Jembella Farm: A First Day of Winter Sunday

Sunday, 1 June 2014

A First Day of Winter Sunday

We've been blessed with 20mls of rain over the past two days. That wonderful feeling that all is well with the world as I head out in the misty rain to feed the calves their milk and let the chickens out. Rubber boots and steamy breath, this is what winter is all about. Sunday morning is no different to any other day when you have farm animal commitments. Oh, and I should add here that I'm likely to start talking about "chooks" any time soon, which is Ozzie for chickens, hens and roosters.

These lovely boys are destined for the table.

The girls prefer eating the cabbage leaves hanging from the tree rather than off the ground.

Noisy & bossy but good watch "dogs".

Heading off to check where the electric fence is shorting out.

Moving Klaus & Lavender into a fresh paddock.

With the use of electric fencing we've divided all of our larger paddocks. This enables us to move the cows onto fresh pasture every day or so to minimize parasite and worm infestation. Allowing them access to fennel and wormwood when they feel they need it, we were able to stop using drenches more than eight years ago. Chemical drenches don't fit in with our organic lifestyle and we have never seen worms in the gut of any of the beef we have butchered on the property.
Wherever you are, I hope you're having a lovely 1st day of June Sunday.

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About Us

Whether you're living in an apartment, in a house in the suburbs or on acres, you can live frugally and sustainably. There are many things you can do to save money, eat ethically and healthily, reduce waste and live an enriched life.
We are Sally and Brian and we live in the Barossa Valley (South Australia) in a 100 year old house on sixteen acres with 2 dogs, 7 cows, 2 alpacas, 5 geese, 35 chickens, 78 sheep and a few bee hives.
Our way of life takes team work and dedication, but over the years we've learned to be more productive without seeming to put in quite so much effort. We've learned through making mistakes and taking a different approach to what the conventional ways would be. Still learning every day and constantly researching old and new methods, we believe that our lives are greatly enriched, we are healthier and we couldn't imagine any other way of life.
Considered to be living The Good Life, people love to visit us on our small farm to learn about our simple living philosophy.

Why do we do it?
Our love of good food, concern for our health and respect for all animals. The further we got into living on the land the more aware we became that most of the standard practices of growing food were not satisfactory. We couldn't eat with a clear conscience.
Milk from sad cows, pasteurized and homogenized into white liquid. Meat from distressed, hormone and antibiotic pumped livestock. Vegetables and fruits grown and sprayed with chemicals. What to do? Grow our own!
Slowly we grew our knowledge and took one step at a time, becoming proficient in one skill before moving on to the next. The learning curves were steep. We fell over and got back up again. There has been some derision and criticism of our approach from a few, but that's life when you swim against the tide.
If we are not the "norm" then so be it. There is nothing "normal" about growth hormones fed to beef, anti-biotics and chemicals fed routinely to chickens, cruelty and disrespect for farmed animals, meals in a box, GM foods, strawberries and tomatoes in winter.
Thankfully the World is waking up to cleaner and more ethical food. We didn't know back then that Organics and Bio-dynamics would become the "new black". The tide is turning and our swimming is becoming easier.