As part of QCWA Country Kitchen’s Meet a Farmer initiative, today we learn about free-range pork and egg farmers, Kevin and Cara Jackson. Kevin and Cara are the owners of KC Ridge Farm, located just south of Chinchilla, overlooking the fertile flood plains of the Condamine River. KC Ridge consists of open improved pastures, ideal for a pastured pig and chicken operation. KC Ridge is home to many animals including pigs, chickens, cattle, and a couple of guardian dogs to prevent pesky foxes from helping themselves to the chickens.
Kevin and Cara Jackson and their guardian dog at KC Ridge Farm.
Lean pork and eggs are part of the ‘lean meats and alternatives’ food group. This is one of the five food groups recommended for daily consumption in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.
Eggs are a great and affordable, high quality source of protein that can be enjoyed on their own or added to dishes as an extra source of protein.
Most of the protein in an egg can be found in the egg white, while the yolk contains healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
The Country Kitchens Team and Maranoa Division Convenor, Glynis, visited KC Ridge after delivering a Foodie Talk to local youth in partnership with the PCYC in Chinchilla.
Kevin and Cara greeted the team warmly and offered a delicious healthy quiche made with their very own eggs.
We were lucky enough to have a tour of Kevin and Cara’s property and were able to see their free-range chicken and pigs roaming freely in their pastures.
“We run a pasture-raised free-range operation – both chooks and pigs are fully free-range, as you saw them wandering around the paddock. We use a rotational grazing strategy; our chooks are housed in caravans so that they can be moved around the pasture. This stops them from sterilizing whole sites and destroying the land for future grazing,” said Kevin.
Kevin grew up farming with his parents, yet KC Ridge is very different today as Kevin and Cara have adapted their farming practices and livestock to reflect the rising cost of land and long-term droughts in the area.
“My family has been farming since the 1970s and owned this farm since 1989, so I may not come from a multi-generational farm, but I grew up in farming and it is in my blood. The farm today is completely different from when I grew up. My parents were 100% stud cattle farmers. The farm used to be a mixed farming operation with both summer and winter grain cropping and stud cattle.”
“With the way droughts have played my parents scaled back on the cattle side, but at the same time with higher land prices we wanted to multilayer our farm, so we have our cattle, pigs and chickens on a rotational basis to improve our soil.”
Running a free-range farm that utilizes methods to try to leave the least impact on the land as possible, means that KC Ridge Farms is a very labour intensive operation. While the farm has taken advantage of some technical advances in farming, such as historical breeding data from chook suppliers to ensure optimal conditions for their animals, Kevin and Cara think some traditional practices are still best. They also live by a “nose to tail” philosophy, selling non-traditional cuts direct to clients and selling bones to be used for stocks and stews at local markets, all in a bid to reduce food waste.
“From where we started as a family farm, we have tried to have the least impact on the land as possible. We have found that the more we push the land the more you must give back to it. We have moved away from using modern synthetic fertilizers to grow crops, returning to natural manure. We have done the full 360 from using synthetics to trying to use as many natural products as possible,” said Kevin.
Throughout the interview, you can see that Kevin and Cara love their work, which can be tough in a time where drought has made their job as farmers incredibly difficult. Despite the curve balls thrown at them, week in and week out, Kevin and Cara love being farmers.
“It is a tough, tough game to be in agriculture, but I love the freedom that it provides. It’s nice to wake up in the morning, watch the sun come up, go down to the paddock and spend time with the animals. The good outweighs the negatives.”
With many of our farmers across the state doing it tough, how can we support hardworking families like Kevin and Cara Jackson?
“Standard philosophies of buying local and knowing where your food comes from makes a massive difference. Think of it is a slow goal that you need to keep chipping away at. All these small promotions for local eating eventually will tweak people to change their thinking and remind them to look at where their products are coming from. Continuous chipping away at people to connect with the origin of their food is important.”
To learn more about Cara and Kevin and KC Ridge Farms head to their website http://kcridgefarm.com.au/. You can find KC ridge products at the Chinchilla and Toowoomba markets, or order direct via their website.
Cara’s Quiche made from KC Ridge eggs.
KC Ridge Farm free-range eggs.
Country Kitchens Mexican eggs recipe (linked below).
If you are feeling inspired to cook some fresh local eggs, try our Country Kitchen’s Mexican eggs recipe. This recipe includes 3 ½ serves of veggies per portion. To learn more about the QCWA Country Kitchens program or the Meet a Farmer initiative, contact us at countrykitchens@qcwa.org.au.
The QCWA Country Kitchens program is proudly funded by Health and Wellbeing Queensland.
Industry: Pork and chicken egg production
Location: Chinchilla, Queensland
QCWA Division: Maranoa
QCWA Connection: Glynis Stevenson, Division Convenor, Maranoa Division, QCWA member, Chinchilla Branch
