The last decade at The Falls Farm has been a learning journey in land clearing, human-scale farming, soil health and profitability, and that learning has paid off.

The Falls Farm is on a mission to provide their community with nutrient-dense, healthy and exciting food. Their goal is to do this in a way that protects and improves the land's health, biodiversity and resilience. Taking an inside-out approach, the team continually expands on their own knowledge of regenerative farming practices and crops suited to Queensland's tropical growing conditions, then share their learnings and discoveries within their ever-growing network.

Snapshot

Farm/Enterprise Name: The Falls Farm

Farm/Enterprise Location: Mapleton, Queensland, Australia

Type of Enterprise: Small plot horticulture

Primary Markets Served: Southeast QLD high-end restaurants, Direct to consumer.

Property Size: 16ha

Property Elevation: 374m

Average Annual Rainfall: 999mm

Climate: Warm temperate

Soil Types: Clay loam

Website: thefallsfarm.com

History

The Falls Farm lies on one of the first selections carved out by European settlers in the Blackall Range. Around 2 ha of land was granted to the new arrivals, provided that the rainforest was cleared for agriculture. Over the ensuing decades the land has been used for various farming ventures including small dairy herds, citrus orchards, and potato and strawberry cropping. Prior to the arrival of the farm's current stewards, the elderly landholders who preceded them struggled to maintain the land. The farm became progressively overrun with invasive species such as lantana and camphor laurel, as well as being reclaimed by native species from neighbouring rainforest.

The farm became progressively overrun with invasive species such as lantana and camphor laurel, as well as being reclaimed by native species from neighbouring rainforest.

Ben Johnston and Jess Huddart purchased the property in 2013. The couple are successful entrepreneurs and business partners whose work has taken them all over the globe. When not on assignment in Stockholm or LA, Ben and Jess are based in Brisbane. They bought their Mapleton property for a relaxing retreat from their busy city lives but had little intention of farming. As Ben's mother and farm manager, Christine Ballinger, puts it, "It took all of about 10 minutes for them to start talking about growing vegetables here."

Ben and Jess brought Christine on board as farm manager, and they started planning how they would clear their farm of invasive trees and environmental weeds and prepare it for agriculture once again.

Challenge: Restoring a farm overrun with environmental weeds

Regenerative

When Ben and Jess purchased the property, it was so overgrown with environmental weeds and trees that their only tool for surveying the land and plotting out future growing areas were topographical maps. It took the better part of two years for them to make it to one boundary due to the almost impenetrable weeds and forest regrowth.

Solution: Experts, contour maps, heavy equipment and lots of work

Topographical maps were critical in the plotting of growing areas for contour ploughing.

Christine enlisted the expertise of local botanists and representatives from the local land care group to audit the property's vegetation and habitats. These groups identified what species were growing on the property and advised on what invasive species should be removed and what beneficial vegetation to leave.

Once they had identified the invasive species, they created strategies for their effective removal. Camphor laurels, for example, become more of a problem if they are simply cut at the base, as suckers grow rapidly from almost any part of the root system, resulting in even wider infestation. For that reason, they brought in a claw excavator to pull out entire trees.

From the very beginning, Christine was aware that the mass removal of environmental weeds would coincide with a mass exodus of carbon from the land. To offset this, much of the organic material removed from the property was chipped or mulched and returned to the soil.

Critical to the planning, and underpinning The Falls Farm ethos, was the designation of "vegetation corridors" which were either maintained or entirely rebuilt with native and beneficial species. The purpose of these corridors is to preserve the property's biodiversity and enable protection for fauna to move around the food production areas. The massive stumps of invasive trees that were pulled out were placed in these vegetation corridors to create micro habitats for beneficial fauna, host epiphytes and slowly degrade.

Topographical maps were also critical in the plotting of growing areas for contour ploughing. Deep contour ploughing is the age-old practice of ploughing a series of steps, or terraces, into naturally occurring contours of the land. This technique is particularly important in high rainfall areas such as Mapleton as it prevents fertile topsoil from being carried away during a deluge.

Outcome: The property was ready for farming

The initial phase of auditing the farm's environmental position and planning its future layout was undertaken within the first eight months after purchase. This was followed by two years of intense environmental weed removal and commencing the planting of beneficial species, a process that is still ongoing. Christine's approach was deliberate and considered, ensuring conditions were optimised before vegetable cultivation commenced.

Challenge: Improving soil health

Soil Health

A key focus for Christine and the team was to maintain and work to improve the health of the property's soil once farming commenced. They wanted to ensure that the organic matter was increasing, and the soil of the different growing areas was optimised to support what would grow there.

Solution: Soil testing and amendment programs

To ensure the soils were consistently improving, they needed to establish a primary baseline and systematically track its changes. For this reason, they have conducted biannual soil testing since 2013. Christine wanted to outsource expertise from an expert, so they enlisted the help of a soil scientist who facilitated testing and created amendment programs for the different growing areas. "When you have someone monitoring your soils and giving you reports, you've got this continuous dialogue with your soil as it slowly changes," says Christine. "That leaves you the brain space to focus on the growing."

When you have someone monitoring your soils and giving you reports, you've got this continuous dialogue with your soil as it slowly changes.

Their soil scientist was critical to the fertility of each growing area as she highlighted the need for different soil compositions depending on what was growing

Market gardens, for example, require a higher ratio of bacteria to fungi because the plant turnover is far more frequent. The small size of bacteria means that these microbes can grow and adapt quickly to changing environmental conditions, such as planting and cultivating. Molasses sprays are key to encouraging healthy bacteria growth because the sugars help these types of microbes to flourish.

In The Falls Farm's orchards, the soil scientist recommended creating a higher ratio of fungi to bacteria in the soil. This is because more complex microorganisms like fungi are most useful in growing areas where plant turnover is lower. Fungi are critical to nutrient cycling, disease suppression and water dynamics, all of which help trees become healthier and more vigorous. To encourage fungi growth in the orchards, the soil scientist recommended mulches of organic matter that takes longer to break down.

Their soil scientist also creates soil amendment programs based on soil testing results and outlines the best compost and mineral inputs for each growing area.

Outcome: Improved chemical, structural and biological soil makeup

Over the past 9 years, organic matter in the soil has increased dramatically.

Christine reports that the soil in areas topped with the organic material chipped and mulched on farm transformed it from red, volcanic clumps to a rich, brown, open structure. This colour change indicates that the carbon has been returned into the soil, improving structure, increasing water storage and maximising the health of vital soil organisms that improve nutrients and biodiversity.

The contour ploughing has also benefited water infiltration, as rainfall drainage patterns are slowed across the landscape, improving soakage, and mitigating soil losses and erosion.

The Environmental Analysis Laboratory of Southern Cross University performed soil testing in the farm's first market garden in 2013 and again in 2022. The results showed a dramatic increase in the organic matter present over the period of eight years. In December 2013, the percentage of organic matter in the soil was 7.4%; in January 2022 it had increased to 10.62%.

Challenge: Identifying a market and increasing profitability

Human-Scale / Diversification

An essential part of running a profitable small-scale farm is being smart about where the produce is going to go and identifying how to get the most value from it. From very early on, The Falls Farm team knew they were not going to sell their produce through an agent as they wanted to cut out the middleman, keep food as fresh as possible, lower expense and maintain transparency. For that reason, they decided to sell direct to the people who would be cooking with the food.

Solution: Selling direct to households and chefs

Through word of mouth many of Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast's top chefs started coming out to the farm and putting produce orders in. Soon this business model was integral to the profitability of the farm. The chefs they work with are seeking the highest quality product, and a growing number of them want to invest in sustainable farming practices, which means Christine can charge a price that is reflective of this and commensurate with the value of the produce.

Food boxes and value-added products are a big part of The Falls Farm success story.

In addition to an interest in sustainable farms and bespoke high-quality produce, chefs are often interested in unconventional fruits and vegetables. Because of this, as well as her frustration with the narrow Anglo-Saxon culinary culture, Christine began growing what she calls "latitude plants". Latitude plants are exotic fruits and vegetables grown in nations and regions occupying the same latitude as South East Queensland. Chefs became even more interested in The Falls Farm because they were growing not only high-quality conventional produce, but also unusual and exotic fruits and vegetables that couldn't be found anywhere else.

As well as selling to chefs, an important part of the farm's philosophy is food equality. "Good food should not be the remit of just wealthy people," says Christine. So the farm sells fresh veggie boxes through their website to everyday households at an equitable price.

Also available on The Falls Farm website are chutneys, relishes, jams and dried fruits, which are all made from second-grade products to reduce waste.

Outcome: Profitability, education and industry recognition

Ultimately this business model of providing food direct to consumers was more suited to the scale, profitability and philosophy of The Falls Farm. The team is dedicated to educating consumers about where their food comes from, and this is an easier task when consumers buy direct.

They are dedicated to educating consumers about where their food comes from, and this is an easier task when consumers buy direct.

Christine sees chefs as influencers who can change culinary culture by serving up unorthodox ingredients to their customers and talking about where the food comes from.

The Falls Farm recently won the national 2022 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards in the "From the Earth" category. Winners are nominated by some of Australia's top chefs who work with producers leading the field in production and farming practices.

Future plans

The farm is running extensive revegetation programs in the parts of the property that are not under cultivation. The team aims to continue in this mission of revegetation to capture and store carbon and to increase the property's diversity and resilience.

Current projects include running a small herd of Dexter cattle on the property, which involves dividing up pastures to introduce a rotational grazing model. The team also plans to run pasture-fed chickens so they can add free range eggs to their production output.

The Falls Farm has recently purchased the Mapleton Public House to continue its mission of providing good produce ­­­­and food education to the community. They have hired Cameron Matthews, a celebrated former Long Apron chef, to help them create a paddock-to-plate dining destination. The team is particularly passionate about using vegetables root to tip and minimising waste. Alongside this new venture, they will continue to sell specialised produce to restaurants, as well as offering seasonal fruit and vegetables direct to consumers.

Industry recognition

2022 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards (State Winner: QLD) - 'From the Earth'

2022 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards (National Winner) - 'From the Earth'

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