Posts Tagged With: International Year of Family Farming

An Interview with Food Tank

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Are We There Yet?

We have really fallen behind with the blogging recently and as such it has been quite a while since we have shared much on the blog about life here on the farm at Blue Sky.  So, I thought you might be interested to read a little interview that we were approached to do last week by an organisation called Food Tank.

We first came across Food Tank when we were researching how to get involved with the International Year of Family Farming, which we wrote about here.  Food Tank’s mission is to “build a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. They spotlight environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways of alleviating hunger, obesity, and poverty and create networks of people, organizations, and content to push for food system change.”  The great thing about Food Tank is that they also aim to “highlight hope and success in agriculture. They feature innovative ideas that are already working on the ground, in cities, in kitchens, in fields and in laboratories.”  Check out the Food Tank website, sign up for their newsletter and you will hear stories from all over the globe about all sorts of food system issues and emerging developments in sustainable agriculture.

Food Tank are huge advocates for family farming and we are only just beginning to think about ways ourselves to be more sustainable farmers to ensure Blue Sky Produce is profitable and still here for many future generations of farmers in the family to come.  We were quite excited to be approached by Food Tank to feature in an upcoming article relating to the International Year of Family Farming.

Below is a transcript of our interview – we have no idea if it will ever make it into print, so wanted to record it here for our own records.  If nothing else, hopefully it gives you a bit of an insight into what we do here at Blue Sky. Continue reading →

Categories: About Us, Blue Sky Produce, Every Family Needs A Farmer | Tags: , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The International Year of Family Farming

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Are We There Yet?

I’m a bit behind the eight ball this year, only finalising my New Year’s Resolutions in mid February and this week finally embracing the fact that 2014 is well and truly here!!  Which means, in case you didn’t already know, welcome to the ‘International Year of Family Farming’ (IYFF) as designated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.  ALRIGHT!  2014 sounds like our kind of year!!

I grew up on a family dairy farm, Matt’s family own a few family farms, and our little ‘Fealy Family’ now works and relies on a family owned farm to sustain us, so you get the picture that ‘Family Farming’ is a big part of our lives.  We believe Family Farm’s should be celebrated and we’d like to do our small bit to raise awareness about the importance of supporting family farming.

So, a few statistics for you first (c’mon – I am an accountant!!).  According to the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF),  “99 percent of Australian farms are family owned and operated. Australia’s 157,000 farmers not only produce 93 percent of Australia’s daily domestic food supply – the clean, healthy, fresh food that Australian families enjoy – they also contribute $38 billion in export income to the economy and manage some 59 percent of Australia’s land”.  That’s a pretty substantial contribution to Australian society I say!!

The United Nation’s says the “2014 International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) aims to raise the profile of family farming and smallholder farming, not just in Australia, but by focusing world attention on its significant role in eradicating hunger and poverty, providing food security and nutrition, improving livelihoods, managing natural resources, protecting the environment, and achieving sustainable development, in particular in rural areas.”  If you’d like to know more you can go to this website or watch the video below which has been produced by the United Nations.

I’m not sure how best to celebrate and support the 2014 International Year of Family Farming just yet, more to come on this topic – stay tuned! In the meantime, here are a few ways you might like to get involved;

1. The IYFF-2014 photo competition is calling for photos that represent the motto: Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the earth.  You can enter here.

2. Check out these great 2014 Food Resolutions – maybe you can make your own list?

3. Buy Australian Grown

I’d love to hear how others are celebrating 2014, International Year of Family Farming!  Don’t be shy, let us know!!!

Categories: Every Family Needs A Farmer | Tags: , , , , | 8 Comments