AFTER years of battling drought, fires and the cancellation of regional agricultural shows including the EKKA and the Beaudesert Show, local food producers are again opening their gates for the Scenic Rim Farm Gate Trail this weekend.
The event will run from 9am to 3pm on Saturday with 20 stops included on the foodie adventure, which was held for the first time last year.
Driven by local tourism association Destination Scenic Rim, celebrates Queensland agriculture, gives visitors a chance to meet and support local farmers directly and is an excuse for a drive in the countryside, just over an hour from Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Kerry farmer and tourism operator Kay Tommerup from Tommerup's Dairy Farm said their business was deeply impacted by the recent lockdowns and cancellation of Ekka but community support made a huge difference.
"First it was the drought we were battling, then came the bushfires and since March last year it's been the ongoing lockdowns and restrictions from the pandemic. It's been a really tough few years for many primary producers and businesses in the Scenic Rim," she said.
"We are huge supporters of the Ekka and were supposed to be there this year educating people on the dairy industry, providing milking demonstrations and teaching people where their food comes from. It was devastating for so many farmers and the organisers that it couldn't go ahead."
Sheep farmer Dallas Davidson from Towri Sheep Cheeses is also counting down until August 28 to welcome guests to their idyllic Scenic Rim farm.
"We not only rely on visitors to our farm but supply a lot of restaurants in the region with our artisan sheep dairy products. The recent lockdowns have had such a knock-on effect for us and many other small producers in the Scenic Rim," she said.
"We can't wait for the Farm Gate Trail to welcome some familiar and new faces to our farm but to also launch our new Frozen Eweghurt, in collaboration with LICK! Ice cream. It will be a great way for people to get a taste of the Scenic Rim while supporting our farmers and small businesses."
Other stops on the Farm Gate Trail include Summer Land Camels, Scenic Rim Farm Shop, Scenic Rim Mushrooms, Scenic Rim Brewery, Bunjurgen Estate, Olive View Estate, Towri Sheep Cheeses, Scenic Rim Flower Farm, Tommerup's Dairy Farm, Bee All Natural Honey, Sarabah Estate Vineyard, O'Reilly's Canungra Valley Vineyard, Mountview Alpacas, Witches Falls Winery, Christmas Creek Garlic, White's Farm, The Overflow Estate 1895, Greenlee Farm, Tamborine Mountain Distillery and Cauldron Distillery.
