Sanctuary Farmstead in Norong, Victoria, Australia | Farm

Sanctuary Farmstead

Locality: Norong, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 407 247 833

Address: Lilliput-Norong Road Norong, VIC, Australia

Website: http://sanctuaryfarmstead.com.au

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23.01.2022 Our website is now live! Check it out here www.sanctuaryfarmstead.com.au

22.01.2022 Calf #8! Mystiq Moon has had a heifer calf today and we’ve named her Raspberry . .... . #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #sanctuaryfarmstead #australianlowlines #regenerativefarm #regenerativefarming #holisticmanagement #grassfed #moveeveryday #freshgrass #biodiversity #soilhealth #soilbiologyiscool See more

21.01.2022 Stormy and rainy day here today. We managed to move the cattle today without getting too drenched. They love having fresh green grass each day No more calves yet which is probably good considering how cold and wet the past few days have been. ... Maybe in the next few day’s though . . . . #regenerativefarm #regenerativefarming #holisticmangement #grassfed #australianlowlines #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #soilhealth #soilbiology #cattle

20.01.2022 This is a concerning development with JBS purchasing Rivalea and continuing to dominate the factory farmed meat processing industry. Please support small scale farmers who are raising ethical meat to provide direct to their customers. Access to abbatoirs is essential and this purchase is most likely going to mean that abbatoirs being used by small scale farmers will be now off limits. If you are in the position to be able to, please support Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance as they represent small and ethical farmers and fight for us.

20.01.2022 Seems like yesterday! 12 months on and we have had about 50% success rate. Many in the district have mentioned to us they got less than 20% success! We’ve learnt some lessons and next year will be planting again. We still won’t be planting using the methods suggested to us by some local experts as the ‘best way’. Just makes no sense to us to make meter wide swaths of bare earth for tree lines which create dead soils and are hotter in the summer sun (up to 75-80 deg surface temps for exposed soil) than if we left grass cover, and/or to then spray poison on it to kill the grass that creates a micro climate to cool and warm the tree seedlings

18.01.2022 Introducing Ricciardo - a bull calf for Halle Berry. Born yesterday mid morning. 7 calves and 2 still to be born . . . #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #sanctuaryfarmstead #regenerativefarm #regeberativefarming #regenerativeagriculture #pastureraised #grassfed #grassfinished #holisticmanagement #rotationalgrazing #itsnotthecowitsthehow #soilhealth #soildiversity #biodiversity

17.01.2022 Introducing Raven, another little heifer. Mum Mocha can be a bit feisty so we didn’t get too close for too long. . , #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #australianlowlines #regenerativefarm #grassfed #holisticmanagement #calvingseason

17.01.2022 These little rushes/reeds are growing at the high water mark around the edge of our large dam. These have grown naturally after all the rain we’ve had the past few months. The dam has been full for several months now which is clearly supporting their growth, showing if you have the right conditions things will re grow. . .... #regrowth #regenerativefarming #biodiversity #water #nativerushes See more

17.01.2022 Introducing Rona! A new calf for one of our cows, Lenore. The name Rona seems appropriate and it also means Mighty power in Scandinavian. ... . . #australianlowlines #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #calvingseason #calves #regenerativefarming #holisticmanagement #soildiversity #soilbiology #grassfed See more

17.01.2022 Just putting out some thoughts. Thanks to all who are interested in what we are doing and are supportive of our adventure into regenerative farming

15.01.2022 The Black Dog Creek runs through our farm and it still has water in it. This time last year it was bone dry. A much wetter winter and spring this year. The creek attracts many different birds and animals and is so important to be cared for. For this reason we have restricted access to the creek from our stock for the past three years. The banks are very steep and we don’t want further erosion caused by animals. We’re slowing the water down as well by leaving fallen trees, branches and other debris to create leaky dams all along our section of the creek. Slowing the water down will also help retain it as well as protect the banks from erosion from strong flowing water. #waterway #catchment #regenerativefarming #soilhealth #environment #creek #leakyweirs

13.01.2022 Introducing Ruby! Born this morning to Genevieve the oldest cow in the herd We didn’t get to witness the birth but estimate her to only be a few hours old. She got up to walk around for a few minutes and then lay down again. We’ll check again later to see how she’s going All calves born in 2020 will be given a name beginning with ‘R’ in line with Australian Lowline Cattle breeding rules.... . . . #australianlowlines #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #lowlinecalf #calvingseason #muddy #regenerativefarming #agroecology #soildiversity See more

13.01.2022 Calf number 3! Luckily Matt was there to observe as when the calf was born she slid into the water trench He was able to push the calf out and back up to mum ... Lucky he was there to assist. Stay posted to see if it’s a heifer or bull calf, won’t make that mistake twice! . . . #regenerativefarm #holisticmanagment #calving #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #australianlowlines #grassfed #sanctuaryfarmstead

12.01.2022 In typical 2020 style where nothing seems to go to plan, it turns out that our second calf, Rona, is not a heifer but actually a bull calf We hadn’t been able to get a clear look until today We discussed changing the name but decided it would be more fitting to just leave it as. Thanks CoRONA virus .... . . #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #sanctuaryfarmstead #calves #bullcalf See more

10.01.2022 Slowly but surely the winter cover crop is growing. We planted a diverse mix to improve our soils and to be a delicious salad bar for our cattle to eat. We used the yeoman plough before seeding to help open up the soils a bit as our limiting factor is our clay pan and lack of air in the soil. . . #regenerativefarming #soilbiology #biodiversity #covercrop #mixedspecies

08.01.2022 Introducing another bull calf, this time from mum Nova. This one is called Roadblock Another cow was going into labour just on dusk so we’ll go check her shortly. . .... . #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #australianlowlines #regenerativefarm #regenerativeagriculture #holisticmanagement #grassfed #pastureraised #soilhealth #smallscalefatm #breeders #calvingseason See more

07.01.2022 Last night’s sunset with some of our older calves in the foreground. Moving the cattle each day means that we have the opportunity to observe the land each day at different times. The main benefit of moving them each day is the improvement it is making to our soils and pastures. It might be more labour intensive than set stocking but it sure is nicer and better for our animals and pastures... . . . #holisticmanagement #regenerativefarming #cattle #australianlowlines #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #pasture #grassfed #doilhealth #soilbiology #biodiversity See more

06.01.2022 We’re supposed to be away on the north coast of NSW but not to be thanks Covid. Nice to come and check out the creek and red gums though in the afternoon light between rain showers. #redgums #riverredgums #sunlight #greengrass

05.01.2022 Sacrifice paddock: this past summer you may recall that we moved our Lowline herd into a sacrifice paddock. We did this for two reasons. 1, we had limited grass growing in the paddocks and 2, as we have limited shade in the paddock and hadn’t gotten our mobile shade structure built in time. By moving the herd to this patch, they had shade throughout the day and we were able to supplement their diet with hay each day. Thus sacrificing one part of the farm rather than damaging ...our soils in the main paddocks. It’s been great to see this sacrifice paddock bounce back. We haven’t seeded or Yeoman ploughed here. Simply a result of feeding and spreading hay, cattle disturbing the soils and manuring as they go. Swipe to see what it looked like 5 months ago . . #regenerativefarming #lowline #soilhealth #soilbiology #australianlowlines #sanctuaryfarmstead #grassred See more

03.01.2022 We are ripping another garden bed this afternoon along our northern boundary fence. Our soil is pretty compacted and anaerobic in places. We also have a thick clay pan about 20cm below surface. Ripping and rotary tilling these strips helps to get the air in for the roots of the plants. ... There’s better ways to do this but at the moment this is what we can achieve. We also leave the vegetation in these beds as that feeds the soil biology. If we poisoned the vegetation we remove that nutrient source and start killing our soil. So we’re not doing that. . . #soilbiology #nutrients #air #soilhealth #regenerativefarming #sanctuaryfarmstead #perennials #edibleplants

02.01.2022 The grass is looking pretty good right now at the farm! We predominantly have rye grass growing which is what was here when we purchased the property 3 & years ago. There are some other species pushing through which is good but over the next few years we hope to reduce some of this dominant rye grass. ... One reason is due to the impact it has on our hay fever However the main reason for reducing it is so that we can increase the diversity of grass species, adding more native perennial grasses The added diversity means that our cattle continue to feed on delicious and nutritious grasses each and every day. Diversity of grass species will also help to improve our soils . . . #sanctuaryfarmstead #sanctuaryfarmsteadlowlines #plantdiversity #grassfed #grassfinished #soilhealth #buildingsoils #regenerativefarming #holisticmanagement

02.01.2022 If you have a few minutes check out this short video about CSA (Community supported agriculture) and how this can help to eat locally, seasonally and support small farmers directly

02.01.2022 Before and after shots! These are two of our photo points that we installed for our North East Catchment Authority grant project of fencing and revegetating riparian zones. We planted 4000 indigenous trees, shrubs and grasses and built 2.5km of electric fencing to protect these zones. Check out how dry the paddocks are from June 2018! ... They weren’t that dry this year Swipe left to check out some pics . . #revegetate #fencing #riparianzones #creek #holisticmanagement #regenerativefarm #sanctuaryfarmstead #habitat