Barradale Farm. A new chapter.

Three and a half years ago we hitched up a fully-loaded stock trailer to our old Landcruiser and moved our family of five, three dogs, two cats, and a turtle named Squirtle 2000kms interstate, to a 265acre off-grid property with zero infrastructure. 

Our dream was to build a sustainable mix farm, entirely from scratch. 

There have been ups, downs, laughter and tears along with the welcome addition of sweet Elsie who made us a family of six. Despite it all, we are glad we are here. We finally settled on a name for our property, which was harder than I anticipated. Our farm sits squarely between two districts so it has been named Barradale Farm, in recognition of that. 

If I had known how hard the last three and a half years would be, I doubt I would have been brave enough to leap so boldly into the unknown. It has certainly been an adventure. When we are older, I'm sure we will look back at these early years on the farm with great fondness. 

Today I can look back at the last three and half years and feel proud. I also look forward with hope and excitement at how much potential this property still holds. 

When I first started blogging, I did so at a blog called 'A Simple Living Journey'. This blog will always remain as a reminder of where we started, and how we got to where we are now. I hope it will be there for my children to read when they are older if they feel so inclined. It is where I cut my teeth as a writer and explored what simple living was, along with all the beauty and richness it has to offer. But for all intents and purposes, it is time sit my first blog aside and start anew. 

One day, we hope this farm of ours will begin to support us in some capacity. We would like to open up a couple of hipcamp sites, host WWOOFers, and continue to establish a hardy boer goat herd along with growing out more cattle. Grant has his wood roach business and we hope to sell heritage chickens in the future. While simple living remains at the very heart of how we live out our lives on the farm, it makes sense for all aspects of our farm to fall under the same, easily identifiable banner. So, from here on out we will be Barradale Farm on the blog, online and in our farming pursuits. 

Essentially, here at Barradale Farm, we are building a sustainable Australian homestead on a shoestring budget. Though homesteading is a movement more closely associated within an American context, I think it is a good term. In Australia, we might call a homestead a hobby or small farm, but homesteading is more complex than that. Homesteading is about providing for your family and community, building resilience and improving self-sufficiency through growing your own food, raising animals, preserving, stockpiling, baking, building and cooking from scratch. There has been a mass exodus of people moving from cities to acreage and rural centres. I think this trend is a clear sign that people are looking to slow down and live a simpler, more sustainable life.  Lockdowns reminded us of the beauty and value to be found in the home and the garden, of the importance in children having space to play and be free. Now we are navigating an increasingly wobbly economic climate, rocketing fuel prices, inflation,  supply issues and extreme weather events which has contributed to supply chain disruptions. It has become apparent how fragile our industrialized food and resource system is, which has inspired many people to seek out a more self-sufficient, homesteading lifestyle. 

   

I hope people, whether they have a suburban backyard, own a rural property or perhaps dream of homesteading, can find encouragement here along with some helpful tips. It is easy to start a farm or a small homestead if you have a lot of money or inherit a property passed down through the generations. But many of us don't. It took all our money and years of hard work to be able to buy our farm and we have spent our first three years here scraping together enough to simply get by. Everything we buy or achieve is a milestone to be celebrated and there remains a long way to go. 

Despite that, we have built a small but functional and comfortable home, machinery shed/workshop/wood roach palace and wood shed. We have improved our road access, installed a solar system and put in a header tank. Our livestock numbers are continuing to grow and we are slowly establishing productive gardens as time and money allow. We have kilometres of fencing to finish, an orchard to fence and plant, pasture to improve, and a deck to build....the list goes on, but it likely always will. That is the nature of this lifestyle. It will never be finished, there will always be ideas to explore, livestock to rotate, equipment to repair, food to harvest and gardens to tend. 

But perhaps that is what appeals to us. Life here on the farm is ever-evolving. The seasons change, animals are born, gardens mature, and nature beckons. There is a feeling of realness, of connection to the food we produce, to the animals we raise, to the things that are fundamental to the very essence of life.  Raising animals, growing food, maintaining biodiversity.....they are real. Their value doesn't shift like the latest trends or fast fashion do. The whole of humanity relies on them, no matter a person's financial or social standing in this world.

I hope you continue to follow along here at Barradale Farm, and if you are here from A Simple Living Journey, I thank you for your kindness and support over the years, and I look forward to continuing to share our lives with you. 

Much love,
Emma
xx