If we had a dollar for every time someone asked us if we had a stall at Harvest Market in Launceston, we could shut the business down and retire! 

We've been on a waiting list for a spot at Harvest since early 2012 and we've jumped through a few hoops to differentiate our product from the other pork producers there, Mount Gnomon Farm and Black Ridge Farm and to get our Expression of Interest right. We were told that if ever Gnomon or Black Ridge weren't there, we might be able to 'fill in'. 

As it turns out though, even that isn't feasible. We just applied for a spot once a month while Black Ridge drop down to fortnightly over the winter. Here's what Harvest said: 

"When looking at meat producers, as with other product offerings, the Harvest Committee recognise that some meat products are more popular with consumers than others. Australians eat a lot of chicken and beef – but they don't currently eat a lot of pork (according to the ABARES commodity statistics). Feedback from our producers also supports these statistics.

Therefore, based on our current consumer attendance the Harvest Committee does not feel the market can sustain another pork producer at this time, even with Black Ridge adjusting their attendance over winter."


This is disappointing for us, but it's not the end of the world. We respect Harvest's right and obligation to care for the interests of those producers who've been with them from the start. 

We'll be at Evandale monthly and sell by delivery too as planned, and you'll see dates and stock availability as usual on our Facebook page and via our emailing list and on these very pages here. 

Thanks to all our lovely customers for your continued interest, and we look forward to bringing you delicious nitrate-free ham, bacon, sausages and other pork product very soon! 

We've been searching for a product to create from our free range Wessex Saddlebacks, which will do justice to the magnificent breed and its outstanding pork. 

So we had some nitrate-free ham and bacon made for us by a specialist butcher in Deloraine. 

Very excited, we took delivery of our trial batch last night and sampled it here at the farm. 

It is sensational. The ham is a beautiful light pink and has a subtler smoky flavour that we've achieved previously, which allows the flavour of the ham to come through. And there is none of that salty tang you get with standard pork. After rushing outside to photograph it in the last light of the day, we rushed back in to make pizzas with it, complementing it with big blobs of buffalo mozarella. Transported to Naples in one mouthful. 

FUTURE SUPPLIES 
We plan on producing a large batch of ham and bacon and sausages, all nitrate-free, once monthly. We will sell it at one market only and by delivery to the West Tamar valley and Launceston. Bulk supply to the Hobart region is under investigation.  

If you would like us to reserve a ham for you to collect this Sunday at Evandale, please ring us on 03 6396 1481 - strictly first come first served. 

Each ham is around 1.5kg, boneless and priced at $29 / kg. All our pigs are pure bred Wessex Saddleback, farmed free range here in the Tamar Valley.

If you have visited us from Facebook, stay in touch! 'Like' our business page, or sign up to our e-mailing list for regular updates. 

Our sincere thanks to everyone who has expressed an interest in these products over the past couple of weeks - your encouragement has cheered us on and helped us to persevere in finding the right path for our little farm business. It's much appreciated!