Indianinoz Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Hello, What are the local crops grown in Hobart(and Tasmania in general)? We plan to move to Hobart so would be great to get an idea of the same. Although these days you get everything everywhere I prefer to eat local indigenous food. What are the cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits and oilseeds that grow here? What types of meat and other non vegetarian dishes like fish etc. are a local source? Which animals are found in plenty? What about milch animals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Tasmania has an excellent growing climate for most crops which don't require a tropical or subtropical climate - so no rice, pineapples, bananas, coffee, cacao plants. . But most everything else. Not oranges....but lemons crop well in the right locations. No commercial crops of avocadoes. It's very seasonal so you can't grow everything all year round. This is a planting guide for home gardeners which will give you an idea of the vegetables grown here http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/07/07/2296755.htm Fruits - berry fruits do particularly well here (strawberries, raspberries,blueberries, blackberries, red and black currants etc). Apples, pears, quinces, figs, cherries, plums, nectarines, apricots (in certain areas). Grapes for wine. Walnuts, hazelnuts. A bit too cool for almonds. Wheat, barley, oats, canola. Lots of sheep, beef cattle, dairy cattle, some goats (for milk and meat). Wallaby, kangaroo, rabbit and venison (deer). Hundreds of sea fish species, rivers and lakes species (eg trout), deep sea species (eg tuna), farmed fish (Atlantic salmon), scallops, lobsters, abalone... although these last 2 fetch such a premium price when exported to China that most Tasmanians can no longer afford them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Thanks so much! You are just awesome skani. Great to find this forum. I have learnt so much about tasmania from here. Just another question: how natural and organic are the food products? Do they use pesticides, hormones, chemical fertilizers etc.? Gm seeds? Do they allow cattle to graze or they simply tie them and hand feed them? Do they milch by hands or by machines? How is the culture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Also what about pork? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I forgot about pork. Yes, there are pig farms here - both free ranging outside and raised in sheds. I forgot also about also poultry producers - for chickens, turkeys and quail (and, of course, egg producers). Hormones and growth promotants are banned for animals in Tasmania. All livestock - apart from some pigs and poultry - graze outside. There is plenty of land, so space is not a problem. My father's cousin was a sheep farmer (for wool sheep, not meat sheep) and he owned 4000 acres of land, which is not unusual. Also, the winters are not so cold that animals have to be kept in barns as happens in areas like northern Europe and North America. Milking is done by machine because the herds are very large - some have hundreds of cows to be milked twice a day. Even goat milk producers have milking machines. I forgot there is also a farm producing sheep's milk...mostly for cheese and yoghurt. The large commercial producers can use pesticides, chemical fertilizers etc. but there are also farmers who produce only organic products and they have to abide by strict standards and have their products officially certified to be able to claim organic status. You can find organic produce in most (all ?) food retailers, including the large supermarkets. Organic farmers also sell at markets such as Salamanca Market in Hobart (on Saturday). http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/attraction/salamancamarket and the Hobart Farm Gate Market (Sunday morning) http://farmgatemarket.com.au/gallery/ GM seeds are not permitted in Tasmania. The government has recently extended the moratorium on GM for at least another 5 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Thanks so much! Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 You may also find this interesting yashsr: http://www.think-tasmania.com/agriculture-all-things-tasmanian-grown/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 @JockinTas: absolutely brilliant! Just one query, the article says the moratorium ends in 2014. Have they extended it? Or no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Honestly I don't know. Perhaps Skani can help you there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Skani has already written that they have extended the moratorium to another 5 years. This is great news! Although I never understand why they don't just ban it indefinitely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 @JockinTas: absolutely brilliant! Just one query, the article says the moratorium ends in 2014. Have they extended it? Or no? Yes, it has been extended, very recently.....within the last month or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Although I never understand why they don't just ban it indefinitely. There are interest groups in Tasmania who don't want it banned. The government will review the situation sometime in the future...but not for 5 years, at least. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 I somewhere read that it is illegal to sell unpasteurized milk in Australia. Why? I would like to drink fresh milk(but obviously boiled by me). Can I not get fresh milk even in Hobart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Unpasteurized milk is considered a public health risk. Only recently a young child died in Victoria after drinking so called "bath milk" which was unpasteurized. If you want fresh milk you will have to have your own goat or cow to milk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Love watching the show Gourmet Farmer. Watching that I reckon there isn't much that couldn't be grown in Tas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 Unpasteurized milk is considered a public health risk. Only recently a young child died in Victoria after drinking so called "bath milk" which was unpasteurized. If you want fresh milk you will have to have your own goat or cow to milk. Can't I source it from some other farmer in Hobart? Are there cattle in the city of Hobart itself or are they located only in the outskirts and country areas? We Indians have grown up using fresh unpasteurized milk. We do boil it of course before drinking and that takes care of the risks. Boiling retains most of the nutrients whereas pasteurization does not. Also, the taste of pasteurized milk is not appreciated by us Indians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 I was brought up on a farm in Scotland and we drank unpasteurized milk. Didn't even boil it. Cattle are not in Hobart itself! They will be on farms outside the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 I was brought up on a farm in Scotland and we drank unpasteurized milk. Didn't even boil it. Cattle are not in Hobart itself! They will be on farms outside the city. Yes drinking raw milk is also common. However, people with weak digestion may have problems with it. Also, if you're drinking raw milk, it has to be immediately drunk. If you keep the milk for a few hours and then drink then it may case problems. Hence I don't understand why doesn't Australia Government allow sale of raw milk when people can boil it in their homes and remove all risks anyways. Pasteurization is not required at all. It reduces the nutrition of milk to half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 Also, which animal eggs are found in abundance in Tasmania? Chicken and Duck I guess? Also, are all these pasteurized or raw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Can't I source it from some other farmer in Hobart? Are there cattle in the city of Hobart itself or are they located only in the outskirts and country areas? Cattle are outside Hobart in the countryside. When we had a few acres we produced our own milk and didn't boil it either but it's necessary to be scrupulous about sterilising equipment and hygiene. That's fine when it's being consumed immediately or going straight into refrigeration but becomes a problem when being transported or on a shelf in the shop for days. (Milk production can be a long distance away from consumers in this country). Australia has rigorous food health and safety regulations: businesses can be closed down and/or sued if their products cause illness....so it's in the producers' interests to err on the side of caution. Most milk here is also homogenized. Very few dairies produce it in its natural state - ie. with the cream rising to the top. Also, which animal eggs are found in abundance in Tasmania? Chicken and Duck I guess? Also, are all these pasteurized or raw? Chicken eggs. Duck eggs you can find sometimes at farmers' markets but they are not usually sold in stores. Not pasteurized. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Love watching the show Gourmet Farmer. Watching that I reckon there isn't much that couldn't be grown in Tas. Yes, it's an excellent climate for growing things - apart from really tropical produce (although I have heard a few people on radio gardening talk back programs skiting about growing bananas and pineapples here. I don't know that proof has ever been seen :wink:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 Cattle are outside Hobart in the countryside. When we had a few acres we produced our own milk and didn't boil it either but it's necessary to be scrupulous about sterilising equipment and hygiene. That's fine when it's being consumed immediately or going straight into refrigeration but becomes a problem when being transported or on a shelf in the shop for days. (Milk production can be a long distance away from consumers in this country). Australia has rigorous food health and safety regulations: businesses can be closed down and/or sued if their products cause illness....so it's in the producers' interests to err on the side of caution. Most milk here is also homogenized. Very few dairies produce it in its natural state - ie. with the cream rising to the top. Chicken eggs. Duck eggs you can find sometimes at farmers' markets but they are not usually sold in stores. Not pasteurized. Great to know that at least eggs are not pasteurized! Also, what about fruits, vegetables, meat and other stuffs? Does the Aussie Government allow us to have at least those in its pure form? Also, what are the options of having pure raw milk in Hobart? One is possibly to keep cattle at our home gardens, is this allowed? Second seems to ask a friend who owns cattle in the city to give us some milk, correct? Or is keeping cattle in the city not permitted at all? Third option is of course travel to the outskirts and get some milk but that doesn't seem practical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Instead of living in Hobart you could rent/buy a house on a few acres and have your own cow. You could not have a cow in Hobart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianinoz Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 Instead of living in Hobart you could rent/buy a house on a few acres and have your own cow. You could not have a cow in Hobart. Oh ok! Just wanted to check in whether we're allowed to do so in Burnie/Devonport/Launceston? And am I correct that in cities like Melbourne/Perth/Sydney/Brisbane/Adelaide etc. having cattle within the city limits is not allowed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 You would not be allowed to keep a cow in any of those towns/cities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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