Bev and Geoff Buckley

Buckley's farm

Farmer rating (pending assessment by the PFA): AA
Supplying Food Connect since: 2004
Farm visited by Food Connect: Yes

You sometimes hear of people going to a mountain to sit still and reflect deeply on life. The belief is that if you wait long enough and are patient; out of this quiet stillness, wisdom can come. This is undoubtedly true for some people. Bev and Geoff Buckley have spent many years on a mountain, but their wisdom has been forged through the constant work of farming a 25 acre property. In the rich red clay soils of Mt Tamborine they grow fifty different vegetables and herbs, including carrots, beetroot, kale, lettuce, peas, beans, potatoes, garlic and ginger. They also grow avocados, limes and blueberries.

Geoff thoroughly enjoys farming, but this was not always the case. Geoff and Bev only started farming ten years ago. At first they knew nothing about it and Geoff says they “made every mistake in the book”. For example, in the early days they planted three hundred avocado trees but lost fifty of these in just the first year. It was heartbreaking and frustrating.

Geoff with Food Connect staff Gemma, Wade and Glen

In early 2004 things began to turn around for Geoff and Bev. They participated in a Certificate of Sustainable Agriculture run by Nutritech Solutions at Yandina. This four day course helped them learn how to farm biologically according to nature. They discovered that central to sustainable farming is a healthy soil with all its mineral and trace elements. The Buckleys tested their soil and found it had some mineral deficiencies that, once corrected, made farming considerably easier. Geoff reports they “can now grow anything”. Their determination to improve their farm has served the couple well. In 2007 they won the Queensland Small Business Champion Award in the Fresh Food category.

Bev and Geoff are now heavily involved in the Local Producers’ Associaton on Mt Tamborine. In this role they have been co-coordinating about twenty local producers, most of whose farms range from two to five acres. These farmers have been supplying our lemons, limes, rhubarb, avoados, kiwifruit and custard apples.  Geoff and Bev and the LPA on Tamborine have been running training programmes for these small farmers who wish to learn about organic farming practices. They have covered topics such as soil microbes and the control of weeds and pests.