Best time to plant a tree?

We recently attended Kandanga Farm Store’s Agvention field day where we listened to a great range of speakers in the regen ag space. We also attended the Scenic Rim Agricultural Expo where I spoke about the huge complexity of farming; growing grass, animal requirements, restoring the landscape, management decisions and direction, all the while trying to stay safe. And this doesn’t even consider the things outside of our control like extremes in weather, government regulations, friends and neighbours, markets and interest rates!  

Even for those who have grown up on the land, farming is extremely complex and if you haven’t, then it is even more so. This is one of the main reasons why we started running our 2-day, I Bought a Farm Bootcamps, to help small landholders to manage their farms holistically and understand principles rather than recipes. When we understand the foundations of natural systems, we have a much better chance of implementing sound practices on our own place. It is important to keep things simple, without oversimplifying.

Traditionally, farmers have grown up on farms where they have started learning by observation and immersion from a very young age. By the time they are managing a farm in their own right, they may already have 20 years of this observation and experience. Today, there are more and more people purchasing a small farm and are becoming first generation farmers, often juggling this between full-time work and family commitments. By attending a bootcamp, new farmers can learn and gain insights from us to help bridge the gap.

At both events we were asked if our bootcamp is for people who have just recently bought a farm? The answer we give is via the question, when is the best time to plant a tree? The answer, 20 years ago. If you didn’t do it then, then the next best is today. Therefore, our bootcamp is ideal for those who have just bought a farm, plus those who are thinking of buying a farm, and due to the complexity of farming, it is also ideal for those who have bought a farm 10 years ago.

Looking forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming bootcamps where you will gain some knowledge to put into practice.