Tasmanian Regions Winter 2012

Nutritional wisdom a family affair for Nan’s flock The flock of sheep watches us with unusual confidence and cohesion. It stands tight and alert but despite our close proximity and the presence of Nan Bray’s sheepdog Chance there is no skittishness among the animals at all. While the ewes remain watchful the lambs soon have their heads down grazing again. “Their attitude reminds me of wild animals in a game park that are used to humans and have no fear of them,” says Nan, who produces fine wool at her 330ha property Lemon Hill, near Oatlands. Article in full
Joe and Antonia's excellent organic adventure Joe and Antonia Gretschmann came to Tasmania from Bavaria for the adventure of a lifetime, but the German farmers and childhood sweethearts weren’t tourists. They were migrants, and the adventure was to be life-long. And so it has proved, with the Gretschmanns establishing one of the country’s leading organic dairy farms near Deloraine, raising five kids and now boasting 11 grandchildren since their arrival 25 years ago. “From when we were very young we promised one another that one day we would do something exciting and big,” says Antonia. “This turned out to be a new life in Tasmania.” Article in Full
Greenhouses are gas for Dendra Dennis Davis’s vast unique greenhouses are a monument to both his business mind and to the high regard in which he holds his workforce. The former shipping agent turned market gardener considers his workers his most valuable asset and has largely designed his business – and his 35ha of greenhouses - around them. “Before we put the greenhouses in, our business was seasonal and we couldn’t employ many people permanently,” explains Dennis, whose 20ha Dendra Gardens nestle in fertile, undulating country at Cuprona, on the North West Coast. “This meant we couldn’t offer stability and security to our best people, and often lost them. Being able to grow produce all year round and expand out range fixed that, and we now have a reliable, stable, experienced workforce very good at what they do. The high standard of their work makes all the difference for our enterprise.” Article in full
Bigger round the bend As the foreground of the magnificent view from the Cherry Tree Hill lookout over Moulting Lagoon to the granite mountains of the Freycinet Peninsula, the Coombend Vineyard would be familiar to most travellers of the Tasmanian east coast. But few would be aware that the long neat rows of vines covering many gently undulating hectares below the lookout are but a portion of the largest vineyard in Tasmania, if not the most picturesque. Out of sight behind the slope to the south countless more vines cover the flats and north facing hillsides, while on the other side of the Tasman Highway behind Coombend’s Cellar Door and 1200-tree olive grove are still more. Article in full

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Tasmanian Regions (previously known as Tas-Regions) is a quarterly magazine, focusing on rural and regional issues, published by the Department. It includes features about farmers and farming, rural and regional projects and innovations in agriculture, as well as heritage and natural resource management stories involving DPIPWE.

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