Meet The Anderson Tribe
We recently caught up with Nicole from @andersontribeoceanview to find more out about a day in the life on the farm with The Anderson Tribe.
Meet Nicole, Trent, Georgina, Riley, Matilda, Charlie and Clancy Anderson.
Can you give us a rundown on the Anderson Tribe’s daily routine?
Right now - we pretty much are up around 6:30am letting the chickens out of the coop, feeding the two poddy lambs we have at the moment. Breakfast is normally pretty much chaos with 7 of us trying to get feed before school and work starts. Kids are learning from home right now, so the dining room table has been taken over as is now known as the classroom.
Trent heads off to do whatever needs doing on the farm - we care currently lambing & calving. Our heifers are first time calving at the moment so they get checked morning and night. We are also currently sowing the crops, which is Wheat, barley and Canola.
The kids have just brought 40 battery hens that they are teaching to free-range in the hopes to start up their own free-range egg business, so looking after these chickens has become a priority for myself and kids.
The kids have just brought 40 battery hens that they are teaching to free-range in the hopes to start up their own free-range egg business, so looking after these chickens has become a priority for myself and kids.
The days are filled in with at Home learning and the afternoons are spent riding the horses, playing and catching up on all the chores that need doing, I also work off-farm one day a week, photographing puppies for a local breeder.
The days are filled in with at Home learning and the afternoons are spent riding the horses, playing and catching up on all the chores that need doing, I also work off-farm one day a week, photographing puppies for a local breeder.
How long have you lived on the family farm and what are some of your favourite daily moments of life on the land?
We are 4th generation farmers, working together with Trent parents on the family-owned farm. About 9 years ago we brought more land and expanded the operation, currently farming 4500 acres for land. Most favourite moments would have been watching the kids grow up out here. The sunsets are pretty awesome too!
How has mandatory isolation affected your family’s day-to-day life and what are some of the challenges to overcome?
As far as farm work goes it really hasn't affected it at all, the crops still need planting, the animals still need looking after and machinery still needs fixing. In the homestead, things have changed a lot. Our kids are normally on the bus by 7:50 and by home until 4:30 that afternoon, with COVID 19 and school going to learn at home, we have had some big changes.
Our eldest daughter is studying year 12, so we have moved her over to Trent parents where she can have some space and quiet to study and learn. Her school has zoom classes every day. The other 4 younger ones are doing learn at home too, they have been given laptops & iPads supplied by the school, every day their teachers send through a video lesson. Having a child in Prep has been challenging too, but the school has been amazing & the teachers have been a great support, checking on the kid's wellbeing every week.
Day to day life at home still ticks on, chores still get done. A big change for us has been not being able to do local football and netball - we are all missing the social side of that! We are also missing the local get to together at neighbouring farms and the local hall.
Where did your passion for photography begin and what do you enjoying capturing most?
It started back when my first child was little (maybe 14 years ago), I really enjoy photographing our day to day life, and hanging out on the farm together. I also enjoy photographing other people families; they normally come out to our farm and get their photos taken with rustic sheds, open paddocks and pretty much hanging out together.
I’m currently working on a local history book called “the front door project” in which I’m photographing the locals at there farm front door or farm gate. Once done these images will be placed into a book, with wording from each household how life with the Covid 19 mandatory isolation has affected them, their kids and day to day life.
How have you kept the kids busy at home during this time?
Haha - we are always busy!! Kids have there set chores every day that must get done. But over the school holidays while in ISO we did morning walks and explored paddocks. We have 3 horses that the kids love to play around on, Matilda rides every day. The kids are big fans of Lego so they have been creating a city in their spare time. We have a family hut built by Trent's brother on the farm so we spend some time camping down there.
With dry conditions over recent years and the fires throughout summer, how has this impacted your region and your work and family lifestyle?
This time last year we were in the middle of a 3-year drought, life on the farm was hard, It was very physically & mentally draining and has set us back quite a lot in our development on the farm. With all the local farmers going through the same, together as a community, we have grown tighter and stronger.We were very lucky not to be too affected by the bushfires this year; smoke was the only impact it had on us, which was nothing compared to what friends went through.This year we've seen more rain then we have in 4 years, so the place is looking so much better and the dust storms have stopped, and we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
What are some of your favourite things to do as a family?
We love camping down at the family hut, riding the horses & motorbikes. We also have a lake house about an hour away from the farm so we love spending summer days down there water skiing and just having a break from the day to day life.
How long has The Anderson Tribe been wearing RB Sellars and what do you get the most wear out of from the range?
Since the youngest was 8 - so about 10 years. The work shirts would be the most worn & all the Workshirts have been handed down from kid to kid, with our youngest turning 5 we have only just recently passed on our size 4s to friends.
