six amazing producers to introduce to you!

Click on the links to find out more about each producer and their farms:

Rob Mather - Valley Fresh Farm 

Rob Mather has over 25 years experience in parks and natural area management working in both Sydney and Hobart.  In April 2019 he exchanged his management role at the City of Hobart for the challenge of establishing a chemical free market garden in the beautiful Huon Valley south of Hobart.  Years of being progressively more desk-bound were taking its toll, so instead of adopting a stand-up desk, Rob opted out of the desk entirely for a farming life. Read the full story here!

Bec Rumble & Paul Hallier - Lone Goose Farm

Meet Bec and Paul from Lone Goose Farm. New to Tasmania and to farming, they made the move (and giant leap of faith) because they’re passionate about sustainable, regenerative and ethical food production. Find out about their Muscovy Ducks and the story behind the name Long Goose Farm here.

Christine Bishop - Beaupre Farm

Chris, new to both Tasmania and farming is now focusing her energies away from a career in international health development to establishing a small Boer goat stud in Southern Tasmania which aims to produce high quality commercial goat meat for local markets.  As well as having some very cute, inquisitive and affectionate additions to the farm, her goats will be part of a broader weed eradication program which will use regenerative farming practices such as rotational grazing of mixed cover crops to restore the farm’s diverse and fragile ecosystems. Find out all about Beaupre Farm here.

Mac McGuinness & Oli Wichman - Huski Greens

At Huski Greens - they are all about living local! Located in Southern Tasmania, the power of community and the importance of knowing your farmer is what drives Mac & Oli to continue to grow and supply direct to the local community through farmers markets every weekend and sell direct to local cafes, restaurants and caterers. They are proud to say they do not use any harmful chemicals or pesticides and believe in real organic growing techniques. Learn more about their passion for micro greens here!

Sue Manning & Narelle Johnson - Bridgenorth Berries 

Susan and Narelle have been friends since the early 90's. In 2017 they both left their mainland lives and moved back to Tassie to their picturesque berry farm in Bridgenorth, near Launceston. So began the steep learning curve of improving and building up their berry business. Crops of boysenberries, youngberries, raspberries and blackberries are staggered over the growing season. This allows them to pace the picking and selling of their produce and enjoy meeting customers at local markets and at their shed door. Find out more about their berry products here.

Rebecca Reed & Dylan Hall - Tasmanian Natural Garlic & Tomatoes

Carrying on in her parents footsteps, Rebecca Reed and partner Dylan Hall, are proud and passionate about their produce. At Tasmanian Natural Garlic and Tomatoes, the standards are high and their philosophy is simple: "Don’t offer anything that we would not be delighted with ourselves". They devote many months of careful planning and preparation into delivering every one of their products through organic and biological means. Find out how many varieties of Tomatoes and Garlic they produce here.

Events & What's On

• Cross Pollinate 2020 - Watch this space! We are currently reviewing the conference events and feedback from Cross Pollinate 2019 to plan another great event for 2020! 
• Workshops & Events 2020 - planning and scheduling is underway for our workshop and event program. We will keep you updated, or you can check our Events page, follow us on Facebook or sign up as a member to be the first to know about our fabulous events and workshops on offer for 2020!

Sprout Producer News

On Saturday 1st February 2020 we hosted our annual In-Out Day for the Sprout Producer Program of 2019-2020. A day of celebration for the previous years cohort to officially graduate and reflect on their year of learning, development, friendship and success and consideration about "Where to from here?". It is also a welcoming to the new cohort for the 2020 program, the beginning of a year of learning, self education, mentoring and forming a support network with like-mind people under the guidance and support of the Sprout team.

The past and present cohorts spent time together sharing thoughts and ideas over a beautiful spread of local produce!

Our Community

• The AgriGrowth Loan Scheme is an initiative of the Tasmanian Government providing low interest loans to Tasmanian farm businesses and agri-food businesses. Find out more information from the Department of State Growth here. 
• Women in Agriculture are offering a one day "Public Speaking Made Easy" workshop. Find out more and register here.
• FermenTasmania & Eat Well Tasmania are hosting a "Re-think packaging" workshop, with a selection of guest speakers, information about sustainable packaging and recycling. Includes Trade Show and Lunch. Find out more here.
• Tasmanian Tomato & Garlic Festival - Sunday 15 March: find more here