What a time it is to be farming

Hello there, Welcome to Issue two of BioLogical.

George Washington said,

Farming is the most healthful, most useful and most noble employment of man.

We agree unabashedly, though can’t help but feel the hypocritical bile rise in the throat given our knowledge of how detrimental industrial agriculture has been to our sustainable existence on the planet.

We (humans) know we need to be fed and we know the western world is more urbanised than ever before so the number of folk capable of feeding themselves is fewer than ever before. The truth is, the majority of us have lost a connection to the land, the farmers and the food on our plate, in many regards we’ve lost the deep and primal knowledge of what it is that truly sustains us. An appreciation of our interconnected relationship with the natural world.

Of course the journal in all its forms has weathered the last 18 months of drought, bushfire and covid 19 pandemic realities alongside our farming comrades.

We salute these farmers - always - but particularly in the last 12 months when their reality has been filled with the vagaries of drought, fire, pandemic and now flood.

ORICoop lurched into action with its bushfire recovery fund, this has evolved to become the ‘resilience fund’ so is now in the throws of supporting flood affected farmers.

Issue two is a cracker! We’ve settled and deglossed a little since Issue one. This somewhat grittier version was intentional as we want the tales and knowledge oracles to shine in this twice yearly (for now) journal. You’ll find hope in the post fire story from an Adelaide apple orchard, get in-depth intel on carbon sequestration and eco credit programs, be prompted to consider the complexity of farming succession, learn how previously unused land is now being farmed in Mildura and Tim Marshall offers a ‘from the beginning’ explanation of the Australian organic certification standards’.

Supporting those who grow our food might seem somewhat removed from our urbanised lives but growing food is actually everyone’s business.

Enjoy the downtime that reading this affords you.

Jade Miles & Carolyn Suggate and all the contributors who made this edition worth the read.

Jade is an ORICoop board member, regenerative orchardist, author and fair food advocate.

Carolyn is an ORICoop board member, certified organic farmher and mum, passionate about land stewardship, access and family farm preservation.