East Otago organic market gardener John McCafferty is balancing raising his family and growing quality produce to directly supply his customers.
After getting his older children, Eleanor, 11, and Lucia, 3, to their respective school and daycare, the stay-at-home father tended to the crops while caring for his 1-year-old son William.
He runs Pleasant River Produce on his 14ha property in Goodwood, between Waikouaiti and Palmerston, to directly supply restaurants and retailers in Dunedin.
Born in Temuka and raised in Dunedin, John studied fine art after leaving high school. He then went travelling and worked in a market garden in England.
"That’s where I got a handle on some of the growing."
He returned to New Zealand and he and his late wife Alison bought the Goodwood property in 2007.
"Having so much space was a huge, scary learning curve — it was all new," he recalled.
Alison died in a car crash in 2012, when Eleanor was 8 months old. After he was widowed, his main focus was figuring out how to be a solo father. Through that time, he realised how much support was available in his community.
After "getting my footing", he created a market garden system to change the way he farmed, including introducing a no-till method which made running the business easier and allowed him to be a single dad.
The process of creating the system was long and a bit of a struggle, he said.
"It was years but when Eleanor went to school I had established markets and I met my current partner Allison. It’s so much easier — parenting and farming — with someone else to help you do it. Life is dreamy in comparison."
Demand dictated what was grown on the farm, which ranged from common salad greens to the "unusual"crops including celeriac, radicchio and watermelon radishes.
"I have a relationship with the chefs and there’s a feedback loop where I’m growing these things I’ve never tasted before."
He intensively grew crops on half an acre. About a quarter of the crops were grown in polytunnels and the rest were outdoors.
A priority was caring for the soil and "keeping those communities within it, intact".
He had six clients and grew to order.
His existing customers would buy more of his produce, if he was growing more, as he did not grow enough to meet their needs.
A lack of time was limiting his ability to expand the footprint of his market garden but he would review his business model when William went to school.
"Time pressure at the moment is pretty constant."
He believed there was enough demand for local produce in Dunedin for more market gardens to open.
His nominator described John as a "kind, smart and gentle person, who champions sustainable farming.
"He freely shares his experience, education, and knowledge with all who seek to practice better farming."
He shared his knowledge at open days at the garden and by giving talks at Otago Polytechnic.
"I’m open to sharing because we do need more people growing."
After his wife died, he had moments of doubt about continuing the market garden but he persevered.
"There’s times I didn’t want to be doing it but I’m glad I did. Our children benefit from growing up in this beautiful place, surrounded by food."
— Shawn McAvinue
