2009 News/Blog/Info

27 May 2009
The next lot of beef is ageing nicely in our butcher's coolroom. I must say it all looks superb, and some will be available in early June.   Whilst most of it is sold, there will be a little left over and for the first time we will try selling individual cuts. These will not be available all the time, and will not be able to be ordered in advance, so first in first served. We haven't figured out prices yet, but expect to pay similar prices as you would at a quality butcher.

By the way we are almost out of lamb/hogget and pork, and there will be no more until late July.

As the Swine flu numbers spike here in Australia, our farm is off limits to all human visitors until further notice! As funny as this may sound, we don't want our visitors potentially giving our pigs the flu! It's a biosecurity measure.

15 May 2009
Apologies to all for the lack of email and internet communication. Don't we all just love Telstra? Two weeks ago my wireless broadband modem starts to die. Having tried all the 'help menu' suggestions I ring Telstra. I attempt to argue with the voice synthesised idiot computer, and eventually get to a technician. This is after the computer generated voice becomes exasperated with me and decides I am the idiot. Anyway I follow all the instructions of the helpful tech who then informs me that the modem I am using is faulty (i knew this salient piece of info). He then says that the model I am using is prone to faults and will be replaced under warrantee in 2 to 4 days - so far so good.

On day 3 I received an officious threatening letter from Telstra that states should I fail to return the dodgy modem they will charge me for it, but no replacement modem has arrived. Day 10 arrives, by which stage I am truly suffering internet induced isolation/withdrawl symptoms, and the new modem is in the PO box - things are looking up. I race home and open the package to find an identicle and possibly also dodgy modem! No matter I need to get on the net - banking to do and bills to pay (including bloody Telstra's). Following all instructions to the letter I fire up the beast - it works, but says I must register the beast online. But to register the beast online you have to be able to get online - a classic catch 22. So back onto the techical support line, deal with the idiot voice recognition computer to eventually get to a human being.

Finally get a real live person on the line who is also helpful. She says she will get me registered forthwith. But no can do. I must be transfered to the department of lost causes to have my modem registration performed 'manually' - the mind boggles at a manual registeration of a high tech digital device which the support people can't do on a keyboard. So I am transfered to somewhere where they attempt to do a manual registration. This is successful BUT it will take up to 48 hours before it is effective?? I was having visions of a telephonist circa 1940, inserting various plugs into sockets after her rostered day off. Day 13 arrives, I hope the RDO was good, and I am finally back on line - but still have to register the modem online, but this time I can do it. Now all I have to do is wade through the 120+ emails and reply to those I deem worthy.

OK rant over and on to farming stuff. The beef is on it's way but will not be ready until early June - it looks fantastic. We still have some outstanding pork left but this will be the last for many months except for some mince and sausage. We have a little lamb/hogget left but this be all gone in a week or two.

Did any of you hear the ABC666 producers lunch on Wednesday? It went live to air between 1 and 3 pm with Genevieve Jacobs and her crew. It's hard to tell how it came across, but I think well? Anyway I had a ball. Joyce Wilkie and Michael Plane were marvellous hosts as usual, and we all cooked up a storm. Anyway for those interested here is the link to the ABC story http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/05/12/2568263.htm?site=canberra&rotator=true
My pork and the crackling were a bit of a hit, the sausages surprized Genevieve and crew (some ate 3 or 4!), however the bull porterhouse roast was a bit dry. Partly due to the old gas oven, and partly due to my ineptitude as a cook. The flavour was good though.
The technical side of things was fascinating for me as decades ago (pre digital days) I worked a little in high end recording studios, we even had an anechoic chamber for recording musicians without reflected sounds. But the digital sound and broadcast equipment they had was simply fascinating.

Anyway for those who may have been listening I fluffed the ethical meat question posed by Genevieve as I fail to pose THE question. The question I didn't ask, in the context of animal welfare and meat eating, was; "Is a short happy life better than no life at all?" This is the toughest of questions for the non meat eaters to answer. Even Peter Singer deflects and dodges this one. Let me put it another way, if you were offered a choice of living a short happy life (say to age 20) and then dying a quick and painless death, or not existing at all, what would you choose? As impossible and silly as this question may seem, I would choose to live a short happy life.

Now, I do not support the industrialisation of meat production, the same systems that are giving use bird and swine flu and the potential for pandemics. And I also support the eating of considerably less meat than we do, perhaps a 90% reduction as a nation. That said, there are genuine and valid ecological, cultural, health and social reasons for eating some meat. Always provided that none of the costs associated with the production of this meat are externalized - socially, environmentally, economically, and ethically. As I have said before - please eat less meat, and when you do make sure it is good, clean, and fair - slow food.

1 May 2009
April ended with some decent rain and brought the monthly total to 96.5mm. The rain very much needed and we are still getting some pasture growth so things are looking up.

I mentioned in an earlier entry that I was studying aquaponics, and this continues. What I have found so far that aquaponics does indeed offer great potential for vegetable and fish production using less than 10% of the water of conventional horticulture. It has none of the built in problems of aquaculture and artificiality of hydroponics from whence it developed as a symbiosis of systems. Furthermore it can certified organic in the USA - but not in Australia, basically because the Ozzie organic bureaucracies are too busy with a turf war to get their acts together at the moment. Pity because aquaponics is a system that is difficult to cheat, and if any synthetic or even natural pesticides/treatments are used, the fish die - which defeats the whole purpose. Also aquaponics lends itself to being a truly closed loop and minimal environmental impact system, which is the gold standard for organics, but one that very few farms (I can count them on one hand) achieve.

Anyway with a bit of luck I'm off to study the latest developments OS and bring those back and implement them here on farm. Once again I'll be at odds with the "big O" organic bureaucracies because I will loudly claim organic status for the produce of the system - a system that they are too backward to even recognize, let alone certify.

23 April 2009
Well the Food for Friends night at Bungendore went well last Saturday night, so there will be more. The pork rillette was excellent and there was lashings of it (our pork), but personally I'd have liked a touch more salt. The Tunisian Lamb and eggplant was also very good (it was hoggett actually which gave it better flavour), but the batch needed better stirring at serving time as some people got very little meat and a lot of sauce and eggplant. In fairness it is hard to tell which is which when everything is covered in a darkish sauce, and if mention to the staff more lamb was happily provided. In fact there was no shortage of food and several people had second helpings. The rhubarb panacotta had fantastic flavour but, and I'm being picky now, I would have liked them to have been a bit lighter in texture. So minor criticisms out of the way, most people I talked to went home very happy and well fed. When you take into account that this was Chris's first such dinner and it was for over 50 people, it was an outstanding success!

Once again we have been doing a lot of thinking, analysis and soul searching here on the farm. We've been in drought with little let up for 7 years, and have been seriously wondering if our farm and modus operandi are truly sustainable. To this end we are in the process of doing a whole of business review and energy audit - energy in the fullest sense of the word and not just fossil fuel inputs. As good as we are when compared to convention agriculture, initial indications are that the farm is NOT sustainable in this current environment. Not when we look at the triple bottom line of environment, financial and social, and then project reduced stock numbers, outputs and consequent income. We are not sure of the eventual outcome of deliberations, all we know is that we will continue farming, and that there must be changes to how we operate.

The most likely scenario at this stage is reduced beef and lamb production due to the ongoing dry, and an increase in pork and eggs. We will continue selling direct and what this probably means to our co-producers is that the waiting lists for beef will get longer, and the pork waiting list will get shorter. The lamb, hoggett and mutton availability will remain much the same. Of course all our projected numbers are rubbery due to our assumption that demand for our produce will remain as it has; constant, high and growing.

16 April 2009
Rain at last! We received 45mm in the last week and already the paddocks without stock are tinged green. Hopefully the warmish weather will stay a bit longer for some decent pasture growth.

I may not have mentioned, but this Saturday night, 7:30 at Cafe Woodworks Bungendore, there is a foodie event. Chris Curtis is coming out of the closet and declaring himself one of them, you know - a cook. Anyway a long table diner of local fine foods is planned, including our pork and lamb, and a brief talk by yours truly about good clean and fair food, and another on oysters, and possibly another by Chris on the making of a cook? Cost $60 per head BYO, and I believe there are a few places left - well there were last Friday. The menu consists of an oyster tasting, pork rillettes, Tunisian lamb with couscous and eggplant, and rhubarb pannacotta. The food press will be in attendance with articles to follow.   So if interested in "Food for Friends" (great name) call the Cafe on 02 6238 1688 and bookings are essential.

8 April 2009
The things you see when you don't have a gun! At 1am this morning I scared the tail off a fox wanting a duck dinner. I awoke to unusual duck noises from the Aylesbury pen, looked outside to see a huge fox on the roof attempting to break in. I rushed outside in nothing but shoes and the sight scared the fox so much, it won't be back for a while. Stupid really, and half asleep, next time I'll remember to take a gun as well as shoes. It was the biggest fox I've ever seen. In the full moonlight it appeared to be the size of a Labrador.

Forgot to mention the other day that the rainfall for Jan, Feb and March is <20% of "normal". This low rainfall occurred at our hottest and driest time of the year too, which hasn't helped matters. The temperatures are now dropping to single digits over night and soon, even if we do get rain, the pastures will be mostly dormant - such is life.

So in the absence of rain I've had to do a little lateral thinking. I'll be making the paddocks even smaller in size and planting forage trees around the perimeters. The trees will be drip irrigated for a few years until established and their roots have gone deep enough to survive extended droughts. The smaller paddocks will enable more frequent moves to fresh pastures which will help pasture growth and animal health. The fodder trees will provide protein and mineral rich feed in the tough times, as well as wind breaks which should help the pasture by reducing evaporation rates. What I am proposing is not the same as the usual Landcare type treatment, it is far more intensive and should drought proof the farm making it a closed loop system exporting nothing but converted solar energy in the form of meat and eggs. At this rate I'll be working the farm in my second century!

Easter is nearly upon us and you will find us at the National Folk Festival again this year. I simply love the atmosphere, the music and food, not to mention the ales on tap. One of my favourite haunts is the Sessions Bar post 9pm. Here, as the venues close, many musos gather to jam and continue playing. Nothing beats sitting next to musicians playing for the love of it. So 'do ya self a favour' and check out the National Folk Festival.

6 April 2009
The things you see when you don't have a camera! Millie, our Whippet, was barking at something as I was mixing more dry lick for the cattle and sheep. A Whippet barking is a bit unusual (sight hounds rarely bark) so I investigated the cause of this behaviour. A 1.5 metre (5 foot) Goanna with a small bunny rabbit half way down it's throat was a sight to behold. Milie has some competition for her raison d'etre.

Anyway an Australian native taking revenge on an introduced pest is a most gratifying sight. When I got there the Goanna's jaw appeared to have dislocated to accommodate the bunny, and all I could see were the back legs and the cotton tail. The Goanna then disappeared down what I thought was a disused burrow, hopefully to digest and feed on another bunny. A few less Easter bunnies could only be a good thing - bah humbug.

6 April 2009
Well march has come and gone and we ended up with a grand total of 11mm - we had the same result in February. The Feb and March rains evaporated as they fell and no pasture production resulted. All in all I have not seen the country this dry. To preserve the precious topsoil I have moved all the animals into smaller 'sacrifice' paddocks where it looks as though we will be feeding them until spring. This will not be good for our hip pocket nerve as we attempt to keep the breeding herd and flock intact and as healthy as possible. It is with some foreboding that I ponder the consequences of this being our climate from now on - don't even want to contemplate it getting worse!

Directly related to the 'dry', some of you may know I am investigating something called aquaponics and will begin to play with it soon. In essence aquaponics uses fish in tanks to feed plants in grow beds in a completely closed loop self regulating system. It appears to offer enormous advantages in a dry environment, using one tenth of the water to produce leafy greens, in a little over half the time. Such claims deserve skepticism and scrutiny which is what I am doing at the moment.

This application of low technology and high intelligence to food production in a natural way appeals to me greatly. The benefits to the worlds driest continent appear immense. Furthermore an increase scale does not disproportionately benefit the big guys. This technology is as much at home in a suburban backyard as on large farm. The technology is relatively simple and has application in the developing world too - fish for protein and plants for bulk. Don't like fish? Use ducks to drive the system. All you need is something that naturally excretes into a body of water and then recirculate this nutrient rich water though the plants grow beds. And it isn't entirely new either, the South Americans were building floating rafts on fish and bird rich ponds to grow vegetables over a thousand years ago.

Anyway I hope to have a demonstration model of this technology up and running by our open days in the coming spring. For those interested check out this Australian forum http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/index.php and be impressed by the variety of system types (micro to huge) applications and climate zones (Tassie to FNQ and outback mining towns) etcetera.

By the way we will not have any beef packs (except mince and sausages) until late June. There will also be a few changes to the beef packs to be advised shortly.

26 March 2009
Some of you may have heard about the red and processed meat study in the USA that linked cancers with it's consumption. This is largest study of it's kind and involved 500,000 people over a ten year period. Well be that as it may, the study is fundamentally flawed! And I say that with with mixed feelings as we are strong supporters for a reduction in industrial meat consumption.

My daughters will groan if/when they read this, but "the quality of question results in the quality of answer". To lump two entirely different variables (unprocessed red meat and processed meats) into one category was stupidity by the researchers in the extreme! Processed meats contain nitrates and a whole host of other preservatives, flavour enhancers, colours, fillers, extenders, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Unprocessed red meats usually do not (the exception being minced meat that often has preservatives added to prevent discolouring). How they could lump the two together and treat them the same and then label 'results' is beyond me. So the question that now should be asked is this: is it the meat or the processing that is the problem? My extensive research over the last decade indicates that the culprit is the industrial processing of all foods (meat included) coupled with excessive consumption of same.

Of course the other issue with this seriously flawed study is that not all unprocessed red meats are the same. Pasture finished red meats have a healthy balance of the essential fatty acids, grain finished (feedlot or CAFO) red meats do not. So even if the researchers had separated the processed vs. unprocessed variables, there would still be doubt about the results. And of course we haven't even discussed the excessive consumption or obesity of the participants, and these effects on the "results". So all I can say about this "study" is, beware of well intended idiots!

23 March 2009
Our new bull Yabba is proving to be a hit with the 'girls'. He's very vocal - perhaps they like a good communicator? Anyway he's easy to spot in the heard as he is a good foot taller than the cows and the one the girls all gravitate to. Can't wait the 9 months to see his progeny, we are hoping he will put some height and frame back into the herd. I'll get my daughters to post some photos on the site as he really is a magnificent specimen, even in working condition. Yabba really puts some gravitas behind the appellation of stud bull, he is no metrosexual, all trussed up and pedicured for show, but the real deal - walking his talk.

This is a heads up for all our beef co-producers - our Beltie beef will be at the markets this Sunday. BUT we can't fit it all in the mobile freezers, so we'll be bring in half this coming Sunday and the balance next Sunday. As it is we will have 7 chest freezers fully laden and double our usual volume, but still this will not be enough. We will ring/email you later this week and let you know which Sunday your beef will be ready. I'm pleased to say it all looks really good.

We're out of pork mince and sausages for approx 6-8 weeks, when there will be a large quantity available in mid May and no more for 6 months or so. That's the bad news. The good news is that we have a good supply of the 5 and 10 kg pork packs. And speaking of pork sausages, we were at a 50th birthday do last weekend and our pork sausages were there for the taking. Several attendees (who didn't know my connection with the snags) said they were the best sausages they had ever had.

I've been talking to a few chefs about joint ventures and value adding to our pork. Basically making ham (jambon, jamon), prosciutto, bacon, spec, salami and speciality sausages. Things are moving on this front and we will be doing some taste tests mid year. This will allow us to sort out our brines for curing, I'm very partial to the nitrate free beer and apple cider ones, and then our cold smoking techniques. After that we have to jump through all the 'food safe' and health regulation hoops before we can sell the end product - so don't expect any goodies until much later in the year ;-)

16 March 2009
Well that was quick, the Mutton is all sold. Our regulars, and the people who tried it last week, returned and bought up all that was left raving about the quality and flavour. Sorry if you missed out, but there will be a little more mutton in approx 8 weeks time all going to plan - which it often doesn't.

It's that time of the year when we start getting ready to do our Autumn spraying of the biodynamic preparations. We have the preparations ready and waiting in stainless steel containers, surrounded by peat moss and stored in the wine cellar which is at a constant 17 degrees Celcius (it's underground). Now we wait for are the right time and conditions, ground moisture being desperately needed.

We will also be making our own 500 and 'putting down' some 800 cow horns again this year, not to mention making more barrel compost. I'll have to do something above a large but distant Apple Box Eucalypt. This tree's roots have travelled 80 metres horizontally and down two 1.5 metre drops (through what appears to be solid roock) to get to the pit and consume it's energy - no wonder the tree looks so damn healthy. I think it'll be easiest to move the pit.

13 March 2009
Mucho Magnificent Mutton!!! We had some of our mutton last night and I was blown away, it was the best meat I've had in a long time. So I cooked 1.15kg of chump chops (4) on the bbq and we had one each, along with sweet corn and mashed potato (with raw butter), carrots and some green stuff - a really basic meat and three veg evening meal. The mutton chops were superb, more like prime beef sirloin only better marbled, nothing like lamb or hogget, and it was definitely not the cook's skill.

Can't wait to try the leg roast on the week end. In fact those chops were so good, I might just withdraw the rest of the mutton from sale - just kidding. I'll state here and now that mutton will definitely become another Mountain Creek Farm signature product. Pure meat breed sheep, raised and finished on pasture, dry aged for 4 weeks (a week for every year of age), simply superb. Here I am waxing lyrical about old sheep, perhaps I should move to New Zealand - I hear it rains over there too.

12 March 2009
The dosing of the chooks appears to be working, they seem much happier and lively. Still no eggs for this week, but eggs will be back on the menu next week. What's happening to all the eggs? The pigs are getting a high protein treat and they love eggs, shell and all!

Late last week I picked up our new stud bull, Greenthorpe Yabba. He is magnificent, placid, a proven sire of carcass competition winners and a few rRoyal show wins as well. As an ex show bull he was led onto the float in a halter - he's still wary of me but will tame up nicely. Yabba talks continuously and sounds like a teenage boy grunting replies - I suspect he likes the sound of his own voice too. Anyway he is in the paddock with the girls and working, so we expect his first calves in early December. Yabba will be on display in spring at our open farm days.

Our beef drought is almost over. Some magnificent (even if I do say so) beef is aging nicely in our butcher's coolrooms. I was a bit worried about this lot of beef as the season has not been kind (bloody awful actually) and finishing the steers on pasture was hard and slow work. However our patience has paid off and the beef looks superb and should make for very good eating. Beef mince and sausages should appear in two weeks time, and the beef packs will be available in three weeks.
But first the bad news. Most, if not all, this beef is sold. So if you haven't forward ordered there may be a few unalloctaed packs of beef available, but don't count on it. The good news is that there should be more beef in 6 to 8 weeks time. Most of the next lot of beef is available, but orders come in daily so don't delay.

Pork. Our last pork for several months has joined the food chain. I know many of you have just taken delivery of this great pork, but consider putting some away for later - it keeps for 6 months if kept fozen.

I took a small load of porkers to their terminal destination on Tuesday, and it was the quickest kill I have ever witnessed. I unloaded the pigs into a holding pen, they were inspected, the paperwork checked, and 2 minutes later we had moved them up the line and they were dead. This may sound strange, but it was the quickest and most humane death I have witnessed to date, making the trip and effort worthwhile. We try very hard to walk the talk of ethical meat producers and often it is most difficult when the system is geared to the industrial production of meat where efficiency is paramount and ethics secondary, but this time it worked extremely well.

Speaking of pork, Steve Feletti of Moonlight Flat Oysters of Batemans Bay paid us a big compliment. Steve produces some of Australia's best oysters and you'll only find them at the very best of resturants in Sydney and Melbourne, and the Ginger Room in Canberra. He calls himself a tough critic when it comes to fine food and I suspect he has a well developed palate too. Anyway he purchased some of our pork and lamb saying "it's really hard to get good pork these days". He rang back a few days ago and said "congratulations on a great product" adding that he will be back for more.

11 March 2009
Fencing in this dry soil is hard work. The new sheep yards and holding paddock are taking shape, but it's slow work when you have to jack hammer the post holes down to depth, and use the same jack hammer with an adaptor to put star pickets in the ground. For the US readers, in Australia a 'star picket' is what you would call a 'T picket' or 'T post', except that in both countries the picket is shaped like a Y when viewed from above or in section - makes perfect sense doesn't it?!?

And we are not discussing the lack of rain which makes fencing such hard work!! That said I believe the climate has shifted to a dry cycle/era from which it may not emerge in my lifetime. I base this statement on reviewing the 160 year farm rainfall records, almost daily internet searches on climate and weather prognosis, following the evolving evidence of polar meltings and ocean acidification, and also part intuition coupled with direct observation. Suffice to say that the weather/climate change is making grass farming in this region marginal at best so we are looking at measures to keep us viable.

To preserve the soils and their ability to respond to infrequent but heavier rainfall, one measure I am contemplating is dedicated 'sacrifice paddocks'. These will be smaller paddocks that I can move the cattle and sheep during the dry times of the year where they will be fed hay and our lick supplement. I plan to locate these paddocks higher up on the farm to make use of that old management addage; "S**t flows downhill". I'll also chose poorer soil areas and sow drought tolerant pasture after the stock is moved on. I suspect the fertility of these areas will soon be some of the best on the farm due the animal impact, but they will look terrible initially as the fertility increase is incorporated.

3 March 2009
We have dosed our chooks with garlic infused into their water. All the organic/alternative books say this is a good wormer and tonic for the chooks, and all issue a warning about garlic tainted eggs. Well it's true. We had some this morning and voila - super garlic infused eggs. I loved them, but I think you'll smell me at 10 paces. We also noticed that our pullets we raised in Novemeber have started laying their first eggs. Small, perfectly formed, and yokeless.

For 3 months I've been feeding garlic to the sheep and cattle in their mineral lick. I'll keep this up for a while and see if it affects the flavour of the lamb and beef. The cattle take to the lick more readily than the sheep. What's in the lick? Dolemite (calcium and magnesium), sulfur, coppersulfate, seaweed meal, cracked lupins (a pulse for protein), fermaphos (commercial phosphorus lick with no nasties in it), salt (attractant) and garlic. The lick is dry and in a mobile trough to move with the stock, and it really helps the cattle and sheep digest dry roughage; which is all we have at this time of the year.

I've had a neighbour helping with fencing and other duties. Stephen is a fourth generation sheep farmer who has forgotten more about sheep than I will probably ever know. However he is amazed/bemused at my small flocks behaviour as I have trained them to a call. I call and the sheep come running and will follow me anywhere - into the yards, down the lane way, up the hill, into the shed. Of course it's simply Pavlovian conditioning, the sheep believe they will be fed a treat and I usually oblige, so this obliging flock comes at a cost. However due to the strong flocking nature of sheep, once they start to move with me they all come - not one is left behind, and there's no need for dogs, shouting or breaking into a sweat. It's just too easy and better for the sheep - they really want to do as I ask. The locals are already convinced I'm a fruitloop, so becoming a sheep whisperer will not seem out of character - but I'm no wannabe Kiwi :-)

As soon as I finish typing this I am off to collect the last of this seasons Hogget which will be available this Sunday. It's nicely aged, as tender as the lamb, and with better flavour. So if you haven't tried our Hogget, this will be your last chance for the year.

2 March 2009
I had a brush with death a few days ago. I was removing a calf from the tree allotment, she was enjoying the knee high grass and nibbling the trees, when I almost stepped on a brown snake. I caught sight of the snake just as I was about to step on it, and all I saw was a section about a foot long and 2 inches thick. Now you know all those safety lectures about standing still and the snake will move away from you etcetera? Well easier said than done. I simultaneously swore and jumped diagonally sideways about 6 feet!   Got my pulse rate up a bit too.

Whilst I'm confessing my lack of manhood. My chooks have past their use by date and I know I should cull the old girls, but I am having difficulty doing the deed. This means our egg production is way down and the quality is not as good as it could be. These old girls have been with us for 6 years and some even moved to the farm with us 8 years ago. I will buy more day old chicks to rectify the egg short fall, but........

I am building/converting new yards for the sheep at the moment. At the front gate there is an older set of cattle yards which is being modified for our Wiltipol sheep. Some welding is involved and you guessed it, I started a grass fire - it was out as soon as it started. Yes I know welding in the field in summer is stupid but I had water, pump and truck on standby. Lesson learnt though, and today I will have several buckets of water ready as well as the fire unit and a neighbour to douse any flame. There's little wind today so I'll start soon - it's nearly light.

Whilst building the yards I had to reattach and tension the fences - big mistake. The termites have eaten much of the bases of the timer posts and in tensioning the wires I pulled the strainers out of the ground. Net result is that there is now a kilometre of fence to rebuild. I spent all day Friday and Saturday setting steel posts in concrete when I discovered another issue.

The ground moisture is non existent. In putting in new posts I dug down to 1 metre and it was powder dry all the way down. So dry that the soil fell out of the post hole shovel (pincer type) and I had to add water to get the soil out. This is not good news for the trees and environment. There must be some moisture further down as the trees are not moisture stressed yet. But I noticed on the way to the markets early Sunday morning, that the Murrumbidgee has almost stopped following at Uriarra Crossing. The 'Bidgee is the lowest and slowest I've ever seen. Long time locals tell me they have seen it stop following at the crossing "but that was a long time ago".

Good reports are coming in about the hogget, and the mutton we tried was superb. Our mutton is only available as roasting pieces and, biases aside, I strongly recommend it. Best tasting sheep meat I've ever had - apart from those Sunday roasts mum used to bake some 40 years ago which I vividly and aromatically remember.

23 February 2009
Sorry of the long pause in updates, but we've been having computer issues again.

Not sure what to say about the Vic fires, except that it has brought back strong memories of the 2003 fires. The images on the TV screen are just too much for our family at times and we have to leave the room or turn it off. Although we were lucky in 2003 and only half our farm burnt, we empathise strongly with those affected in Vic.

More delays with the beef! This weather is making it all but impossible to finish our cattle on grass. When it's hot they just eat for maintenance and don't "finish", or finish very slowly. Anyway there will be really good beef available in late March, but not as much as we had hoped. This means most is pre sold, so don't delay with those orders :-)

To be honest I'm not really sure how this happened, but our co-producers are telling their friends, neighbours and co-workers that we produce the regions best meat - beef, pork and now lamb. Personally I don't think it's true, because I know we can do better and we're still improving with a fair way to go. But several chef's and food writers have independently told us "your xxxxxxxx was the best I've ever had", so we must be on the right track.

We also have a few of food bloggers as customers (I didn't realize that food blogging was being done let alone 'hot' - note to self - must get out more). Anyway one told a friend of ours (before she realized the connection) "that's the only place in Canberra I buy my meat", and another was heard to say on Sunday, right in front of our stand, "This is where you get the regions best meat". Sorry to disagree, but we think our meat is normal and ordinary (OK maybe a bit better than avearge), and how all meat should be - if not better.

6 February 2009
A quick reminder that the Lamb will be available for collection from the markets this Sunday, the Hogget next Sunday the 15th, and the Pork Sunday 22nd.

We all know it's been hot and dry, but very recent research has indicated the cause of our extended dry. It's not so much the El Nino/La Nina Pacific cycle, but more to do with the Indian ocean. Apparently if the Indian Ocean is in negative territory (by a measure I've yet to research) we get moist air being dragged diagonally across the continent from Northwest to Southeast which brings rain. The Indian ocean has been in positive territory for a decade, as it was for the Federation drought and the WW2 drought.

Exciting news!!! In New Zealand those other wonderful antipodeans have developed a way of testing product which can determine how it was grown. At this stage the test is most effective on leafy greens and looks at the nitrogen/carbon composition. A mass spectrometer is involved, but the test is affordable and will catch out those falsely claiming 'organic' status. The test can tell if synthetic fertilizers were used etcetera. The certification bodies are jumping with joy. Of course they haven't realized that this testing procedure renders certification superfluous. Why? Because if anyone can buy a product and get it tested, who needs certifiers and the associated bureaucracy. Initially an organization like choice magazine could 'out' the lies/false claimants, but eventually the test will be cheap enough for most citizens to afford to do their own testing. Bring it on I say - more power to the people!

More exciting news. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/03/2481211.htm Basically Mike Dennis has developed a solar powered air-conditioner. I have had an idea for solar air-conditioning for a long time and have discussed it with a few people. The potential commercial application is huge. In essence my idea was to use the old kero fridge principle on larger scale, powered by a solar collector/heat source, with the cooling coil/loops running on the ceiling. Very simple and very energy efficient, the only moving part would be a small pump to circulate the refrigerant, and even that would not be required if the installation allowed for thermocycling. If anyone reads this blog and thinks this a good idea, grab it and run with it - for the sake of our planet.

Another simple idea I had was to legislate that all housing roofs must meet a high reflectivity index. As it stands it is illegal to have white roofs in many council areas in Australia, and dark roofs predominate - black being popular. However if all roofs were white, or close to it, this would reflect much of the sun's energy rather than absorbing it and heating up - a bit like snow. Admittedly it 's not on the same scale as snow, but every bit helps. Every time I see a black roof I cringe, all that solar absorption happening AND the airconditioner running flat out at umpteen kilkowatts trying to cool the Tuscan McMansion - then you realize they are wall to wall and there's thousands of them.

3 February 2009
Well we've had a short break and now it's back into things. I've just returned from my butcher's shop and have seen the lambs and hoggets in various stages of preparation - they look great! I am really looking forward to the hogget taste test!

Mutton. Some of you have been waiting most patiently for our Mutton, the first of which will be available at the markets on the 15th of this month. The mutton will only be available in roasting pieces, so racks, leg and forequarter roasts etcetera. This is because it really needs to be slow cooked to bring out it's best. Anyway you know the drill first in best fed.

Bloody foxes! Whilst on our break one of the sows had a litter of 8 piglets. There are now only two left. I found the half eaten remains of two of them but the rest have disappeared. These is our first losses to foxes in 6 years and I can only put it down to the demise of our Welsh Springer. She was a great stock guardian with the best nose and deep bark, and I am convinced she kept the foxes at bay. So now I'm going to acquire a Mareema dog that is bonded to chooks. I'll only have to bond the dog to the pigs and sheep. If you are unaware of 'bonded' stock guardian dogs have a look here. They are being used to protect penguin colonies form foxes. Anyway I will be putting into practice what I have said elsewhere, ie. never do anything an animal will do for you naturally.

Rain for January was a little disappointing at 48.5mm, but in comparison to last year it's fantastic. It was only disappointing in that Canberra received much more than us and we could what it failing 'over there'.

Major changes to our open door policy in the short term. We are being swamped by enthusiastic people wishing to visit the farm and see what we are up too. This is fantastic and also a problem as there are only so many hours in the day. In starting this polyculture farm I have bitten off a big chunk of work, and am attempting to do it all single handedly. In short I am burning the candle at both ends and running out of wax. So whilst we really want to be transparent about all that happens on the farm this has come at a hugh price in time, and as a consequence things that should be getting done on the farm are not. So in the interests of sanity, a marriage, and the farm's integrity, our farm will not be available for inspection until spring later this year. By that time I should have caught up with all the neglected projects around the place and again be open to any and all comers. Post spring we will have numerous open days and farm tours. Sorry if this disappoints but we do have a major but limited resource - time.

15 January 2009
A wonderful new year to all. Firstly apologies, the lack of email replies and also phone calls is due to phone and computer issues. My computer problems are on going, but a new machine arrives tomorrow - nothing flashing, just a second hand stop gap until I build a new one. My next computer will run nothing but an open source operating system and open source software (just making another public statement about where my allegiances lie). I am no tech head and so will be guided in the process by my 79 year old geek mother. At the same time she will be building her latest all singing, dancing and conquering computer - dual quad cored, terra bits of ram, mega terra bits of storage, with double overhead canunjulators, cooled with liquid nitrogen to enable her to overclock the sucker to warp speed.

I have declared this the year of the pig here at Mountain Creek Farm. This year will see our pig numbers increase to meet demand along with a modicum of automation so we can get away for a day or two for short breaks. Speaking of which we wil be at the farmers' markets this coming Sunday but not the following two. Essentially we have little to sell but some pork mince and pork sausages this coming Sunday.

Because I have declared 2009 the year of the pig, I must apologise to those who wish to buy breeding stock from our Wessex Saddleback herd. I have decided not to sell any breeding stock for at least a year until I have the boar and sow lines truly sorted, our breeding program bedded down, and our numbers under control. If you were one of those seeking breeding stock, please send me an email and I will supply you with alternate sources and contact details.

Produce availability? Lamb will be back on the menu Sunday February 8. For those who have ordered this superb rare breed (Hampshire Downs), pastured finished and 'chem free' lamb, I am pleased to say they look magnificent. I saw them hanging on the hooks at the butchers yesterday, and they had perfect fat cover for our extended aging process. A rare breed meat lamb, superbly pasture finished, and extended hanging - it doesn't get any better than this except ...........
we will also be offering some pasture finished White Suffolk hogget two weeks latter.

The White Suffolk is essentially a meat breed sheep that is used to infuse Merinos (a wool breed) with better eating qualities. To cut a long story short, a near neighbour is using pure bred White Suffolks to produce terminal sires and we came to an arrangement to take his unwanted lambs which are now hogget. So in 4 weeks time we will have some superb hogget on offer. They were really fat (hoggets go to fat as they get older) so extended aging will be possible. In fact they should hang for as long as our beef! The eating quality promises to be every bit as good if not better than the Hampshire lamb.

Beef. Due to the time lag in producing beef (it takes 3+ years from conception to consumption) we are suffering a shortage due to the 2002 - 2008 drought. There is no quick and easy solution to this problem so our beef will be in short supply for the rest of the year. There will be some more beef available in March but be warned, much is already sold.

The search for a new dog has commenced. It will be impossible to replace our Welsh Springer (my best mate) but we do need a dog to scare the foxes away from our chooks and lambs. Anyway a Maremma is high on the list of potential stock guardians that will bond with the stock and property. A Pyrenean Mountain Dog is also high on the list and I suspect they are very closely related to the Maremma. These dogs are meant to live in the paddocks with the live stock, so I will have to curb my desires for a large lap dog and companion! Not sure I will be able to keep a dog permanently outdoors, we shall see.

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