Hi, I'm Maria. I've been living in Tasmania for the last 18 years. My husband, Gregorio and I will be "going home" to a family property in the Southern Highlands of NSW in January 2015.

The property is about 100 acres and is mostly cleared. I don't believe much has been done on the farm in the past so it's a bit of a blank canvas.

My father has planted about 200 young olive trees so they are a few years away from giving a cash crop. He also runs a few cows on the property.

The challenge both terrifies and excites at the same time. Knowing we have to make a living off the land when we have NO experience is daunting.

I'm doing an Ag course at TAFE to get some theory behind me before we start, so I'm starting to learn the farming lingo.

But practical things like: where do we buy seeds and seedlings, where do we sell our produce, what grows well in the area are things we'll have to find out quickly.

We think we'll have a mixture of crops and animals. We're interested in bee hives and mushrooms as well.

As much as possible we want to use sustainable practices and use as few chemicals and artificial fertilisers as possible.

Looking forward to becoming part of your Small Farm community - thanks!