Shine Awards 2021: Eco-farmer staying on the right cider climate change

Caroline Brown is at the forefront of a new generation of climate conscious farmers, thinking carefully about what goes onto her farm as much as what it can produce.

Caroline Brown’s climate-conscious farming has earned her a Shine Awards nomination. Picture: Rob Burnett

Caroline Brown is at the forefront of a new generation of climate-conscious farmers, thinking carefully about what goes on to her farm as much as what it can produce.

She is the co-owner of Brady’s Lookout Cider, producing small-batch sparkling cider in the rugged Tamar Valley in Tasmania’s north.

From a family of orchardists, Caroline, with husband Chris, purchased a run-down weed-ridden property seven years ago. After experimenting with different techniques, they were drawn to the methode traditionelle, or “champagne method”, of crafting cider, emulating the sparkling wines the Tamar Valley is well known for.

But instead of bulldozing masses of blackberry bushes, or dousing the patch in chemical sprays, the couple thought about how they could transform the land with its natural ecosystem in mind.

“It’s about balancing the place and people before profit,” Caroline said. “We farm with a changing climate in mind and think very carefully about what it means.”

When they planted their apple orchards, Caroline looked carefully at the cultivars that would survive a changing climate. She also started a conservation project for eastern barred bandicoots, a rare and iconic species endemic to the area but declining in numbers, to harness their digging capabilities to help with insect management. “We have a lot of bandicoots running around and encourage them to do that,” she explained.

“For us, it’s about making sure that we’ve got good ecological practices on farm and encouraging integrated pest management.”

Caroline’s work has earned a nomination for the Shine Awards, which focus on the untold stories of rural and ­regional women. A partnership between Aus­tralia’s leading rural/regional masthead, The Weekly Times, and Harvey Norman, the fifth annual Shine Awards recognise unsung leaders and ­innovators making a ­difference to their communities.

Caroline has also battled health challenges, being diagnosed with breast cancer last November.

Her ethos of listening carefully to the land proved useful when it came to her life. “I’m absolutely positive I am on top of this, and part of that was about listening to what my body was telling me when something was wrong.”

Readers are encouraged to nominate women whose stories deserve to be told at shine­awards.com.au. The winners will be announced in November.