Allington Family Farm in Harvey, Western Australia | Agricultural service

Allington Family Farm

Locality: Harvey, Western Australia

Phone: +61 438 802 188

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25.01.2022 EDIT - THE PUPPIES HAVE BEEN FOUND!!!! They are back home with their Mama & although they were cold, wet and hungry they are all alive and well!! Thank you to everyone who shared, we are so grateful! These 3 beautiful pups are missing. We have reported them as stolen. And we are trying to spread the news far and wide so they can return home to us, and to their Mama. Our son is devastated, as are we and we’re extremely worried as they should still be with their Mum... Please share - and if you hear of anything on gumtree/local buy & sell pages of kelpie pups available - PLEASE let us know/inform the police... Disappeared from our farm in Harvey. Taken on the night of Thursday 24th September. Praying for a miracle.

25.01.2022 Figured these guys haven’t featured for a while - so here’s a picture of Helga, scoffing her face with lots of fresh pasture! Like our sheep, our pigs live a life free to forage & graze, roll in mud and generally live a pigs best life! Buying your food from local producers, farmers and small businesses ensures that you are more informed of what you’re actually putting in your mouth, as well as knowing that the animals have lived happy lives and are free to roam in wide open... spaces - all of this with the added bonus of knowing the people who work tirelessly to produce the food for you! It’s a win-win situation! Although it may cost you a little more than if you were to buy from any of the big supermarket chains, you can be assured that you are putting your money into a small family owned business, rather than a huge corporate chain - and it’s no joke that we do a happy dance after every time we sell our produce directly to you! You can find us weekly at @mtclaremontfarmersmarket and you can still order directly through us for all of your lamb needs! We love feeding you all, we are passionate about what we do and we are certain that you will taste the difference in buying from us! Support your local farmers & producers and make a positive impact on your world!

25.01.2022 Trying to rest and take in the serenity this evening... After a couple of days away, we had lots of jobs waiting for us on our return. But recently I haven’t been coping very well with my mental health & finding a balance and good perspective on life.. For anyone else who suffers with anxiety, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Especially when there is a lot going on, even the easiest things can feel like mountains! (And to be honest, we’re not exactly dealing with... ‘easy things’ right now either!) We have a few things to really look forward to, which I will share in the coming weeks & months.. And I’m trying to focus on those things, as well as the little things in life, such as beautiful sunsets! Fortunately I have been blessed with some amazing people around me who support me no matter what, including my incredible husband.. And I am reminded to take time for myself and take time out when I need to. But, right now, life is hard. Really hard.. Even though a lot of it goes on behind closed doors, it doesn’t make it any less ‘real’.. So please - my encouragement to you all tonight is check on that friend who you haven’t spoken to for a while. That friend who seems always happy. That friend who seems like they’ve got everything together. Because they just might not be

25.01.2022 These two here. When it comes down to it, they are all that really matters. If you’ve seen our stories today you’ll have seen I shared a teeny glimpse into what’s been going on in our lives recently. As if 2020 wasn’t crazy enough, we’ve been facing many challenges as a family & business which have been shaking us to our very core. In a season of stormy seas, while you’re in the boat it can feel never ending. The waves toss and turn and throw you and as you look around, ever...ything seems dark; it feels as if the storm will never end. You hear the wind howl and feel the cold rain on your face, soaking you to the skin. You wonder why you’re there; why you decided to sail that boat. It feels too much. It feels too big. It feels like your world is going to come crashing down around you. Like the sails which were steering the way will give up and rip in half above you. However, in the distance, you spot a break in the clouds. A tiny speck of light. It may not seem like much in an otherwise desolate sky, but it’s enough. It’s enough to keep you going. To remind you that even in that all-engulfing storm, there is still some light. A reminder that you won’t be in that storm forever; in fact where you are heading is right where that glimmer of light shines. So you keep on going. You continue sailing through that storm, but your eyes are no longer fixed on what is going on around you but in the hope and the promise of what is to come. In that tiny spec of light. Eventually, the day comes when the storm gently begins to die down, when the wind stops howling and you begin to feel the sun warming your frozen cheeks.. For you see, storms never last forever. There is always a day when they will cease. And one day, one day, you will be able to look back and remind yourself ‘look how far we’ve come; look what we overcame to get here’. And how wonderful that day will be. by the beautiful @___gatherist

25.01.2022 Happy Father’s Day to this gentle, generous, funny, loving, one of a kind Dad. There’s no-one else I’d rather do this parenting gig with! Photo cred to @___gatherist)

25.01.2022 If you follow our stories, you’ll have seen that I had surgery yesterday for my endo. I don’t often share the personal things that I or we as a family are going through, but I also feel that sometimes it’s important to share the ‘real’ stuff too. I’m home now, after a very long recovery period in the hospital (they had told Trav I should be out at around 4.30pm and I was discharged at 10.30pm..!). My oxygen levels and blood pressure were too low, so ended up being on oxygen ...for a while & then when I attempted to move, I almost collapsed.. So the nurses wanted to keep an eye on me & to make sure my levels where they needed to be.. Trav couldn’t be with me (because covid) but he was waiting for me in the waiting room, sending me lots of love via text message, from 3pm.. So firstly, this is a big shout out to him and to how much I appreciate and how thankful I am for him. Although he couldn’t be by my side, I knew he was there for me, and that knowledge meant so much to me.. Finding someone who love you that much is not something I take for granted & I feel so so blessed. So thank you @allingtonsheep - I love you Secondly, to every single person who has texted/DM’d or messaged me, encouraging me, praying for me and telling me they were thinking of me during yesterday - THANK YOU. I was so nervous in the days before the surgery, but yesterday I just felt this incredible peace about it all. I was still nervous and apprehensive, as it’s only natural to be, but I knew and I could feel God’s presence & peace surrounding me through it all. It was an incredible feeling. I’m going to be sharing a bit more of my endo story over the coming days, as I recover at home and as I (attempt) to rest.. and time share some absolutely unbelievable news about it all. But for now, I’m going to attempt to get a bit more sleep - and I would still appreciate any thoughts & prayers during this recovery period. Thankful for this wonderful community

24.01.2022 Hi everyone! Sorry we’ve been so quiet over here lately! If you’ve seen our stories, you’ll have seen that last week was busy with shearing our hoggets. Although they weren’t quite ready to shear, we made the call due to the extremely wet November we had and the risk of flies was high. So rather than use chemical to treat them all, we decided to shear them instead. Unfortunately wool price is still heavily affected, so we don’t expect to make very much on this wool - but some...times we have to make decisions based on animal welfare, rather than profit margins! We are also looking into a few different ways we can become more sustainable and environmentally friendly as a producer! We are going to start using eco-friendly, compostable cryovac bags for packaging our meat for the Farmers Markets, as currently we hate how much wastage there is involved with single-use plastic & we know we can do something about it! It will cost us a little more, but we believe it’s the right thing to do! More on that soon! We are also questioning whether or not to continue with our CSA for our quarterly members (or for those of you out there who are potential new members)! We’ve been running our CSA for almost 8 months now, and we’ve made some beautiful relationships with so many of our members and we have loved the little community that has evolved. However, it adds another dimension of organisation and admin, in what is already an extremely busy season for us as a business! So we’d love to hear below - if you’re a current CSA member and would love to keep receiving monthly boxes of our lamb; or maybe you haven’t yet joined up but would love to give it a go.. We would love to hear your thoughts/opinions below!

23.01.2022 From all of us at Allington Family Farm, we hope you are finding peace & joy in this Christmas season, despite this crazy world in which we live! We feel especially blessed to have spent the day yesterday with family but we’re also acutely aware of how difficult it can be for others as my family in the UK had to spend it apart.. Luckily, technology allowed us to make a group call; them all snuggled up in their Christmas jumpers, us in our bathers and shorts after a beautif...ul swim in one of the local pools! We also feel incredibly blessed that for the next week and a bit, we are actually having some time off as we take a camper trailer and head off on an adventure! For those of you who know us, or have been following any length of time, you’ll know how much we love to travel & explore this wonderful world, so we are super excited to make some more memories together and take some much needed time off! We’ll share some snippets of our time away but I’m also going to consciously spend less time on social media too! See you all on the other side, much love to you all @___gatherist

22.01.2022 It’s easy to see the happy, smiling faces on insta & be lured into a false sense of belief that everyone is always living their best lives, never struggling or having dark days. Especially if you’re having a bad day, or a bad season yourself, it can feel like you’re the only one and everyone else is as happy as Larry! But behind these faces are real people. Real people who cry, breakdown, sometimes even scream. Real people who worry and who aren’t sure what the future holds. ...Real people who go to bed with heavy hearts and heads as they battle with the ‘what if’s’ and ‘I don’t knows’ of life. Real people who desperately want to smile but right now, it just feels too hard, like the light is so far away from the end of the tunnel it’s just black and empty. Real people who want to dream and hope but the everyday anxieties become big monsters that offer no hope. We both know how those dark times can feel. Feeling like there is no escape and finding it impossible to see past the whirling, dark storm that sucks all the energy and life out of you, so all you want to do is let it envelop you and take hold of you like it wants to. Although there is definitely more needed than asking the simple question ‘are you ok?’, that simple question can offer a lifeline during those dark times. It shows that even though you don’t understand (and you never really will), it shows that you care. That you’re there. And it brings a tiny flicker of hope and light in that darkness. And that is what can literally save someone’s life. So if you do anything today, reach out and ask someone if they are ok. Even to that friend who is always smiling. You might just change someone’s life by @___gatherist

21.01.2022 Today has been a great day! I caught up with a beautiful friend, drank tea & are cake and discussed so many wonderful (and also more challenging) things with her. We shared, laughed and encouraged one another. And I left feeling lighter, more peaceful & energised. Because do you know, if you begin to prioritise things in life that give you energy, that feed your soul and that connect you in deeper relationship & community, the effect can only be positive. And although we are ...going through some difficult times at present, I’ve been reminded over the past few days that we have to continue to choose joy through it all. If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know that ‘choose joy’ was my motto for 2019 and it spoke truth to me and encouraged me to find joy in the every day. Somehow along the way, I lost sight of that for a little while. But I feel SO THANKFUL to have been reminded of this again and the life that choosing joy brings to me and in turn, to our family! And I’m excited to share more of this with you in the coming days & weeks! You may have also seen some exciting news that we have been sharing... For a limited time, and in extremely limited quantities, we are going to have some of our Berkshire pork packs available AND we also have some Christmas hams available! If you are interested, get in quick as we are selling out fast & they will be sold on a first come, first served basis! Email us at [email protected] or DM us on insta/Facebook to place your order now! Thank you for all of your support!

21.01.2022 We can’t always be as happy as Oriana was when she was dancing & twirling through the paddocks (If only!!) Check in on someone today, ask them ‘Are you ok? No really, are you ok?’. That question could be all they need. Thankful to all of you who checked in on me yesterday after my awfully scary panic attack. So so grateful for this community! And know that, no matter how you feel, you are beautiful, always, you are special and loved beyond measure

21.01.2022 We took the pups for their vet checks & vaccinations this morning - it definitely gave us some giggles trying to get all 8 of them in the car/into the vets! We can’t believe they’re already 6 & a half weeks old - and some of them have already got new wonderful homes that they’ll be going to in a few short weeks! We have also been talking about taking a little bit of time off as we are desperate to catch a break - with illness/farm life/Trav’s study/markets and so on it’s be...come a pretty hectic schedule and we are all noticing we are more on edge, less patient and generally just in need of a break. Obviously, it’s never simple as we have to organise care for the animals whenever we go away, but we are going to make it happen ASAP. Where do you love going this time of year? We’d love to find some new places we’ve yet to discover! by the incredible @fieldnotes__

20.01.2022 Today’s been a fun-filled day of meeting with the awesome team at @blackpigdeli this morning, followed by a trip to @wamuseum this afternoon! We’ve got some exciting things coming your way - and we can’t wait to share more very soon! This time of year is busy with us feeding out sheep - and as hard as we’ve tried over the past few months; unfortunately we haven’t been able to secure any carrots this season... This is really disappointing for us, as not only is it hugely b...eneficial for the sheep & their energy requirements, we are utilising waste products & not having to buy grain in, which in turn is also much more economical for us. However, we continue to be optimistic and strive to be innovative with other means of feeding our sheep! We have some really exciting things going on in the background over here, and I’m absolutely BURSTING to share it all with you!! But for now, we would just like to say how grateful we are to each & every one of you who has supported our journey this far; whether it’s buying our produce, sharing or liking our posts, telling your friends about us! We wouldn’t be here without you

20.01.2022 Sorry not sorry for all of the puppy spam In case you haven’t seen, the pups are well & truly starting to develop their little personalities now! They opened their eyes a week ago and are staring to run around, play fight with each other, yap and bark - and we’ve already discovered our ‘Houdini’! They’ve also been a great comfort to me - (puppy cuddles should definitely be prescribed by doctors for curing a whole facade of illnesses)! I’m very slowly starting to feel bett...er, although yesterday was the worst I’d felt since the surgery, so I’m hoping for a better day today! We’ve been loved on and looked after so much over the past week, with meals brought, pretty much my whole house cleaned & jobs that needing doing done (@naomidekker_ !!), along with beautiful, thoughtful gifts - and most importantly people’s time.. I have felt so loved and so blessed - and I will never forget people’s generosity! It has really spoken to me again of one of our core values of community. In a community of like-minded people, anything is possible! During the good & the bad, and people seeing and experiencing you through the ‘real’ times, although with its challenges, also allows growth & a much deeper level of connection. I feel very humbled to have been sharing our very real lives with a whole range of different people over the past week, and I LOVE that we have created a community where people know they are welcome to drop by to bring food that has been lovingly prepared for us, helping to love on and look after our kids, and sharing life’s beautiful, wonderful & always surprising journey together!! So thank you - to all of you. Those who have sent messages of love & prayers, every single one is read and appreciated also! I can’t wait til I’m fully back in action but I’m also trying (as those of you who know me, will realise is not exactly easy for me!) to rest, recover and let my body heal.. And it’s only been because of these beautiful souls that that’s been possible. We love you!!

19.01.2022 ‘Hope is being able to see that there is light, despite all of the darkness’. - Desmond Tutu

19.01.2022 Come down & say hello this weekend! You can find us at Subi, Mt Claremont & Freshie Farmer’s Markets! Support your local growers & makers - and in return get incredible quality produce, and meet the people who are growing & producing for you! Doesn’t get much better than that!

19.01.2022 Running a farm full-time is no easy feat, and although the baby animal photos & videos are cute, and we love having such a wonderful mixture of animals to love and care for here, it doesn’t come easily. We are all exhausted at the moment. We haven’t had a proper day off (where we have been able to completely switch off & not think about which animals need caring for) in such a long time. We rejoice in the joy of raising and bringing new life into the world; but we also griev...e and are saddened by the loss of animals - even though it is the natural circle of life. We are constantly thinking about which jobs need to be done and which need prioritising at any given time, because we simply don’t have enough hours and days to do it all! We go to sleep wondering about what the weather will be doing - and through the sunshine/rain/wind, we worry for different reasons, yet it’s completely out of our control. And we plan, brainstorm and put in place new and exciting things for the future of our farm and how we can continue to be sustainable as a business, and continue bringing our customers the absolute best quality produce we can, and how we can expand and grow in this area so we don’t remain stagnant. But we worry whether people will get on board & support the different avenues we go down - or whether it will end up being a waste of time (and money). But we love. We love what we do, we love the animals that we care for - even though the animals have no perception of how deep that dedication and care goes. So we continue putting our muddy boots on, day after day, trying to keep smiling through the ups and downs and knowing that we are making a difference as we grow and produce food which is good for the world!

19.01.2022 For anyone who might be interested - check out Mojo’s new Spring menu featuring our lamb!

18.01.2022 We’ve been pretty quiet over here as we try to navigate our way through some challenging times.. It can be extremely difficult sometimes to find perspective in all that is going on. And I’ve personally just felt absolutely exhausted with it all. Like I’m at full capacity and can’t deal with anything else other than what’s absolutely necessary. Despite this, we’ve been trying to intentionally make time for ourselves to just be (which if you know us at all, is not easily done)...; to make time for our kids and their needs & to slow down and not put too much pressure on ourselves. Some days this is easier than others! In amongst all this, I also try to remind myself of the beauty and positivity that exists around us. From beautiful sunsets, to hearing the children laugh and play together, from bumping into friends (yesterday was such a blessing @dyl.n.molly.mac @lsdandme @gibbscreekgrove ) to cuddles in bed in the mornings with my babes! And we also have lots of things to celebrate! I was asked to write a devotional for this years Advent Christmas Devotionals by @compassionau which I felt so honoured to be a part of, writing alongside people such as the amazing @missarahglover , we have an amazing event coming up next Thursday, supplying one of our faves @marketeatinghouse for their @wagoodfoodguide Southern Weekender event which we are stoked to be a part of! And some bigger news, which we are keeping to ourselves for now but will hopefully be sharing in the coming weeks/months! When we choose to find the positives, despite the difficult times, it allows us to gain valuable perspective. It allows us to remember that it’s not all negative & stressful; that there are good things to be happy about and to celebrate! So my challenge to you is this: if you’re having a difficult time during this season, make a list of 3 things which you are grateful for and share it on your feed or stories! I’d love you to tag us in any that you come up with, and tag 3 friends to do the same - let’s encourage each other to remember the positives, despite the challenges of life! @fieldnotes__

18.01.2022 Warning - more puppy spam! With the pups turning FOUR WEEKS yesterday, we decided it was time to give them some puppy food! To say it went down well is an understatement! We’ve started to receive more interest for them & I can’t believe how quickly time is passing..! If you are interested, send us a message or DM as we are now taking deposits for them! In other news, life on the farm is busy busy this week with shearing & lamb marking coming up! I’ll be sharing snippets ...of the action for you all & we are super also super stoked to have Rachel @fieldnotes__ coming along to capture some goodness too! I’m still needing to take it very easy, and no heavy lifting post-op, so it’ll be a different experience for me this year (definitely already getting FOMO)..! But it’s a much anticipated time as we will get our data for this year’s lambing percentage, which we worked so tirelessly for during lambing season! We can’t wait to share the good news with you all - watch this space! See more

17.01.2022 Three of our beautiful pups have gone missing... We searched through the night last night until midnight and will continue searching again this morning. Please share & pray - 2 ‘kelpie looking’ pups, one brown with white chest. They’ve just been microchipped and turn 7 weeks old tomorrow. Doesn’t make any sense to us that they’ve gone - especially as it’s not just one but three... We still have the other five here. Just sharing on the off chance someone comes across them somewhere...

16.01.2022 For those of you who’ve been here for a while, you’ll know that this gorgeous dog is Oreo: the son of Harvey & Willow. Harvey was our first working dog & he still leads the way as we work him with almost every job we do! Willow on the other hand didn’t show too many signs of being a good working dog & didn’t really have the same instinct as Harvey did. She comes along for the fun but we can’t really rely on her to help us much Oreo is showing great signs of being a fantasti...c working dog. We have been training him alongside working Harvey and generally it’s going really well - he is obedient (mostly!) and such a beautifully natured dog! We are excited to see how he will turn out as he continues to mature! You may have seen on our stories - but Oreo is about to become a big brother as Willow is expecting her second litter of pups, due any day now! This one caught us by surprise and we’ve figured it must have happened while we were away in Esperance! Not planned - but these pups will definitely be loved just as much as the first litter and every morning & night we all go to check on Willow to see if we have some exciting news!! And I just have to forewarn you now - get ready for more pup spam coming your way soon!

14.01.2022 We are excitedly awaiting more arrivals on the farm, as more pigs are due to farrow (give birth) in the coming days and weeks! Every time we go to feed them, we take a close look around to see if we can spot any new faces And this weekend, we are having a relaunch of our pastured, grown with love, fresh heritage pork at @mtclaremontfarmersmarket ! We will have our full range available, including (but not limited to) shoulder roasts, pork belly, pork cutlets & much more! If ...you haven’t yet had chance to try our pork, we guarantee you won’t regret it! Especially with imported pork saturating the Australian market at the moment, and the majority of pork products available to consumers produced in either the USA or Europe, we need to support local pork producers wherever we can. This is the only way you will know where your pork is coming from, how it has been raised & the people who have grown it. The welfare standards of both the people working in the pork industry overseas and the treatment of animals is well below the standards that we would expect, with exploitation of workers and incredibly low animal welfare standards. Choosing to buy locally grown, Australian pork from happy pigs is one way you can make a real difference in the world!

13.01.2022 Holidays are here! And although in some ways there isn’t much change here with our schedule; there are still animals to check & feed and jobs to be done, it somehow feels a bit different as we put a pause on homeschooling and try and spend some quality time together as a family! I’ve also got a big appointment tomorrow, which is hopefully going to provide me with some answers about what’s going on with me & why I’ve been so unwell and in so much pain So keeping everything crossed for that.. We’ve had some beautiful families who have now chosen which gorgeous pup will be joining them and we now only have a few left who still need to find their forever home. We have a few more visitors over the next few days but please get in touch ASAP if you’d like to secure one as they will be ready to leave from Sunday afternoon

13.01.2022 After a big day attending our second market at @mtclaremontfarmersmarket, I decided that puppy cuddles were 100% necessary! However, trying to get a picture of 8 puppies all looking the same way, not moving, is apparently no easy task so 7 out of 8 had to do!! They are 3 weeks old tomorrow, and really starting to show their personalities! We are so in love with them all! Oriana hasn’t been feeling herself since Friday and is needing lots of cuddles on the couch this evening, so after a few bedtime stories & more cuddles, an early night is definitely in order for us all! See you on the other side!

12.01.2022 Better days are coming. Hold on

12.01.2022 The first bit of this clip has made us laugh today - hope you enjoy! (Apologies for the minor bit of swearing but worth it for a laugh)!

11.01.2022 These babies are turning six weeks old on Sunday!!! And they’re all getting so big - and so cheeky - now!! Their personalities are definitely starting to show, and it’s so lovely to see how sociable and friendly they all are! They just LOVE being around us, love cuddles & have started running to us as soon as we go outside! We are now taking deposits from serious applicants and the pups will be ready to go to their new homes between 8-10 weeks of age. Please get in touch if you’re interested in giving one of these gorgeous babies a new fur-ever home!

10.01.2022 It’s been a while since I’ve shared these two beauties - and capturing Hannah’s milky face after her dinner tonight was the perfect one to share! This time of year is a funny one for us; the hot summer days are over (or are they?) the rain starts coming (but will it continue?) tiny shoots of new pasture start growing (but will they get enough rain to sustain them?) and so on and so on...! It sounds cliché, but as farmers we are so reliant on the weather and seasonal changes.... I’ve shared before, but especially for a small farm like ours - an early break can literally save us tens of thousands of dollars worth of feed costs! So we will keep our fingers, toes & everything crossed that the rain that’s forecast this week will come and will be enough to keep those little seedlings growing! For those asking - yes Willow is still pregnant & we are expecting her pups to be born any day now! My initial dates/calculations were wrong so it should be any day now! And I am so excited at the prospect of these new babies joining the farm once again! We had SO MUCH fun with the last litter & I can’t wait to do it all over again (even if it is sooner than we had planned..!). We are also in the midst of discussing our plans for this coming year for the farm - and I’ve been doing lots of brainstorming/researching/making phone calls to begin putting some new ventures into place! I can’t say too much right now, but I can’t wait to share more in the coming weeks & months - watch this space!

10.01.2022 These are the moments we will treasure: her boots - odd feet and two different colours; the way that she looks at me - unwavering and full of love; her untamed golden locks; how she makes me laugh - her cheekiness never ending; and those dimples.. I know it’s cliché, but I really do wish I could bottle it all up so I could keep it and remember it all forever. They grow too quickly; time is a thief. And as we hope & pray for our family to continue growing, it’s also a reminder to hold onto what we have in the here and now and make the most of that which is already certain. @fieldnotes__

09.01.2022 I gave myself the job of photographer when I went down to the yards this morning, to capture all the happenings down there. I’m sure mine will be nothing in comparison to the amazing @fieldnotes__ when she comes to visit this week - but I can dream We’ve got shearing & lamb marking both in full swing, and we’re really happy with how they’re all looking! It’s always super interesting to see all the lambs in the yards for the first time - making a lot of noise - and see how ...well they’re actually doing! Tomorrow we will also be crutching our ewe lambs at a different block as we’re having to break up the shearing a bit due to the forecasted rain this evening! Meanwhile, I’m snuggled up on the sofa, enjoying the company of a lovely friend, with the fire crackling, some nice hot drinks and beautiful music playing in the background! So I definitely can’t complain..!

08.01.2022 Welcome to the fam, Hermione. Can you believe it’s been almost a whole year since Hannah joined us?! And now she’s a big sister to this absolute cutie We just stumbled upon her tonight as we went to move the cows to another paddock, after a conversation between Trav and myself only today where I said that Holly would be having her calf any day but Trav was adamant that we’d be ‘lucky if she’s had it before Christmas’..! And not that I like to brag, but I knew it! ... We are all very excited & happy to welcome her, although Jonah isn’t sold on the name (he got to name Hannah, so Trav came up with Hermione and I love it so it stays)! And sorry not sorry in advance for the calf spam over the coming days/weeks.

08.01.2022 We’re not called ‘Allington Family Farm’ for no reason! When we were deciding on the name a few years ago, we knew we needed an aspect of it to demonstrate that it really was our little family of four, who were the producers! And as the kids grow older, they are more and more involved on the different aspects of helping out with the animals. From feeding the pigs, helping with sheep work, to collecting eggs, bottle feeding lambs and everything inbetween! In fact, when we dec...ided to start homeschooling, we didn’t really consider how wonderful (mostly ) it is to be sharing all of this together! We all obviously have our moments, and it’s not all sunshine & rainbows all the time. After all, family life is a bit like that isn’t it?! We share the good & the bad, the ups & the downs and experience each other at our very best - and our very worst. But the most beautiful thing is, that because we’re family, we get through it together, help each other out and mostly importantly, we never stop loving each other. So know that when you choose to buy your produce from our small family farm, you are literally helping to support our family, helping us to feed you in an ethical & sustainable way - not lining the pockets of some big international corporation!

06.01.2022 ‘If you desire to make a difference in the world, you must be different from the world’. Elaine S. Dalton Always striving to do better, to make a positive difference in our world (both immediate and on a larger scale) and constantly re-evaluating our enterprise and continuing to share our journey, all whilst ensuring the authenticity of our enterprise. So we have some BIG news coming very soon - and we can’t wait to share it with you all! But we hope that this next chapter will continue inspiring you to eat well, to be even more intentional with what food you choose to purchase and consume & remembering that there is never such a thing as cheap food!

05.01.2022 Changing the face of agriculture, one step at a time..! You will have all seen that last week, we just finished up marking our lambs, as part of the annual cycle of what happens here. As part of this process, we do several things to the lambs to ensure their health & wellbeing, as well as for identification purposes. One of the biggest things which I have always hated, is the regulation regarding earmarking stock. Earmarking uses a device which then physically cuts into a sec...tion of the animals’ ear, leaving a shape which is cut out - and each farm has their own shape/specific place on the ear where it needs to be done, which needs to be done within the first 6 months of the animals life. According to MLA (Meat & Livestock Australia), ‘Ear marking or notching is a mandatory requirement in some states’ - WA being one of those states. It does have some advantages, in allowing farmers on huge farms, with neighbouring livestock producers, to be able to identify stock (as tags can get ripped or can be cut out). But I strongly believe that for producers like ourselves, it is a completely unnecessary aspect of what we are legally required to do - so I’ve decided to do something about it. Change can only occur if farmers like ourselves, who don’t agree with it, petition or lobby and make a stand against things they don’t believe in. So I’ve spoken with the Department of Primary Industries with regards to their stance upon it, and asked how I can be part of seeing this change actually happen. I’ve been informed that they’re on our side, and that the decision to change it to OPTIONAL marking comes from the main Farmers Federations who will vote to essentially give the voice on what farmers actually want to see happen. So I’m now waiting to receive a phone call from the WA Farmers Federation to discuss actioning and making this change happen. I was hoping for a complete ban on marking - but if making it optional is the first step, then I’m all for that!! We believe that together; with regards to how we produce animals here and our own ethics, principles and farming practices, along with challenging the status quo and standing up for what we believe is right, th

05.01.2022 Yesterday I decided to do a time lapse of us marking lambs; we get so many questions about what exactly is involved so what better way than to show you. However, I didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be to set it up (as I haven’t got a tripod!). A steel post & some wire later, after 5 or 6 attempts at getting the angle right we finally got there! This year we decided not to ear mark everything, due to the changes in legislation soon, but we will have to mark a portion of... them as we begin to send them in for processing until that legislation comes in. We also couldn’t get hold of Gudair (which vaccinates against Johnes disease) in time, so we will vaccinate the ewe portion at weaning with that. But as a step by step guide: the lambs are picked up and put into the lamb marking cradle, they are then given a 3 in 1 injection (with selinum) which protects them against some of the more common diseases, an ear tag (with our farm brand on it) and then their tails are docked and balls are castrated using rings - and as you may have seen, this year we have used @numnutsdevice to inject a local anaesthetic for pain relief, as we do so (that was my job!). The lambs are then let out and put back in the paddock to mother up. It’s a long day, especially as we have been doing it ourselves this year, but we make the most of it with music on the speaker, plenty of snacks and we even treated ourselves to a pub dinner last night And we were really happy with our result there, despite challenges with the horrendous weather this year, with just over 100% lambing rate. Today, we are taking some of the older dry ewes (who haven’t raised a lamb) to the abattoir for mutton, as we continue to improve our productivity. Then I am finally getting my hair done this afternoon; it’s all about balance after all

05.01.2022 Slightly different post tonight, but one I had to share! I’ve just finished reading ‘The Midnight Library’ by @mattzhaig and oh. My. Goodness. I am absolutely blown away. As someone who has struggled with mental health personally, and also seen loved ones battle with anxiety, depression & suicidal thoughts, this book hit HARD. But in such a beautiful, wonderful way. As I was transported to Nora’s world, and captivated in the concept of the novel, I also began contemplating ...thoughts about my own life and decisions I’ve made along the way. We all have decisions that we have made which literally, without them, would make our reality such a different one. And it’s only natural to wonder ‘what if...’ occasionally. However, what I’m going to take from this masterpiece, is the gratitude that I have for this current life I’m living, with my beautiful family, and the many, many blessings which we have. And yes, life can be really shit sometimes. Like, really shit. But that doesn’t mean that this life isn’t worth it for all the wonderful things it brings! (And if you haven’t read this book yet - do yourself a favour and go and buy yourself a copy and prepare to be blown away)! @fieldnotes__

05.01.2022 Please if you feel inclined, fill in this quick survey so that we can see the earmarking and branding of sheep and cattle optional in WA, in line with the rest of the country! if you’ve been following us for a while, you will know we have been petitioning about this, so this consultation is a great way forward!

04.01.2022 We just wanted to take a few minutes to officially welcome the two new members to our team here at Allington Family Farm: meet Molly (left) & Farah (right)! You have probably seen their lovely smiling faces around if you shop with us at one @subifarmersmarket , @mtclaremontfarmersmarket or @freshiefarmersmarket as they help us to run our markets on a Saturday morning up in Perth! We originally got to know Molly as one of our lovely CSA members. Once the job opportunity came... up, she was eager to get on board and has risen to the challenges of market day life and calms me down in my moments of craziness! We originally got to know Farah as her & a friend came to gain some valuable work experience on the farm! They were thrown in at the deep end & we’ve always been super impressed with her work ethic and positive attitude towards any task she’s put in front of! As most of you will realise, these wonderful ladies are helping us to support and realise our dream of producing our ethical, sustainable and premium quality lamb direct to you, our beautiful customers! And unfortunately because Trav & I can’t be in two places at once , we realised that in order to continue growing, and making our lamb available to more of you, we needed to employ some staff members! So if you see Molly or Farah behind a market stall, it is still our family and our dream that you are supporting! So please this weekend, if you’re at one of the markets and you see them, please drop by and say hello and show them some love!

04.01.2022 You may have seen on our stories yesterday & today that we’ve been getting our sheep in ready for lamb marking & shearing! We’ve been battling against the weather so far, so have had to make a few last minute changes to the schedule! Always the way when you have a plan Due to my operation last week, I’m not going to be much help at all, which is already proving very challenging & the FOMO is real guys..! So I’m trying to rest up on the couch (with chocolate to help!), whi...le Trav is down in the yards drafting & penning sheep up ready for first thing tomorrow! It’s also a time when we realise that we can’t do everything ourselves, especially with current limitations.. So we have some people coming to give us a hand over the next few days, including shed staff - so no rouseying for me! We’ve also got a couple of our wonderful murdoch students back here to help, inbetween their studying, and we’re extremely grateful for their help! It’s going to be a busy few days & I still need to rest as much as I possibly can, as my body is exhausted and still in a lot of pain.. I’m learning some huge lessons in patience at the moment, that’s for sure! And for those who have been asking - YES - we are still looking for a new farm & house to lease! But we are trying to continue trusting that it will all work out

03.01.2022 Firstly, we wanted to express our sincere THANKS to everyone who commented, shared, liked, sent messages as we attempted to find the 3 lost puppies. We discovered they were missing on Friday afternoon and spent hours on end, searching for them in the hope they had just wandered off somewhere. Everyone we spoke to (including the ranger/vets/others who were familiar with puppies) all told us that they wouldn’t have gone very far. That as 7 week old puppies, they wouldn’t go to...o far away from mum/the rest of the litter - but we hoped they had maybe got lost on the farm or even gone to the next farm. So we searched their farm too - but still no signs of them. We hoped and prayed they would return the next morning. At first light, we began our search again but still nothing. We were contacted by an agency to help us try to find them and we discussed the importance of getting word out there, in case they had been stolen. With no sign of them, and over 24 hours, we made a call to the police as suspected stolen. The police lodged our case and said it sounded likely that that was the case; given the circumstances that 3 had gone and the rest were with us. We then decided to share on social media and contacted as many people we could in the hope that we would finally get the puppies back, one way or another. After another hopeless day, I then received a phone call from our neighbour 2 farms (and around 3km away) at around 5pm. He said that he’d just seen our post that was shared, and that earlier that day he had heard what sounded like puppy barks on the next door farm to him, in their creek line. It was turning dark so we asked if we could head over there straight away. We took our dogs & began searching and within 5 minutes, three shivering, wet, hungry puppies ran out from behind the bush!!! They were SO happy to see us (and their Mama!) and didn’t stop licking our faces!! We wrapped them up, and got home as quickly as we could. We checked them over & gave them food and water straight away. We don’t know what happened in the end, whether they wandered or something more sinister. We are just happy they are home, alive and well. Please swipe to see map..!

01.01.2022 Our last farmers markets of 2020 went out with a BANG! You may have seen on our stories but our household was hit with a horrible gastro bug this week, and as I got worse yesterday we almost thought we would have to cancel going to the markets - which would have meant not only losing our sales for the day, but also refunding our pre-orders & having all the meat which was ready to be sold put straight into our freezer. And when these challenging times happen, in any business,... you have one of two options. You can either accept that it is the way it is, and feel extremely disappointed OR you can decide to get creative and think outside the box: we obviously chose the latter! It meant Trav having to get up at 3.30am this morning & roping our brother-in-law into driving up in the other car, as well as running a market (which he’d never done before)! But we are so happy that we made it happen & that you will get to enjoy our beautiful produce over the Christmas season!! Thank you to our wonderful staff @_frankly_george & @faeruh and Carl for stepping up and for making the markets run so smoothly today. And of course - thank you to you, our wonderful customers, who continue to support us as local producers by choosing to shop with us! We are so grateful! We can’t wait to continue where we left off in 2021 supplying you with our delicious produce!

01.01.2022 We’ve got some of the lovely people from @aspen.lifestyle camping with us this weekend, as we share some of the innermost workings of our farming enterprise; with a focus on food production, clarifying some of the common misconceptions and educating about how we raise our animals here for our paddock to plate ethos. One of our biggest passions here is EDUCATION and we love sharing this passion with others! And as someone who once had zero understanding or knowledge of how my... food was produced and no idea of the realities of the agricultural industry, education now one of our main values. We want to share this knowledge and be transparent, so that you can make more informed decisions about the food that you buy and put into your bodies! If you or someone you know would love to learn and share in this unique experience, then please get in touch with us - we’d love to hear from you! Have a wonderful Sunday! See more