Information and Articles

Small producer case study: Swan Valley Honey (Part 2)

Debbie has put her product development skills to good use to diversify the range of Swan Valley Honey products.

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Getting started

Debbie Starr is a talented and experienced chef and also the luminary behind Swan Valley Honey.

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Getting started

Many small producers or livestock owners are unaware of the importance of biosecurity on their property.

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Planning & management

When buying a property it is easy to make the mistake of assuming that any water is good water. Unfortunately dam and bore water can have hidden quality problems including salinity, hard water and high or low pH, which make it unsuitable for some applications, and its impossible to know this just by looking at the water.

pH metre

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Planning & management

So many people I speak to plan to start their free range farm with rare breed pigs, in particular, the Wessex Saddleback or English Large Black and some, the Berkshire.

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Pigs

Have you ever thought about owning a house cow but don’t know where to start? Do you dream of unlimited raw milk, manure and beef to complement your small farm activities? Or maybe you’ve never given it a thought. Here’s why I think you need a house cow on your farm.

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Cattle

Business planning doesn’t have to be an arduous, drawn out task — it can be a simple, straightforward process that has the potential to turn your enterprise into a more profitable success.

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Planning & management

As I’ve written previously, secure water on your small farm is one of the most important inputs no matter if you just want a small vegetable garden or to keep livestock as well. One option is dam water, but on some properties the soil doesn’t hold water, and if you don’t get regular rain, dams can dry up.

If you can find good bore water on your property, you are guaranteed a supply of water, even through a drought, however it is not always easy to find water underground.

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Planning & management

Prohibited food waste (commonly called swill) is food waste containing meat or any other mammalian products or by-products including imported milk products.

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Pigs

If you only have a few dairy or beef cows on your farm, it is possible to keep your cows in calf using artificial insemination (AI) and not own a bull at all. A bull can be extra work and an extra mouth to feed, but there are some advantages to keeping a bull, even on a small farm.

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Cattle