OUR STORY
A partnership into a sustainable life
Once upon a time there was 2 single parents that took their kids to the same bus stop. Both born onto farms, left the farm and went onto other careers. However, we both felt the pull of farm life as if it was a missing part of ourselves. As we got to know each other as friends we found that our ideals and wants for the future meshed together as if we had formed it together all all our lives.
​
Conversations led to sharing fresh home grown produce, which lead to helping each other in the veggie garden, which lead to an undeniable love for each other with the prospect of a wonderful future together.
​
Thus resulting in the formation of Newfield Farm.
OUR JOURNEY
While our garlic started in our back yards Alan still had 3 small tiles of the Collins Family farm. When we started our journey together most of it was being leased out and in desperate need of much love and all so many repairs.
We ceased the leasing of the property and started working towards improving the land, fencing and infrastructure.
With little and sometimes no money to spend on the farm we made the realistic approach of doing what we can, with what we have or make.
We continue working full time with our Scaffolding Company along with working/volunteering for the Port Campbell Recreation Reserve taking care of the grounds keeping, managing the camping ground and general maintenance.
All this along with with caring for our 5 kids still living with us left little time to put towards the farm. But clove by clove, rail after rail, wire by wire, we have spent every spare moment working/playing at the farm. Currently it is still far from where we vision it to be and yet far from where it was.
We started with 5 calves, 6 dorpers, house vegetable gardens and 5 chooks & a rooster.
This soon turned into 40+ chooks, 30 sheep and with the help of the neighbors bull walking though the fence a few more calves, an acre of garlic and then with the hunger of our wedge tail eagles we were left with 1 chook.
During this time we trialed many things, many of which were, well to be kind lets just say, not a success.
​
To grow our garlic with no sprays or chemicals we tried various mulching options, even tried using sheep, turkeys, geese and chickens to help control the weeds.
​
We then purchased 2 berkshire sows and a saddleback bore to plough the land and eat the weeds for us where we wanted to grow our garlic.
This has certainly improved our soil and weed problem, however it is now our oat straw mulch that has grown and excellent crop of oats covering our garlic, no we weren't intending to use a cover crop, nor were we up for weeding the 1 hectare paddock of garlic.
To cry or look at the upside? Well honestly both. The up sides; 1, as you can clearly see we do not use sprays on out garlic, 2 the pigs enjoyed our surprise oat crop.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
As neither of us like to see animals in small pens our poultry pen is approx 20m x 40m with various plants growing in it. However after the disappointment of our wedge tail eagles have eaten numerous amounts of our birds we have resolved not to have any more other than our house chook until we have the time and $ to install a cover over this large area. However, our tom "the colonel'' stayed on with us for sometime, undefeated by the wedgies and filled with endless entertainment, please read our upcoming blog for more on 'the colonel'
​
In 2017 we purchased our starter flock and became a registered Australian White Sheep breeder. We now run both Dorper's and Australian White sheep, both excellent breeds for prime meat quality.
​
After a few years of dipping our toes in, in 2022 we are jumping in and starting our new venture of selling our meat produce direct to the clients.
​
We hope you enjoy our products as much as we do and we thank you for your support.
​
OUR VISION
We are working towards not just an organic farm but a sustainable farm.
Sustainability is in the eye of the beholder, as in, it means different things for different people. To some it simply means to have a house that is self sufficient enough to no longer be connected to the grid. For other it means to also be producing all of their own produce.
For us it is to be living a comfortable life, enjoying the people we love, having some luxury items, to travel when we can, to have a house that is not only off the grid but making use of design and wood heating to run, heat and cool the house rather than relying on solar/wind/gas for these.
We also are working toward an organic and sustainable farm, what this means for us is to implement a process of farming that encourages soil health, rotation of livestock, self seeding mixed pasture and hay crops and using the right crops to add nutrition to the soil rather than adding feriliser, this will also promote soil health which in turn will give plant health and an improvement to our environment.
We also continue to plant new native vegetation for the wildlife, shelter for livestock and fallen branches to warm the house and create mulch.