Whatever they said to you at school, farming is the oldest profession.
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Category Archives: Weather
Autumn Open Day at Bellis
Every time I open my garden there is something to celebrate about organic gardening and seed saving.
In Production Today – February 2013
Productivity is gradually recovering after ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald.
In Production Today
Heat and windy, sunny weather continue delaying sowing and planting summer crops.
In Production Today
Food production is quickly changing since summer arrived two weeks early…
Dry soil after the storm
After the storms that hit Brisbane yesterday you might expect that I could give watering a rest for a while. Continue Reading →
In Production Today
In Brisbane, winter crops have finished flowering. Their seed is ripe and ready for harvest.
Acclimatisation, The Continuing Story
“With the right breeding and care, food plants have – so far – fed and sustained human civilisation”
In Production Today: July 2012
Thanks to a damp, mild and gloomy Brisbane winter, succulent mushrooms have boosted my menu from a low of 112 taxa last month to 157 taxa.
Towards A National Food Plan
Draft notes for Queensland Conservation’s submission to aid in the development of a National Food Plan. The final draft was submitted by QC on 2.9.11…
Beerwah Farm
Introduction
A National Food Plan is vital for Australia’s ongoing food sovereignty.
Food Sovereignty may be defined as a nation’s self-sufficiency in food, where affordable staples are made available to its people irrespective of their age, personal wealth, or place of residence.
Without a well-researched National Food Plan the long-term outlook for Australian food sovereignty is not good. Our nation produces a relatively small food surplus in good years, mostly meat and grains, sufficient to feed between 30-40 million. This is a small amount of food compared to current and predicted global population statistics.
Australia covers 7.7 million km2, our fossil soils are infertile and 3 billion years old, and our current population is 22.4 million. In a good year we produce a surplus of grains and meat sufficient to provision another 30 – 40 million people. By contrast the neighbouring island of Java covers 1.9 million km2 (1.8 times the size of the state of Victoria), its volcanic soils are young, fertile and well watered, and its current population is 138 million. In a good year, Java is almost self-sufficient in most staple foods.
