BALINGUP’s annual small farm field day was held on Saturday 24 April 2010. A balmy autumn day brought out the locals and people from surrounding communities in droves.

‘Food for thought’ was the theme this year. A three-hour drive from the city on the south west highway past the historic towns of Donnybrook, Kirup, Mullalyup and the destination town of Balingup is a very easy way to spend the day and be excited by meeting the local community and the farmers and producers of the south west.

Katrina Lane, local cafe owner and Slow Food member, organised a Slow Food marquee where information was available about Slow Food’s philosophy, while she used local produce to make delicious food available for the public. Among some of the foods used was organic meat from Blackwood Valley Estate, biodynamic free range eggs from Cackleberries, goats cheese from Ringwould, cream from Bannister Downs and pork from Merri Bee Organics.

One of the highlights of the day was meeting Daryn Rowland and Rebecca Hackett, chefs who have bought 45 hectares at Mullalyup with the intention of producing mozzarella cheese in the future. They already have a small herd of buffalo on their property and their story can be read in the article in Buffalo News ‘Travelling chefs’ love affair with Nepalese buffalo‘.