Pomonal's Five Ducks Farm goes from strength to strength

Mrs Evans, along with her husband Andy bought Five Ducks Farm at Pomonal in August 2016 and have been doing it up ever since.

The berry farm had been operating for the past 20 years, but the previous owners decided it was time to move on.

Ms Evans said she was looking for an opportunity to get into the food business in the region.

"We were living in Moyston and had built a home there, but we didn't have the right water or type of soil to grow anything - we had a lifestyle block, not a business opportunity," she said.

When the couple first inspected the Pomonal property, they fell in love with it.

"It is 22 acres and it backs onto the Grampians National Park," Mrs Evans said.

The couple hadn't had any experience with berry farming before, but were eager to learn.

They are both from the UK, where Mrs Evans previously worked as a cell biologist.

"I know a bit about biology and I'm passionate about permaculture and understanding the nutrient cycle that food needs," she said.

Mr Cross is a carpenter by trade but now works as a prison officer in Ararat.

Ms Evans said they moved from the UK because they wanted a change.

"I had spent my whole life stuck in traffic, living in a city, and my life revolved around the time that was on my wrist," she said.

"I thought there has to be more than this and I got it into my head that we didn't need to be in the UK anymore.

"We fell in love with Australia after a holiday in 2011 and we eventually moved to Geelong and set up a dog grooming business because we couldn't find work anywhere else."

But Ms Evans always knew the country lifestyle was for her, so the couple sold their dog grooming business and moved to Moyston.

"I picked up whatever work I could get locally - I worked part time as a parish secretary for the Catholic church, which I thought was hysterical because I'm an atheist," she said.

"From there I did homeless support work at the prison, working with people who were unemployed and helping them get into employment.

"It then became obvious to me that I wanted my own business and we started looking - that was about four or five years ago.

Ms Evans said operating the berry farm meant she could use the skills she learnt as a researcher in cell biology.

"I'm back to thinking about manufacturing, following recipes, testing and trying," she said.

"This pulls together all the skills I've generated over the years and I really enjoy it."

However, the farm required a lot of work to get it up to scratch.

Parts of the property were destroyed in the Grampians bushfires, which burnt out paddocks of strawberries and raspberries.

"There are now no strawberries left and only one row of raspberries, plus about four to five rows of blackberries," she said.

"All the watering infrastructure had been chewed by rats as well after the fire, so it was quite run down."

The previous owners had been maintaining the existing rows of berries and making jam, but on a much smaller scale than they had once been running.

"We are putting all our efforts into getting the farm productive again," Ms Evans said.

"We have managed to bring some young berries back into production and we are trying to rescue raspberries at the moment, along with blackcurrants and gooseberries.

"This year we are planning to plant strawberries as well."

The farm's soil is sandy, making it difficult to maintain moisture.

"We are also running ducks and chickens through the berry garden to help with bug control," Ms Evans said.

She said berry farming was one of the most labour-intensive horticulture businesses, but it was seasonal.

"During picking season, which is December to January, we have to pick everyday to keep up with it," she said.

"Then the fruit will go into the freezer for jam and we rest until autumn.

"As soon as we get the autumn break, we start pruning the berries and taking off last year's canes and putting new canes on.

"We also put a mulch down and a top dressing of blood and bone - the previous owners used herbicide sprays, but we are trying to move to a more organic source.

"Winter work will be tied up with that and hopefully by September, we are ready to start growing.

"It is a lot of maintenance and waiting for the magic to happen."

The farm sells fresh fruit and jam. "We are selling a large range to local suppliers," Mrs Evans said.

"There is a wholesale part of the business, and the other part is me standing at market doing direct sales."

Ms Evans believes the farm has helped her find her place in life.

"I've found my happy place - this is where I'm meant to be," she said.

"I love being in the dirt and trying to increase the fertility of the soil - without a healthy soil, we won't get healthy plants or nutritious fruit."

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