The Farmers
After a collective 17 years in the hospitality industry as chefs, Lauren and Michael’s move to small market gardening and becoming primary producers of vegetables, fruit, eggs and bread was a natural progression.
As chefs they have always been passionate about sourcing local and delicious produce and aligning this with their personal ethics surrounding farming practices, climate and sustainability. When they moved to Tasmania they aimed to grow their own food for home and neighbours but this quickly escalated into supplying Hobart restaurants and a monthly farmers market.
Due to some incredible mentoring from the likes of Rocky Top Farm and Fat Carrot Farm as well as lots of research and trial and error they quickly learned that by farming on a small scale, using organic and minimal tillage methods they could help make a difference and hopefully set an example. We certainly feel they have!
The Farm
Felds Farm was originally established in Bagdad, a notoriously dry area to farm. They made the tricky decision to relocate and in 2018, during their time on the Sprout Producer Program, they formed a strong relationship with Liz and Rick from Summerleas Farm. When they told Liz and Rick they were looking to relocate they very generously offered to lease a 4 acre parcel of their beautiful farm in North Lilydale, just north of Launceston.
The main enterprise at Felds Farm is a 1 acre organic, no till market garden of mixed seasonal vegetables which they supply to local restaurants and at the Harvest Launceston Market. They also run pastured chooks, ducks and geese for eggs and meat, and bake sourdough bread in a micro bakery for their community.
Their passion for regenerative agriculture, building soil structure and ecology combined with their knowledge of ingredients from previous careers as chefs allows them to produce nutrient dense and delicious food in a sustainable system.