BM
This is a West Wimmera Health Service podcast. Presented by me Brigitte Muir.
This series focuses around stories and issues related to health and wellbeing. Some of the people we hear from are sharing their stories, hoping that their experiences will help us with our own health and wellbeing. Please be aware that some of their life experiences may touch on issues that are sensitive to some. Please listen with care. You will find information on seeking help if you need it in the notes attached to each episode.
Quite a number of women living on farms come from overseas. They meet farmer, fall in love and move to Australia. How do they fit, in the country of the sky? A land often very different from the place of birth. I met Anna Johansson from Varberg, Sweden now living on a very special farm at Katyil, near Dimboola.
AJ
I went to… an Ag college then ended up working at the Ag school because it's mostly summer season. Like it's more work through the summer. There's not much work in winter, so I decided to, come to Australia for harvest… one season. Yeah, went back to Sweden, came back to Australia, and you know did another season here. That's when I met Tim, and ended up staying. And that's… nine years ago, I think.
BM
Okay. Wow, so you've known each other for quite a while, then?
AJ
Yeah.
BM
And you were telling me that you bought this beautiful place. What's it… What's the name of the place?
AJ
We call it Lagom farm, because lagom means… in Swedish… just about right
BM
Just about like farm.
AJ
Yeah.
BM
[Chuckles]
AJ
It's hard to.. exactly translate it… because, there is no word
BM
Well, it looks like a beautiful place to me. And you're doing amazing work here.
AJ
Yeah, we’re trying.
BM
So, I know now how a girl from Sweden, ended up in Australia, living with… someone who is a farmer. You had the same kind of background, really.
AJ
Yeah
BM
You came here on working holidays…
AJ
Yeah
BM
Yeah, I guess what it was?
AJ
Yeah
BM
…and you've not only been farming with your husband?
AJ
Oh, he's not my husband.
BM
Your partner…boyfriend
AJ
Yes, yeah.
BM
You also decided to grow your own food. Where did that one come from?
AJ
I've always wanted to… grow things… for myself, but in Sweden…we were just really busy… working… through the summer when you could grow stuff, so I never really had a chance doing it. Probably five years ago, we started growing small… some veggies for ourselves just for fun. And then, when we moved here four and a half years ago… it just… expanded then, now… I'm growing most of the veggies we eat and… because you end up with a lot of veggies, you also eat a lot of veggies. [chuckles]
BM
Are you vegetarian?
AJ
No. So, we… we produce our own food as well. Meat… yeah we have chook’s, ducks, turkey, geese… and yeah lambs… on the farm… and… Tim's dad, he has got cows…so he's milking. So, we’re getting fresh milk and cream, and every now and then a cut to hang up too.
BM
That's quite amazing.
AJ
Yeah.
BM
How important is it, you think, these days of food insecurity with the weather changing everywhere, to be able to… rely on… your own food and also what you can get around you?
AJ
Yeah, we kind of… tested ourselves a bit… through COVID. We didn't really have to go to the supermarket, we had three… four freezers and we knew we had food. And I guess the other thing is, we know what we eat, like we, we can produce it ourselves and then straight to the freezer.
BM
Yes, you have your own supermarket, basically.
AJ
Yeah.
BM
With the produce that you know you will be using.
AJ
Yeah.
BM
Do you use any chemicals on your crops?
AJ
On the veggies, you mean?
BM
Yeah
AJ
No, I'm…I’m not organic or anything like that, but I don't want to use any pesticides or… herbicides. Small scale like that, I don't think it's necessary. It is sometimes… a bit of a struggle. This year because it's so wet, there's a lot of snails and slugs around and… yeah.
BM
Do the ducks help, there?
AH
Yeah, they do. Yeah, their…and the chooks eat the slaters…and
BM
So, you've…you’ve got a whole ecosystem organised.
AJ
Yeah, I'm trying to. We don't do permaculture or anything like that, but I want to do… things as… simple and natural, as possible, means that I don't really want to use chemicals if I don't have to, or… any of the chooks are free ranging and doing their thing… and helping our thing.
BM
Yes, it's all looks very healthy to me.
AJ
Yeah
BM
It’s beautiful. And you've got an amazing array… of… seedings here on this table from… what? Cubic mix, what is cubed mix?
AJ
It's probably a variety of…of some flower or…
BM
Right…yeah, yeah
AJ
…and that's another thing… like biodiversity, I think it's called, like mix flowers in with.. the veggies.
BM
Moving from Europe to Australia and living on a farm. What's the best thing about that?
AJ
The… wide open spaces, I would say… and I love the skies, out here. There's so many nice sunsets. And you can actually see them
Both
[Chuckle]
BM
Yes, you can can’t you…[chuckles] you don’t have to…
AJ
Its flat….
BM
…climb a mountain to see them
AJ
…yeah
AJ
It's quite hilly where I'm from in Sweden. Its quite beautiful too, but...
BM
Its big and flat here.
AJ
Yeah.
BM
Yes. I like that too,the big skies, I've always loved it. Yeah, and that feeling of space as well, it's… it's quite amazing, coming from Belgium…
AJ
Yeah
BM
…everything is so tiny there and covered in people and although… I do love, you know… my roots. I don't think I could live there again.
AJ
Yeah.
BM
What about you? Can you imagine yourself living in Sweden for a while again?
AJ
Yeah, Tim and I, we… we might… move to Sweden, when we get older.
BM
Okay. Why is that?
AJ
Because I've lived here and he thinks it's fair… if he moved there for some… some part of our life
BM
Just to experience your culture.
AJ
Yeah.
BM
That's… that's a lovely thing to do, for the person you love.
AJ
Yeah. I don’t think we can keep… being farmers till we die, so, yeah. And then… Tim's parents, they are a bit older, so, you don't wanna really talk about them not being here anymore, but… they might pass before my parents, and if I can go over there, when they get older… yeah might be a good thing later on.
BM
Family is very important…
AJ
Yeah..
BM
… isn't it? The subject of this podcast is health, whether mental health or physical health. What's important for you as far as those topics go?
AJ
Yeah, the gardening is… very good….for my mental health. What is it called, when you don’t keep track of the time? You…
BM
Get in the zone.
AJ
Yeah, that's what happened in the small garden here, when I first started growing stuff for ourselves. Now… the other garden out there is more like a market garden…that I've slowly started.
BM
It's big.
AJ
Yeah
BM
…and it's rabbit proof.
AJ
Yeah, hopefully it will be, yeah. If I can… grow… veggies and lives well… and also share that produce, to others, I think I'm driven by it. Yeah, it's important… to follow some of your passion. I think there's a lot of people who…who actually realise how good produce… like that… is for you. Because yeah, some… some of them… even if you buy a lot of veggies from the supermarket, they just push to produce and not much flavour or all the good stuff. It's not there anymore. Because we have a lot of trees around the house, different ones, I think it's a place… where birds come in and now we have a… theres a reserve… like a… like a dam reserve where channels used to be connected to and stuff, and because of all the rain this year, it's actually filled.
BM
Wow.
AJ
So, we have like [chuckles] a lake on the back of our property. Yeah.
BM
That’s amazing
AJ
Yeah, there's been a lot of different birds coming to that.
BM
Your gonna have to take me on a cook's tour.
AJ
Yeah
BM
I’d love to see your farm.
AJ
Yeah
BM
It's so… different. It's… it's green, it's got trees everywhere, there's wildlife. There is also… food on the hoof.
AJ
Yeah.
BM
Birdy things, things that you can eat. All sorts of stuff.
AJ
Yeah.
BM
It's… it's like a different world…I love it…wow. It's amazing.
AJ
Yeah, it is our… little paradise.
BM
Would you consider… teaching, people how to grow vegetables?
AJ
I don’t know. I kind of like… just producing it. I have thought about having people… just… to show people what I'm doing… and maybe others can do some for themselves as well, but… I don't think I'm a good [chuckles] teacher.
BM
I'm gonna ask you a few questions. I'd love to have a talk. And you can show me your veggies is that ok?
AJ
Yeah
BM
And help… me…who is absolutely hopeless at growing things, how to deal with… making things grow, so I can eat them.
AJ
Yeah, it's quite simple, I think you… have to be prepared to… not succeed with everything. That's just nature. I use a lot of… manure… and I've, I’ve set up automatic watering so I don't… I check it, but I'm usually quite sure… that it gets the water, that it needs.
BM
How many hours a day, would you say you need, to look after your veggie garden.
AJ
I guess… when you grow… your own food, you also have to prepare the food… and tomatoes, you have a few months of it in the garden, but then you want to eat it for the rest of the year as well, so you have to… preserve it…and that takes time too, so…
BM
Do you get help to do that?
AJ
No, not really. So …oh …Tim helps me sometimes, but… it does take a lot of time… because we make bread and butcher our meats, and make yoghurt…all sorts of stuff. So yes, it does take a lot of time…but I, I think it's worth it because I've see a benefit from it. And I know where it's come from.
BM
And that's important.
AJ
Yeah.
BM
And it gives you a lot of pleasure, as well.
AJ
Yeah, yeah. It's something special…when… when you can look at your plate and say that 90 or 95% of…of the plate is grown and produced here on the farm.
BM
I’m jealous.
AJ
We…we still buy stuff from the supermarket, though. We're trying our best to use what we have, rather than… sending money in a supermarket.
BM
That means you have more time as well, if you don't have to make more money… to buy stuff, because that's… that's part of today's world too, isn't it?
AJ
Yeah, yes.
BM
Consumerism
AJ
Yeah. So, I work part time… for a farmer… up the road here. But, because Tim, my partner, his brother, they… they run a farm as well, I want to be able to… help them a bit, but also do more, grow more veggies to sell for others. I want to be able to be… home more, and be happy, rather than just chase the money, that you rather live a life with less money, than…more happiness I think
BM
You are the picture of happiness.
AJ
Not every day, we all have our days. But yeah, you can set up your life. It's your own life and you should not care about what other people think… and do what you want, and yeah.
BM
That’s beautiful.
AJ
Yeah
BM
Thank you so much, Anna, and I look forward to being taken on a tour of your property.
AJ
Yeah
BM
That was Anna Johansson from Logam farm, near Dimboola.
You will find us always contact numbers and details in the notes attached to this episode. And while you're at it, please give us a star rating. We'd also love to hear your comments and suggestions. Our Facebook and Twitter details are in the notes. Until next have a healthy life won’t you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai edited by the WWHS Health Promotion Team