With his straw hat, checked shirt and slow mid-western drawl, John Petersen seemed the quintessential US farmer. Only a conspicuous pink feather boa around his neck suggested otherwise. Petersen was in Byron over the weekend to promote the documentary film, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, based upon his colourful life as a non-conformist in conservative rural America. John is a third generation farmer but is also a writer with a flamboyant sense of style.
The film depicts the rollercoaster ride of the Petersen family farm, based on Petersen’s memoirs. After falling into debt and ostracised from his community, Petersen is forced to sell his equipment and the majority of his farm. For many years he considered walking from the land in despair. Eventually recovering his pride and inspired to do things differently, he established one of America’s most successful Community Supported Agriculture farms, Angelic Organics.
The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model adopted by Petersen was founded on a direct relationship with between farmer and customer. A group of interested people in nearby Chicago agreed to share the financial risks of the farm in return for fresh organic produce delivered through a box scheme. Through farm open days and deliveries they get to know who grows the food they eat.
“It was the rebirth, something impossible happening and coming back into being,” John said.
“Farms never do that.”
John observed “tremendous interest” in Australia in the CSA model which revitalised his farm. This groundswell is global, John said, with customers wanting to reconnect with the source of their food and farmers wanting to boost their dwindling incomes and enjoy a greater sense of meaning and autonomy.
After the film, Petersen (feathers and all) joined a panel of local food activists to discuss the potential of the CSA model and other community-based food systems in the Byron Shire.
Byron resident and event organiser Joanne Hay outlined her plan to establish a “herd-share” CSA in Byron. Shareholders buy a herd of dairy cattle and access raw milk while the farm manager gains a secure market willing to pay a premium for the product.
“Herd-shares are better for farmers because farmers get paid better. They’re better for consumers because we know we can visit our cows whenever we like, we know how they’re cared for and how clean the dairy is. It’s better for culture because our relationship with the land is stronger,” Hay said .
John Dolman, from the Santos group of stores, said that while CSAs pose a challenge for his business, it encouraged Santos – “a business which prides itself on ethical behaviour” to go along with this “wonderful community spirit.”
“For me, the practise that I do from my office, for example, is to support in any way and every way to support those efforts to create stronger communities. I see that Community Supported Agriculture is just a perfect place in which community is strengthened, and learnt about and practised.”
Former dairy farmer, Robert Peakin is the director of a Brisbane-based CSA called Food Connect. Peakin said there’s “a huge amount of interest” in supporting CSAs, whether it’s his “blue ribbon” social enterprise or a more traditional model.
“There’s millionaires literally camping at our door, waiting to see what they can put money into to help schemes like this go ahead.
“It’s really what everyone wants. Whether John [Dolman]’s selling it from his retail outlet and he’s got a whole bunch of committed people or whether it’s a stand-alone CSA, the traditional CSA model like John [Petersen] does. And any young bloke who’s keen enough can grab five acres and easily within three years can be feeding fifty families.”
Panellists agreed that the CSA model and other relocalised food systems such as farmers markets are a great way to encourage environmental farming practices and reduce food miles while building community at the same time.
“I think it’s going to be consumer driven, that there’s going to be a demand from people who are better informed and are more discerning. Plus there is the limitation of the resources to distribute food as we are today. And I think this will lead us to increased local consumption,” said Donald Recsei from Byron Bay Farmers Market.
