Helen & Geoff

It was 1873 when the Maroske’s, Helen’s distant family got to Lockyer Valley to clear scrub, and 1886 when Geoff’s great-grandparents arrived in Queensland. That was the deal: Clear land and earn your way onto it in return for safe passage to a new world, one that was far removed from the escalating violence and political issues taking hold of the Prussian empire. And ever since, Helen and Geoff Wegner have been working on producing a better potato. One they can truly be proud of. One that their olds would have sworn by.

Helen met Geoff over a game of pool in the Gatton local pub. We don’t know who won, but it sounds like they both came out of it pretty well. 15 years later with their children Claire and Lochlan at their side, they’re 2 years into converting their farm to certified 100% organic.

Wegner Farm is a one woman, one man, 2 kids, 2 labradors, one horse, and many chooks show. Their combined love and passion for their farm and regeneratively farmed food is expressed through an unwavering bond to family, commitment to community and dedication to the land that supports them.

When we spoke to Helen we couldn’t help feeling that her family’s ability to keep the fun in farming and the laughs flowing, even when times are tough, is something that just comes ever so naturally. Perhaps that’s just what happens when you’re a 4th generation farmer treading the same soil as your great grandparents.

While farming is no walk in the park, converting to 100% organic has been a very natural process:

“I admire our families for carving out a livelihood in this industry. It’s not easy. Anyone who tells you farming is easy has never worked on a farm. I credit our success on the farming methods handed down through generations. For years, we’ve been using regenerative practices that rely on organic principles without even realising it.”

And focusing on soil health provides them with a view of the future that clearly places their kids, and generations to come, on a healthy, productive farm, one that’s set on soil that regenerates itself and produces that special set of spuds.

“It just makes sense really”