Interview with Rory Fogerty

Position: Small scale market gardener

Farm Name: Permakai Farm

Location: Waiuku, NZ

Date: October 28th 2019

One of the joys of traveling is in the people that you meet. During the course of my travels I will be sharing interviews with people I meet along the way! These interviews will be with farmers, food companies, agribusinesses and consumers on their thoughts about our food and agriculture system.

My first interview is with Rory Fogerty, a small scale market gardener that runs Permakai Farm with his partner Jennifer Kerr.

What made you decide to start farming and what keeps you going? 

My partner, Jennifer and I wanted to do permaculture on a bigger scale and live sustainably. In Auckland we were practicing it on quite a small scale and we wanted to expand that. I have tried to live a philosophy of why not? rather than why should I? So we did it.

Since we started, I have moved beyond the why not stage. In the beginning it was a challenge and a new learning experience but since then it has grown into a way of life. It is a philosophy of trying to create resilience for us, our neighbors and the community. 

Tell me more about the agriculture sector in New Zealand

New Zealand agriculture is going through a series of reforms at the moment. There are a lot of large farms, a lot of migration to the cities, a lot of suicide amongst the farmers remaining on the land. And it is going through a bit of a rethink in terms of what is and isn’t working. 

Our government is introducing mandatory controls on the environmental impact of farms. The nitrogen runoff has stifled a lot of rivers and has created algal bloom. In my opinion it is long overdue. And a lot of the young farmers accept that changes are needed. It may make us less competitive than other countries that aren’t introducing these environmental reforms but someone has to lead the change so why not New Zealand.

Tell me more about your farm

Our farm is designed using the 12 design principles of permaculture. We have 15 acres in Waiuku and run a four year crop rotation in each garden bed. We rotate through roots and legumes, heavy feeders, and then two years of carbon crops. The roots and legumes are nitrogen fixing, the heavy feeders feed us, and the two years of carbon crops are meant to build the organic matter in the soil. We also carry some beef animals to maintain pastures. And keep poultry for their foraging that helps reduce weed pressure and for the eggs and meat they produce.

What is your favorite part about farming? 

My favorite part of farming is being able to show others what is possible and hopefully encourage and inspire them to do the same… Well actually, I think first it would be getting to eat fresh vegetables everyday. 

Tell me more about the economics of being a farmer.

For us, farm economics has to do with diversity of income streams creating resilience. A farm that is purely reliant on one income stream doesn’t have that resilience. Diversity means diversity of crops, diversity of activities and diversity of on-farm and off-farm activities. 

What do you think the future of food and agriculture should look like?

I think the future of agriculture should look like small local farms working together to produce food for themselves and their community. These small farms are more likely to use ecologically responsible practices which have minimal impact on the environment. Competition forces farmers to cut corners while collaboration and cooperation allows and encourages them to be better stewards of the land.