Morrow Farm

Stan Morrow has seen some big changes in the world of small farming.

Now in his 70s, the fourth generation farmer says for many it’s been a case of get big or get out.

“It’s all different now to what it was. When I was young we could grow beans and peas or anything and just send it to the (central) markets. If we had one box we could send it.

“If you do it today, there’s minimum freight. You could have only one box of beans and you’d have to pay for the whole pallet space.”

Unable to supply the huge quantities required to make wholesaling worthwhile, Stan and his family decided almost a decade ago that the only way to survive was to keep it local.

The Morrow family, who have been farming the red soils of the Alstonville plateau for more than a century, now sell all of their produce at the local farmers’ or weekend markets and wouldn’t consider doing it any other way.

It’s a win-win situation, providing their customers with fresh, nutrient-rich and full-flavoured produce that’s been picked hours, rather than days ago, and the Morrows with a decent livelihood.

Stan and his nephew Rick have become familiar faces at the local markets, and have a loyal following. They grow a diverse range of seasonal fruit and veg, which includes stonefruit, strawberries, watermelon, avocados, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, corn, tomatoes and pecans.

Growing a lot of small and varied crops has a whole host of advantages, including minimising problems with pests, increasing sustainability and making the farm more resilient.

It also allows the family to grow non-commercial varieties, like their heirloom Warpaint watermelon, which has a superior flavour to most modern mass-produced commercial varieties.

“A lot of the new varieties aren’t as sweet as the old ones, “ Stan said.

“They look better but they don’t taste as nice.”

The Morrow’s heirloom carrots are also popular.

“People say gee, that actually tastes like a carrot,” Stan said.