Book Week 2020

• Posted by Ella Kain
• Monday, 26 October, 2020

Another Book Week down and I tell you, mate, the photos that were sent into me of kiddies dressed up around the country, certainly didn’t disappoint! I loved seeing how much I’m inspiring kids from all over the country to want to learn about agriculture and to hopefully consider an innovative career in agriculture for their future. If you know a teacher, let them know that we have free curriculum-aligned educator’s resources to help teach food and fibre in the classroom.

This year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia Book Week theme was ‘Curious Creatures, Wild Minds.' We certainly have curious creatures on the land!

With the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting that for 30 years prior to 2011, 300 farmers left the industry per month (equating to approximately 108,000 people no longer farming) together with the fact the United Nations have predicted that by 2050 food production worldwide needs to increase by 60-70% to feed our growing population, we need as many children as possible to consider innovative careers in agriculture. Workforce capacity is the agricultural industry’s largest issue at the present time. For the past ten years, there have been consistently more job openings than qualified candidates. There are so many ripper careers that will be available in the future; in science, robotics, design, engineering, or food waste for example, which will all help contribute to our future food security. Farmers for our future!

I had a beaut’ time checking out all your ripper photos from Book Week, thanks so much to all my mates for sharing! I hope that everyone had a brilliant week learning about some top Aussie books and Authors.

How lucky are we to be able to explore our own backyard, mate!

• Posted by George the Farmer
• Thursday, 4 June, 2020

Crikey, it’s been a long couple of months in “iso” and our local businesses are really feeling the weight of COVID-19’s impact.

But it is times like these that build us up and make us stronger… I’ve seen the brave, smiling faces of our Aussie neighbours who have continued to hold their heads and hopes up high despite the fallback and despite the unknown.

We’ve been patient and now we are slowly seeing changes. While restrictions are still tight on my home borders of South Australia, we are asking the SA community to get out and about, to #supportregional #shoplocal and to explore our own backyard. With the State Government encouraging intrastate travel, our regional businesses are gearing up for the long weekend and are looking forward to welcoming visitors to their townships.

And we aren't the only ones - Wherever you are in Australia this weekend, whether you're in the city or out on the farm, if you have the time and the means why not get out there and explore your surroundings? Dust off your walking boots and soak up the outdoors. Visit a town or café where you haven’t been before. Support a regional grocer, small business or local artist. Hit the road, book an overnight stay or roll out the swag. A small contribution of support can go such a long way, mate!

Blimey – we sure are lucky to call Australia home.

World Milk Day 2020

• Posted by George the Farmer
• Tuesday, 2 June, 2020

Did you know that it was #WorldMilkDay yesterday? Since we are celebrating the production of delicious dairy products like milk and cheese, I thought it might be the right time to have a bit of a serious yarn about the Aussie ag industry.

Did you know that Aussie farmers provide more than 90% of the daily Australian food supply? How lucky are we, mate?

But for an industry thats success is imperative to every one of our survival (we all need to eat) it is surprising that in this day and age the effort that goes in to producing the food for us to nourish our bodies and enjoy, is not adequately compensated back to the farmer.

If you enjoy your milk, cheese, yoghurt or butter you need to understand what is currently happening in the dairy industry in Australia. It’s not good. Did you know that Australia has the lowest generic milk brand price in the world? Farm gate milk prices have not increased with inflation in the past 30 years.

$1 milk is not sustainable for our farmers. Over the past 40 years, the number of dairy farms in Australia has fallen by almost THREE QUARTERS. What country do you want to be buying your milk from in 20 years time? At this rate, it won’t be Australian.

How have we gotten to the stage where we as a consumer would pay $4 for a 700ml bottle of water, $2 for a can of coke or $5 for a cup of coffee and yet we’re not willing to pay over $1 a litre to support our farmers? Farmers leaving the land compromises the future of many small rural towns. When our regions are doing well, the rest of our economy in Australia does well.

Australia, we need to use our VOICES! Let’s shout it from the rooftops. Refuse to buy milk that is less than $1.50 a litre. Encourage your mates, your mum, the neighbours down the road to do the same. Keep chatting to your supermarket manager, your local cafes and restaurants. Tell them to support local. Choose branded milk. Let’s start valuing the farmers that produce the food in our fridge — including the cheese in your sandwich, mate!

As a consumer you have the power to change the value that is placed on our food and produce. You have a powerful voice. How will you use it?

George's Easy Anzac Biscuits

• Posted by George the Farmer
• Tuesday, 21 April, 2020

Anzac Day is an important time for us to come together, and to honour the contributions of our Aussie and New Zealand veterans and service members. Although things are a little different this year, and most of us will be in "iso" we can still come together in spirit, mate! 

Now it wouldn't be the same without a few Anzac Biscuits to keep those spirits up, so I've decided to share my Easy Anzac Bikkie Recipe. Not only do these yummy goodies use ingredients from Aussie Farmers but they are also a ripper idea for some fun in the kitchen with the kiddies.

Do you know what the significance behind the Anzac Biscuit is? 

Sometimes known as “Soldier’s biscuits”, the Anzac Bikkie came to be during World War 1. These delicious biscuits were sent to Aussie overseas forces because of the ingredients which were accessible, easy to cook and kept well.

Can you name the secret ingredient?

Our popular golden Anzac bikkies are unique thanks to the yummy taste and texture of rolled-oats!

A few fun facts about OATS!

1. Oats are a whole-grain food, they are usually yellow and look like flat, irregular, textured discs

2. You might find oats in recipes like oatmeal or porridge, muffins and muesli bars. Today, oat milk is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative milk option

3. Oats are very nutritious – being rich in carbs and fibre, and higher in protein and fat than other grains. They are also high in many vitamins and minerals

4. Oats are produced in Australia for three main purposes: milling oats for human consumption, as grain feed for livestock and for hay production

5. Oats can be grown across the winter cropping regions of all states of Australia

6. Australia produces about 1.3 million tonnes of oat grain annually, 20% of this is exported as oats for human consumption

George's Easy Anzac Bikkie Recipe!

*This recipe should make 15 bikkies, which will keep in an airtight container for a few days 

You will need:
-           1 cup of plain flour
-           70gm of toasted rolled oats
-           130gm of brown sugar
-           1/3 cup of dessicated coconut
-           ¼ tsp of sea salt
-           150gm of butter, melted and cooled
-           2tbsp of golden syrup

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Grease your oven trays and then line them with baking paper
3. Combine flour, rolled oats, brown sugar & coconut in a bowl with ¼ tsp of sea salt
4. Add the melted butter and golden syrup to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine
5. Roll the mixture into small balls of dough and place 5cm apart on the trays. Flatten the balls slightly using the back of a spoon
6. Pop the bikkies in the oven and bake until golden (around 14-18 minutes)
7. Cool briefly on the trays before serving 

10 Ripper Reading Tips for Parents!

• Posted by George the Farmer
• Tuesday, 21 April, 2020

G’day to the hens and roosters of the house! Have you ever thought about the role you play during reading time? You can make all the difference in the world to your little ones reading journey following a few of my tips and tricks. Have a squiz below…

1. Say g’day to special guests.

Do your kids have a favourite toy, doll or stuffed galah, mate? They might even have a Farmer George or Ruby Farmer doll to cuddle close! An inclusive reading time will make it all seem much more special to the littlies and it encourages them to stay interested for that little bit longer.

2. Turn off your devices.

Give the kiddies ten minutes of your time and attention, and turn off the electronic devices, mate! There is plenty of time for bright lights, tv, ipads and other devices during the day. Let reading time be reading time – it will make those moments beaut’.

3. You can never be too dramatic, mate!

Adding some drama will help to embed the storylines in the kiddie’s heads. Think accents, animal noises and sound effects. Slow motion storylines are also a winner – can you talk at the rate of a very…….. very………… very………………….. slow……………………….. snail?

They say actions speak louder than words, so throw a few of those ace actions into play and make sure the littlies can see that the croc is snapping, the snakes are slithering and the chooks are flapping!

4. Familiarity is fair dinkum.

Familiarity is comforting for our littlies and so you can see why they ask to read the same book over and over!

It might feel repetitive but it will often mean that your kids are developing friendships with the main characters, are eager to turn to their favourite pages, and are keen as beans to echo noises or recite memorable phrases with you.

5. Make it a guessing game!

While familiar books are exciting for their own reasons, new books can be just as fun, mate! Check out the title and illustrations for clues to help predict what you think might happen. Pause a few times during the story to challenge the kiddies to question what will happen when you turn the page…

6. Distractions are okay. 

If it’s easy for your littlies to lose interest before finishing the story then that’s okay! Don’t feel pressured by the looming last page, mate. Half a book, or even a quarter is a great achievement. And there’s always next time to see if you can turn over a few more pages.

7. Keep your story-time setting interesting!

While the bedroom or the reading chair are ripper places for story-time, why not keep things interesting and mix it up every so often? Imagine the reaction from the littlies if you take story time out to the hay shed or the garden? Or better yet - they’ll be jumping around like frogs in socks with excitement if there is a loungeroom fort involved!

8. Hold onto your role as storyteller at bedtime.

The day your little one starts chiming in with words, sentences or reading aloud sure will be worth celebrating, mate - but it doesn’t mean they have to take the reins with every story. Let bedtime rituals stay as they are, and avoid replacing a special and routine moment with what might feel like work for the littlies.

9. Reflection time is ripper!

Before you get started on the next book, make sure to have a yarn about the story that you just read. Help develop your child’s communicative skills and understanding of the storyline by asking questions of each other and thinking about why the author did this and that!

10. Make real life connections.

As the days go by you might stumble across real life moments or prompts that connect back to your story. Why not chat with the kiddies about them? This can encourage them to recall the storyline and might spark their interest in having a yarn about it.

Like this post, download the tips as a PDF along with plenty of my other free resources.

20 ripper backyard activities to keep the kiddies entertained!

• Posted by George the Farmer
• Wednesday, 25 March, 2020

With a few of my little mates around the country already at home for the school holidays or in isolation (“iso”), it’s a beaut’ opportunity to get creative.

I have put together a BIG list of 20 ripper backyard activities to keep the kiddies entertained. From backyard cricket to nature play… have a squiz! And while we are spreading kindness and supporting each other, why not let your neighbours or your classmates know so they can do the same at home...

Here's a sample of a few of the top tips below. To download the rest for free and any of my other resources, click here.

1. Stomping in the mud. Splish splash splash. Time to get those wellies dirty (While you’re at it, there might be some trucks which need to get their wheels muddy. Fill the kiddie pool with mud and put the toy trucks and diggers to work. A soapy bucket might make for a top car wash later!)
   
   
2. What natural elements from the garden can you use to build your nature playground? Sticks, branches, cloth material for doors and tree stumps. (Or by keeping sustainable, why not use recycled materials?)
   
   
3. Do you have rocks in your garden? With a few rocks or pebbles, there are so many patterns and pictures you can make in the garden. Where will your creativity take you?
   
   
4. My personal favourite backyard activity to do with the kids. Can you guess it… its backyard cricket!
   
   
5. Start a band. Bring out the pots and pans, buckets, jars, recyclables, cans and plastic containers… wooden spoons make for great drum sticks!

We caught up with Federal Ag Minister, Senator Bridget McKenzie!

• Posted by George the Farmer
• Thursday, 30 January, 2020

Between working on the farm, and educating Aussie kids, teachers and everyone in between about where our food comes from – I was lucky enough to catch up with the Federal Ag Minister, Senator Bridget Mckenzie.

Introducing our two NEW books!

• Posted by George the Farmer
• Friday, 22 November, 2019

I'm excited to introduce our newest titles in the George the Farmer picture book collection... 'Drone Drama' and 'Egg Enigma'. We were excited to receive these two new releases right in time to celebrate National Ag Day on November 21!

National Ag Day 2019!

• Posted by George the Farmer
• Thursday, 21 November, 2019

Here in Australia, we’re so fortunate to have access to clean, green, delicious food to nourish our bodies and first-class fibres like cotton and wool to help clothe us. This has to be celebrated! 

Crikey, we've joined the ABC!

• Posted by George the Farmer
• Tuesday, 4 June, 2019

From June this year, our educational videos will be available for viewing on demand any time of the day on ABC iView- watch out to catch us on ABC TV as well.

New 2018 Book Released!

• Posted by Simone Kain
• Friday, 30 November, 2018

New Book for 2017 Launched!

• Posted by Simone Kain
• Thursday, 30 November, 2017

George the Farmer Beehive Breakout has landed! And we think this is the best one in the series yet! 

Visit My Farm on your next break

• Posted by George
• Saturday, 23 September, 2017

Have you ever wanted to visit a farm, take the kiddies exploring and have a ripper time?...

2017 Book Week

• Posted by George
• Thursday, 31 August, 2017

Another Book Week down and I’ll tell you, mate, the photos that were sent into me of...

WANTED: 100 farms in 100 days for 100 grown-up George and Ruby Farmers

• Posted by Sam Marwood
• Thursday, 31 August, 2017

Cultivate Farms have set a challenge over the next 100 days and George the Farmer is backing...

A sneak peek inside Google headquarters

• Posted by Simone Kain
• Thursday, 24 August, 2017

Have you ever wondered what it’s like inside Google HQ? You always hear stories in the media...

Inspiring Rare Birds

• Posted by George
• Tuesday, 15 August, 2017

Beaut news in today. My co-creator, Simone Kain, has been announced as 1 of 100 mentee scholarship...

Chook Bingo with Timboon P12

• Posted by George
• Friday, 7 July, 2017

Timboon P12 School in Victoria is a great example of how easy and fun it is to incorporate learning...

2017 Apsley Cup

• Posted by George
• Monday, 5 June, 2017

CANCELLED! Due to a lot of wet weather, the Edenhope racetrack has been deemed not fit for...

Growing our future with Life Cykel

• Posted by George
• Monday, 29 May, 2017

Meet my new clever mate, Julian Mitchell. He, along with his equally clever mates, Ryan Creed and...