Published since 1986
MAY, 2020
Foreign investment protection
www.farmernews.com.au
New way of life for Audrey PAGE 7
Biosecurity producers of the year
PAGE 12
PAGE 19
Native food the key to sustainability By EMMA OLIVER
MURRINDINDI MADE
IN Tynong North, surrounded by the bushland of the Bunyip State Park is Peppermint Ridge Farm, 20 acres of productive agriculture, a tribute to Julie Weatherhead and Anthony Hooper whose vision of a sustainable lifestyle while restoring natural habitat and embracing native food has created this polyculture success. Julie is fourth generation farming, with the Weatherhead family well established in the area since the early 1900s. Peppermint Ridge Farm is part of the original landholding, and though predominantly used as a grazing property for beef cattle in years past, Julie’s ancestors had the insight in the 1900s to harvest the high quality oil from the Peppermint Eucalypts and send the oil to Melbourne for the production of eucalyptus lollies. Distillation of eucalyptus oil was the first agricultural production on the property, and along with the sawmills in the region became, in the early days, the main contribution to the economy from Tynong North, and the Weatherheads. With a family history that embraced what the natural environment had to offer
ROB Mitchell, president of Murrindindi Food and Wine Incorporated, and part-owner of award-winning Sassy Sister Liqueur in Merton, raises a glass to all things Murrindindi Made, as the group celebrates 20 years strong. For despite the diverse nature of agriculture in the region, the agricultural community is unified in a common vision of quality produce and shared success. Turn to pages 4 and 5 for the story.
from the eucalypt oil to the native timbers, and a childhood spent exploring the family farm and remnant bushland with her father, the direction that Julie’s life has taken feels very much generations in the making, and entrenched in a connection to land and place. Julie’s love of the richness and diversity of the native plants from her childhood world inspired her to study Environmental Science upon leaving school, as the fragility of these ecosystems and the concern that the land’s great diversity was disappearing drove her to make a difference. “It was the most amazing experience,” Julie said, discussing the degree. “There was so much knowledge, and I’ve used the ecology as the most wonderful background as to how I’ve approached my life, and it has determined everything that I’ve done ever since.” After a career in education, landcare, sustainable land management and primary production would become Julie’s profession. However, it was the completion of a Permaculture Design Certificate that would ultimately determine the direction Julie, Anthony and Peppermint Ridge Farm would take in the future. ■ Continued pages 2-3
BYPY TRANSMISSIONS
BONDIOLI & PAVESI and BIMA, PTO Shafts and Gearboxes
For all your agricultural power transmission requirements Call us for all your PTO Shafts, Gearboxes and Spare Parts
farming community since 1950
1800 932 113
Call Toll Free Fact 3, 16-20 Dingley Ave, Dandenong 3175 bypy@bypy.com.au www.bypy.com.au
37d07301/3219
Proudly supporting the