The Martin family of ‘Mill Spring Farm’ were one of the many properties at the small township of Ruffy, in the Strathbogie Ranges (100km north of Melbourne) that were devastated in the ‘Longwood’ bushfire on Thursday 8th January.

At the time of the fire, the Martins were harvesting stone fruit from their 15-acre mixed orchard, with apples, quince and olives on the way.

Adrian and Valda’s son Craig managed to save his house, but apart from one shed and ‘the market ute’ (which has some scars), the Martins’ have lost everything: the main home, sheds, the majority of fences, tractors and machinery on the 184-acre property. Irrigation pumps, farm tools – not even a chainsaw to help clear the debris remains.

The orchard was severely burnt – it is still too early to understand the extent of the damage to the trees - and the property may take years to get back into full production.

The Martin family established ‘Mill Spring Farm’ in 1978, initially to run sheep, and began planting their orchard in 1991, converting to Demeter biodynamics in 1994.

‘The devastation has to be seen to be believed. The Martin family need support - hopefully those in the biodynamic and organic communities who have appreciated the quality of Martin’s produce over many years, and respect their dedication and efforts to farm naturally, may be in a position to help get them back on track, and doing what they do best. As Craig said, ‘went to tie something up and didn’t even have a bit of bailing twine or string’. That says it all.’

Peter Podolinksy from Biodynamic Marketing Co.