Owned and operated by husband and wife, Pat Forsman and Julie Shelton, The Village Organic Farm is at Crystal Waters Permaculture Village at Conondale in the Sunshine Coast hinterland (about two hours from Brisbane, Queensland).

Like most of the residents, we came here seeking an alternative to mainstream urban life and living here has given us the chance to explore our primary passion, which is producing nutritious food for ourselves and the local community.  We see ourselves as an integral part of our farm, not just its owners/managers.  Our main role is that of stress managers (including ours)! 

We have been hugely influenced by Rudolf Steiner, Sally Fallon, Joel Salatin and Louis Bromfield.  Other authors that have inspired us include Masanobu Fukuoka, Juliette de Bairacli Levy, Hugh Lovel and Eliot Coleman.  See info for links.

The Village Organic Farm was started in April 1999 and the herd has since grown to 12 milkers and a number of beef/dairy calves and yearlings.  We run a Brahman bull with our herd to produce what we affectionately call ‘Jerbras’.  We manage the pasture organically with a view to perhaps becoming biodynamic however we are not chasing certification because we have a happy (direct) relationship with each of our customers.  In the early days we had 30 or so laying hens, which were totally free-range and shared the cell-grazed paddocks with the cows. 

In addition, we have three cages of pastured poultry and we process a batch of around 65 birds every fortnight, when they’ve reached maturity, during the autumn and spring months.  Our customers love the flavour and texture of the meat – it tastes like chicken should.

As a trial, we incorporated into the system free-range pigs, which followed the cows in the rotation and were fed the waste products from the dairy.  The laying hens’ mobile home was moved behind the pigs, adding their contribution to the cocktail of manure going onto the pasture. 

The Village Organic Farm produces and distributes seasonal raw milk, a range of dairy products (including raw cheese), eggs, beef (including sausages) and poultry to members of our community.  Community members help bottle the milk using glass bottles that are re-used over and over with virtually no waste or unnecessary packaging.  The meat is all processed here on the farm without any chemicals and the animals are slaughtered as caringly as possible - they are family, after all! 

We also have customers from outside the Village but they are not legally allowed to access the food produced on the farm.  According to the authorities, raw milk is so very dangerous!  Non-residents may, however, legally access the organic fruit, vegetables and bread that is produced here by our friends and fellow Villagers.

In 2006 we bought Kenilworth Organic Produce and currently have 1400 laying hens free-ranging in the paddocks with the dairy herd.  The chickens complement their diet of pasture greens (and buffalo fly larvae!) and clean water with certified organic layer mash.  All the cages are moved twice a week onto fresh ground to minimise build-up of manure and this way we also fertilise the paddocks.  Production is currently around 60 dozen a day and all the eggs are collected, cleaned, graded and packed by hand.  We deliver to about eight major customers on the Sunshine Coast and could easily double production to meet demand!

We have a fantastic working relationship with the key food producers in our Village and an ever-increasing network of like-minded people in the bioregion.  It seems our neck of the woods is becoming a mecca for artisan real food producers.  In our valley alone we have Camille making cultured butter and cows’ milk Molten Gold grey-mould Brie-style cheese, Grahame & Kaye producing biodynamic jams, pickles and sauces and John & Mary making bush fruit liqueurs and chocolates (now organic), to name a few.

A bit further down the road in Conondale we have Ron producing superb raw Conondale Gold Honey, and Joe & Kay farming delicious redclaw crayfish. 

Then there are those from slightly further afield:

• Peter and Shauna supplying us with a range of fresh handmade organic bushfood pasta as well as condiments and biscuits 
• Wil & Megan producing pork, ham and bacon
• Paul producing organic eggs
• Miles producing not only olives and olive oil but a range of organic herbs and other products from their market garden

All these suppliers joined us at our second harvest feast – all the food was produced within 50km of here (even the olive oil).  We are in the process of producing a DVD of the feast and all the producers who contributed to it.  The DVD will feature interviews and extra footage shot at each producer’s enterprise or farm - ie who is behind the food, their philosophy and dreams, what makes this food special...

Produce from The Village Organic Farm is distributed via our General Store, a wholesale/retail organic foods outlet, which buys in bulk foods such as nuts, dried fruit, rice, flour, beans, etc. 

We built the store at the front of the building that houses our cheese factory and cool room, using mostly recycled materials. 
The General Store also sells books (Weston A.  Price titles and others) and is the focal point for educational activities.  A large proportion of our trade happens at our thriving Saturday morning Village Market - people drive for up to two hours to come to the market on the first Saturday of the month! 

Just to keep us on our toes, we also run short courses and tours of the farm for visiting students studying permaculture and eco-village design here, as well as for local schools and universities.

 Visit the Info page
for our favourite links & resources.