Interview * Stewart Laing * The Farmer’s Larder

It takes something quite extraordinary to follow your dream from childhood to adulthood and across the globe, especially when it means making a stand for what you believe in, acting upon it and devoting your everyday to pursuing it. So, I’m thrilled to introduce you to a fellow Countryphile Stewart Laing owner and founder of The Farmer’s Larder.

From Scottish dales to Franklinford’s rolling volcanic hills, Stewart raises pigs on their 16-hectare farm to sell as pork and pork smallgoods at farmers’ markets and on-line. Together with his wife, Stewart plans to one day run an on-farm educational stay, skills + cooking school:

“I’m old enough to remember that the village I grew up in had a butcher, a fishmonger and a vegetable shop, and old enough to remember when the giant supermarket came in forcing them out of business. We think it’s normal for Beef to be grain fed when cattle’s stomachs were only ever meant to process grass, normal for pigs to be put in small cages and injected with minerals and vitamins and injected when it’s time to give birth in areas so small they can hardly move.

The food movement in the last few years isn’t just to do with wanting better tasting food, it’s realising how simple it is to have seasonal veg that you can taste a difference in. Meat that you can actually taste. It’s about making a change and choosing to eat healthy and to eat free-range, local produce.”

We admire Stewart for his vision, hard work and commitment to making a better world through producing real food. Oh, and we admire his East Coast Scottish accent too. Enjoy! {d} x

Tell us a little bit about your background – what path led you and your wife to where you are now?

I grew up in a village outside Edinburgh in Scotland. When I was growing up, I saw the Butcher, Baker and Fishmonger closing their businesses because the new, big, shiny supermarkets were opening up. I really feel this had a lasting impact on me and the direction my life has taken. My maternal grandfather was a Farmer and my paternal grandad was a Baker who also kept pigs. I feel I’ve inherited both of those passions and have a love for both food and farming.

I met my wife 8 years ago, while we were both backpacking around Guatemala and moved over to Melbourne with her straight away. Her parents were retired dairy farmers who had moved into beef production in South Gippsland and I went to live with them to learn about this aspect of farming. It was there that I started with a couple of pigs and sheep and have slowly grown our numbers. I really learnt invaluable skills and old farming knowledge while I was there, which has helped me get to where I am. I owe a lot to them.

What inspired you to buy a small farm in Franklinford?

While I was in Gippsland learning the the ins and outs of farming, my wife was in the city working. We were both doing jobs we loved, but only saw each other on weekends. We wanted to buy our own land to grow the farming business and live with each other again full time. While we were saving, we developed a wish list. We were looking for an area that had good soil, a decent rainfall and a strong sense of community. We felt that the Daylesford-Franklinford region had a progressive attitude toward alternative farming practices, organics and small farm production. We spent over a year looking in a lot of different locations, and when we found this place, it just felt right.

Tell us about the passion and purpose of your new business venture ‘The Farmer’s Larder’?

Our passion is to grow great tasting meat. We want our animals to live a life that is natural to them and where our customers can eat excellent quality food that they know has had no unnecessary chemicals or processes been used in raising them. We also want the animals to help contribute to improving the land where they live and using different farming practices to improve their health too. We want our customers to think of our farm as their space in the country, care about the food they are eating and be connected to their food through the things they learn.

What philosophy is The Farmer’s Larder based upon/inspired by? What products does The Farmer’s Larder offer?

Our philosophy was inspired by me watching all small businesses shutting down in my village and villages across the UK. Even as a little kid it was heartbreaking and didn’t seem to be common sense. Butcher shops disappeared and were replaced by packaged meat in supermarkets where people forgot what meat was, where it came from, what it looked like and what they were supposed to eat. People buy imported vegetables and fruit that were from other countries whilst we had small farmers growing better tasting ones just up the road. Supermarkets completely changed our landscape. Carrots shouldn’t be that straight!
We grow pork and lamb. We use heritage breeds in both. We have a mixture of Wessex Saddleback, Berkshire and Large English White for our pigs and we’re moving gradually towards a full flock of Ryeland sheep. Our customers love our big, tasty preservative-free British style pork sausages.

What does a typical day in the life of Stewart Laing of ‘The Farmer’s Larder’ look like; from when you wake to when you go to sleep?

First thing in the morning is feeding time on the farm. Pigs, chickens, cats and dog are all fed and then I check the sheep and feed them depending on the season. When we bought our farm, it was a blank canvas – one big paddock. In anyone day, you’ll find me building infrastructure; fences, sheds, pens, trees, yards. So that usually takes up most of my day plus taking pigs and sheep to the abattoir and collecting from the butcher and doing deliveries. I put dinner on and then I take my dog for a walk and perhaps shoot a couple rabbits too. We love eating rabbit and hare and there are plenty around, which is great. It’s such a delicious and sustainable meat. When I get home, it’s time for dinner and for me to catch up on emails.

What are the ups and downs & challenges you’ve experienced in your journey towards being a small-scale farmer?

There’s a lot of great support being a small-scale farmer. Either from the local community, customers or other farmers, everyone wants to help. We get to meet a lot of great people along our journey and because we are small we can cater to individual needs and customise certain wants. More and more people care about their food and want to support small local farmers. Many of our customers will only eat meat from us because they’ve been to the farm and trust that we are doing what is right for them, for the animals and the environment. They know the animal has been raised well and hasn’t been exposed to chemicals.

What have you learnt along the way? Does small-scale, local farming have a bright future?

People care about their food and farmers, and that inspires us every day. Every time someone votes with their food dollars, and eats food sourced directly from us, a small farmer, our community is strengthened. We say to our customers, “Coles will never love you as much as we do” and it’s true.

The main challenge for us and other farmers is price and economies of scale. The price of grain, the abattoir, transport, butcher costs are all high and then we try to sell our product at a fair price. Our customers are very loyal and support us by buying on a regular basis, which is fantastic. Some restaurants and cafes are happy to pay a little extra for pork that is free-range and has been raised differently while others couldn’t care less and just want a larger profit margin and stick with their commercially raised produce.

Our pigs can run, roam, dig and wallow and laze in the sun and aren’t confined to small concrete areas with artificial lighting. However, these commercial piggeries operate on huge scales so they can afford to sell to supermarkets and butchers at cheap prices. It’s the same old story of large versus small, however now people are realising they can make a difference and can get great produce by eating local and eating healthy animals.

I do believe small-scale farming has a bright future, and as consumers we need to try and shop as local and as seasonal as we can – sourcing our food from trusted small producers. Supporting local producers benefits everyone. You end up with a better product while helping secure the future of farming in your own country.

What skills/abilities/mind frame is required to successfully run a project like The Farmer’s Larder?

To run any small business I think it takes determination, confidence in your own ability, practical skills and a belief that you can do it. You need to be determined to keep going whether it’s a loss of life/s on the farm, another rejection, a tough month/year for money. You obviously have to use your business sense and not just fruitlessly blunder from one mistake to another, but you definitely need to believe in what you’re doing. It can be the only thing that keeps you going.
Experience and practical skills are essential. If you don’t have either one, it can end up being extremely expensive.

How important is community to the farming way of life?

I think having the support of your local community is essential. Our society has lost the village/ community mind set in a lot of ways over the years but there is still a feeling of support from the community. We love bartering and trading and had fantastic organic veggies all through the summer from another small farmer with whom we traded meat. Everyone has different skill sets and your neighbours can all help just like you will help them. That’s the great thing about the country – you do know your neighbours and you want to help each other out.

Do you consider yourself to be a ‘Countryphile’? Do you love country life? Why?

Growing up, I was surrounded by open fields, streams and forests. I loved it. I’ve always loved being outdoors working in the rain and wind. It makes me feel alive. I love the freedom you have whether it’s a visual freedom or physical. You’re out in the open, you can walk down disused road, forest tracks, down to the river to pick wild mushrooms and shoot rabbits for your dinner. I love walking at night with a full moon. You get to hear the different sounds of the night, hearing distance lambs or calves calling out. It’s being connected to the world, seeing all that goes on in the wild that keeps your feet on the ground. It’s rewarding, yet at the same time hard work. Preparing yourself, property and livestock for different seasons. We spend most of our weekends working, whether on the business, the garden or the house. But I enjoy that and that’s part of living in the country.

Do you prefer Coffee or Tea? Your favourite country café and why?

Being Scottish, I love a good old cup of ‘brew’ (tea) but I also love coffee. I like to have one strong cup of coffee in the morning and the rest of the day is tea. My favourite cafe for coffee has to be Buffalo Girls coffee bar, which has recently re-located to Hepburn Springs. The coffee is amazing. Tony and his team at Bocconcini in Daylesford have beautiful food plus a great little deli. And we often pop into the Glenlyon General Store for yummy baked goods in front of their open fire.

What and where was the last great meal you enjoyed/shared in the country?

The last great meal I had was for my mum’s birthday at Annie Smithers’ Bistrot where I had scallops with black pudding and prosciutto. One of my favourite combinations! They have great food and wine and genuinely support small local farmers.

Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

On a Saturday, you can usually find me on the farm. There’s always something to do. At the moment we’ve been turning our compost and digging up our future vegetable garden, which is something my wife and I really enjoy. We can’t wait to have a big veggie patch! We’re planting trees at the moment as there are very few on the property. It’s satisfying work though, knowing you’re improving the farm and the land around. In the afternoon, we go for a long walk with our dog and take it easy for the rest of evening.

Would you ENCOURAGE others to live a country life? Why/why not?

I would encourage those wanting to live in the country to do it. Even if you try it for a year and it doesn’t work out at least you know! It won’t suit everyone but it’s a great life to live. It’s much more physical and demanding than living in the city but i think that’s something you just have to accept if you want to live in the country. Be prepared for hard work but a great and satisfying life.

What can we expect NEXT from you/The Farmer’s Larder in the future?

In the next few years, we hope to have a farm shop where people can buy and visit the farm. It’s a big project but it’s something we’ve wanted to do and feel the people around this area will love too. I’ve always enjoyed buying my meat from somewhere where you know the animals have been raised well but also you get to know the farmers on a personal basis and have a good customer relationship.

What would be your DREAM project?

My dream project would be combining the farm shop with educational farm-stays and accommodation. People would get to experience daily life on the farm while learning about the different farming practices combined with practical skills on the farm and in the kitchen. You would be able to learn and show your family-old techniques of curing, salting and basic butchery.

Can you list for us 5 specific things you turn to/do when you need of a ‘dose’ of city life?

We live in such a great location I never really feel the need or want for a ‘city fix’. The only thing I want when I go to Melbourne is a fix of Vietnamese food. Usually a bowl of Pho and I’m pretty happy.