Food
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Abuzz for new microscope
Honeybees will be put under the microscope to give diseases like nosema and American foulbrood the buzz-off in the Macedon Ranges. Woodend Bee-Friendly Society has acquired a new compound microscope that will be key in early disease detection to minimise impacts to local hives and agricultural ventures. WBFS bio-security officer Paul Green said nosema had…
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The buzz on honey
Buying honey from local beekeepers and reading the label are both good ways to ensure you’ll get pure honey, local beekeeper Peter McDonald says ahead of this Sunday’s beekeeping field day at Harcourt. The adulteration of honey has made national news headlines in recent days following a study by Macquarie University researchers that found a…
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Don’t panic, call a beekeeper!
Spring is a busy time for beekeepers as this is the time of year when honeybees swarm. Castlemaine beekeeper Daniel BeeShepherd from the Castlemaine Bee Sanctuary recommends that if people see a swarm of bees that they stay calm and contact a beekeeper. “Seeing so many bees in once place can be very intimidating but…
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New festival collapses
An arts and wellness festival awarded $450,000 in state government funding has been cancelled. Eyebrows were raised when the government announced the significant funding allocation earlier this year for the new Live.Love.Life Festival, which aimed to showcase Daylesford and Macedon Ranges, while established festivals including the Woodend Winter Arts Festival had their funding reduced. Daylesford…
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Delicious award winners fly high
Springfield Pastured Eggs is flying high after being named a ‘From Paddock’ state winner of the national Delicious Produce Awards. The award is a huge milestone for Ben and Lena Way who only began their business venture 18 months ago and began to sell in local stores in April. “It’s complete validation that our farming…
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Young farmer spreads wings
A first generation farmer who has settled in Springfield is taking flight in the poultry industry. Romsey footballer Benjamin Way traded his Melbourne sales job for country life about 15 months ago to begin Springfield Pastured Eggs and is now kicking goals of a new kind. He was recently awarded a $5000 Young Farmers Scholarship…
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Farm zone housing still a ripe issue
Olive growers in Pastoria’s east have argued their produce, animals and farm plan would suffer without the constant on-ground care that a house on their property would allow them to deliver. The couple recently lost an appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a building permit at their 16.25 hectare Langley-Baynton Road property…
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Watts on the move
Watts Fresh will triple its weekly produce offering in a move that will expand its floor space and position it at the gateway to Kyneton’s food scene. Green grocers Dean and Sherril Lamb secured a prime piece of real estate in the old Kyneton Toyota premises and expect to welcome shoppers to a new-look store…
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Pigs do fly!
A well-known stallholder at Macedon Ranges Farmers Markets, including Woodend and Lancefield, has taken out one of the Australian food industry’s most prestigious awards – a gold medal in the From the Paddock category of the delicious. Produce Awards. McIvor Farm Foods’ Belinda and Jason Hagan are based at Tooborac and specialise in a pasture-raised,…
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Goats have the goods
Holy Goat Cheese in Sutton Grange is living proof that small farms can be successful farms. The organic farm has taken out the Producer of the Year title in the 2018 delicious. Produce Awards and earned a gold trophy for its Cheese Nectar, as judged by a national judging panel. Owners Carla Meurs and Ann-Marie…
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Fight to keep farm
Ongoing hardship could spell the end of 12 years supplying top notch organic produce for Angelica Organic Farm. Glenlyon farmers Tim and Deri-Anne Wyatt said the past 18 months or so had hit them with setback after setback and the prospect of recovery looked grim without outside support. “We’ve lost crops valued in the tens…
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Parma night for the farmers’ fight
Local pubs, clubs and restaurants are serving up parmas with added incentive. They have backed the widespread ‘Parma for a Farmer’ campaign that sees participating venues donate $1 towards drought recovery in NSW for every parma sold during the month of August. Kyneton RSL general manager Rebecca Hemphill said people in Kyneton had thrown their…