S2 Ep 28 - Maple Tree Farm

Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story

‘Deep mulch’ and ‘compost teas’ may not be in our every day vernacular but at one commercial scale market garden in southern NSW, they are commonly used terms. Maple Tree Farm is all about healthy soil and nutrient rich vegetables. You won’t find a tractor in sight - everything is harvested by hand. The founder of the business is passionate about localised food systems and the land share movement as a means to achieve that. Founder of Maple Tree Farm Samuel Hansen is today’s guest. We discuss:

• Sam’s favourite place on the land and, his Market Garden.
• He shares how his interest in agriculture started after working at a local supermarket and seeing how ‘local’ produce is grown.
• Deciding to make a change Sam, a city boy, made his way to the farm.
• Justin Hartley, from Duck Foot Farm, introduced Sam to deep mulch and took him on for a 3 month internship to learn the system.
• Implementing large scale food production on a small size plot of land.
• We hear about compost tea and Sam’s recipe for micro-organism growth.
• The highest barrier for young farmers is the price of land and how Sam discovered land-share.
• Sam explains how his agreement works and the $1 a year to land lease.
• Having only launched Maple Tree Farm in July 2021, Sam has shown he can scale quickly.
• Sam says, ‘I look into the future and I see the industrial food system collapsing. We can use deep mulch as an alternative method to produce our food locally. ‘
• Tours of the property and, Sam’s interest in teaching others the deep mulch method.
• What Sam loves most about life on the land.
• The most unexpected thing to happen to him since starting the business.
• Sam’s ultimate dream for the future.

We hope to see you back on the road soon, to learn more about how Australia grows on the next episode of Australian Farmers with Angie Asimus.

Links:

Angie Asimus

Connect with @angieasimus on Instagram

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Connect with Sam on LinkedIn

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