Station 707

22: Theatre Days - The Farmer and the Stevedore.

Shem, otherwise recognizable as the living embodiment of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, joins us today to tell us some stories about the work he's done since we graduated from theatre school together.
Music videos, stunt performing, cruise ships, children's entertainer...the list goes on!
As the title suggests, we were both from unusual backgrounds to be getting into musical theatre, but that's exactly how and where we met. It's been 10 years since we graduated, so a catch up was well overdue! 
Our final production. Shem (left) and Tom (right)
Note* This is the very first episode that was recorded for Station 707, we recorded it some months back.
707 Links:
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21: Chemicals, GMO's, Food and Health - with Moms Across America

Zen Honeycutt is the founder and director of Moms Across America, and she kindly joins me as my first international guest for this episode. 
One of the listeners brought my attention to a report by Moms Across America, which was around the testing of gluten-free products to see how much gluten and/or toxins were present. That article is here: https://www.momsacrossamerica.com/gluten_free_food_test_results 
It's well documented that chemicals, plastics and other toxins are responsible for an entire host of health issues, but rarely is it traced back to food, and rarer still is it circulated and spoken about. 
As Zen explains in this episode, it's usually the mothers ('Moms' for our US readers!) who figure out these problems, and then push to find answers. 
This is only one small part of other, broader conversations that need to be had around agri-culture in regards to soil/plant/animal/food/human health (episode 17 and 19 for related listening), but the more we learn and understand, the better equipped we are to make decisions on what we buy, how it's grown, and what kind of health we are willing to settle for, and secure for our kids, and theirs. 
707 Links:
Instagram: station707podcast Facebook: Station 707 Podcast Email: tom.station707@gmail.com 
Subscribe within the app of your choice to be notified of new episodes when they become available. 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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Thank you for your support! 
 
 

20: WA Labor Party Stunts and Firearms Reforms

Boyup Brook, in the South West Region of WA, recently held a Nationals Party meeting where Labor's zealous and over-reaching firearms reforms were discussed. 
If you're not aware of the situation, essentially, Labor are using their abundant balance of power to push through reforms which do nothing to target illegal firearms or criminals, but instead goes after law-abiding gun owners who use firearms for work, sport, or recreation. 
In some cases, 100 + year old family heirloom firearms, handed down through the generations, are being seized and or destroyed for no good reason. 
The narrative of getting guns off the streets has come at a high cost, both to the taxpayer who is funding the media stunts pulled by the current Labor government, and also to the individual firearms owners who have had their personal information dangerously shared, characters attacked, and licenses threatened. 
Peter Rundle, Nationals Member for Roe joins me for a quick overview of the meeting that was held in Boyup Brook. 
707 Links:
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Subscribe within the app of your choice to be notified of new episodes when they become available. 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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19: Matthew Evans on Milk, Soil, Cooking, Farming, Health, Shopping, Society...etc.

As the title suggests, this conversation with Matthew Evans - Food critic, chef, author, farmer, TV series host and more, covers a lot topics. 
I recently attended a talk by Matthew on Milk, his latest release, as he was touring WA and discussing his findings whilst researching for the book. Here's what it looks like if you're interested in getting a copy, which I highly recommend.
We discuss various farming practices, positives and negatives of the food industry, eating seasonally, milk, and importantly, what the best thing is to grow if you only have room for a few plants! 
Matthew Evans Links: 
https://fatpig.farm/ 
https://www.facebook.com/FatPigFarm 
 
707 Links:
Instagram: station707podcast Facebook: Station 707 Podcast Email: tom.station707@gmail.com 
Subscribe within the app of your choice to be notified of new episodes when they become available. 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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Thank you for your support! 
 
 
 

18: The Real Cost

At a request from several listeners, and out of an abundance of interest in the subject, it's time to talk about renewable energy. Alex Nichol joins me for the conversation today. 
We did discuss this topic in episode #3, with Emily from Colbinabbin in Victoria, regarding the proposed solar plant lined up to go in on their prime agricultural region. 
Today, we talk about the plans and proposals here in WA, and what we can learn from people's lived experience over East, and around the world. 
It's impossible to summarise such a big topic, but the thing I find most interesting, and it's not discussed in this episode, is the socially accepted parameters; the pre-conceived notion that you are either for, or against, renewables. You are either for, or against, coal. You either believe, or deny, climate change.
When we talk about for/against and believe/deny in this way, we are now talking more about ideology, not science, or facts.
It is possible to simply ignore truth, in the form of people's lived experiences, but that doesn't make it, or us, right in doing so. 
Links:
Instagram: station707podcast Facebook: Station 707 Podcast Email: tom.station707@gmail.com 
Subscribe within the app of your choice to be notified of new episodes when they become available. 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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Thank you for your support! 
 
 

17: Alternatives to supermarkets - exploring options with the Food Connect Foundation.

Emma-Kate Rose is the program director of Food Connect Foundation, based in Queensland, Australia. 
For 18 years, Food Connect operated as a social enterprise, directly connecting farmers/growers with consumers in Brisbane. 
Essentially, farmers within 5 hours of Brisbane would grow and deliver their goods to a central warehouse/homestead in the suburbs, where it would be packed into pre-purchased boxes and delivered to 70 different pick-up locations around Brisbane, such as homes, churches, or schools. 
The effects were remarkable, two of the standout ones being that the food miles averaged 140km compared to the national average of 1,200km, and that farmers were rewarded far more cents in the dollar than they would be had they sold at the supermarkets. The health, networking and community benefits were also substantial. 
If you want to eat healthier food and be more connected with your farmers, and farmers more connected with consumers, then the way we buy and sell needs to change, and our thinking needs to shift.
This model is an excellent case study of what worked, how it worked, and where the challenges lay. 
Food Connect Foundation:
https://fcf.org.au/ 
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If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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16: Anvil Hide Leatherworks

Ever had a great belt that lasted a really long time?
Or maybe a belt that only lasted 3 occasions before cracking/flaking? 
Aaron from Anvil Hide, home of Australia's best, handmade leather products, joins us today to talk all things leather, including the different grades, tanneries, and even a bit about 'vegan leather' belts...you'll never guess what they're made of! 
Anvil Hide belts come with a 7-year guarantee, and I believe there's even a new belt with a 100-year guarantee! 
Support Aussie made and small businesses, and if you're in the market for a new belt, check out Anvil Hide. 
https://anvilhide.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/AnvilHide/ 
https://www.instagram.com/anvil_hide/ 
 
Subscribe within the app of your choice to be notified of new episodes when they become available. 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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Thank you for your support! 

15: Paddock to plate vs corporate farm - with Patrick and Chloe from Tingle Ridge Farm.

Paddock to plate is a common way to describe the process of farmers selling their products direct-to-consumer. 
In the case of Tingle Ridge Farm and many other farms, this involves sending their pasture-raised lambs to the nearest abattoir for processing (custom kill in this instance, where it's only a small number for an individual business), and then they receive the carcass back and have it packed by a local butcher, ready to be delivered by the farmers themselves, straight to the consumer. 
It's a great system, and one that is growing in popularity with both growers and consumers for a number of reasons. 
Just over a week ago, the only abattoir in the South West Region that is capable of custom kills, which these farmers (some for more than 15 years) have been using so they can sell their meat directly, ended this service.
The repercussions are enormous, and very debilitating.
Patrick and Chloe join me to explain the situation, and what's happening on the ground at the moment. 
Tingle Ridge Farm:https://www.tingleridgefarm.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/tingleridgefarm https://www.instagram.com/tingleridgefarm/ 
 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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14: Augustine Academy

Studying liberal arts, whilst also learning how to make cheese, grow vegetables and cure jerky, is not something that most training organisations offer...unless it's Augustine Academy.
Founded by Ben McCabe, who was home-schooled and farm-raised in Boddington WA, the academy is situated in Fitzroy Falls NSW and offers a 1-year course of study that challenges students in a way that simply does not exist in the mainstream education system. 
History, literature, philosophy, theology, drama and debating, and a hefty dose of agriculture and nature, combine to offer students a single year that can assist them in shaping every year that comes after.
Online courses are also available, and you can find out more about the academy here: https://www.augustineacademy.com.au/index.html 
 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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13: Climate Change: The Facts

John Abbot is a Senior Fellow in the Research Program at the IPA (Institute of Public Affairs), and also a contributing author and editor on several editions of, 'Climate Change The Facts'.
This book series, which contains contributions from many scientists and researchers across varying knowledge bases, offers an evidence-based approach to discussing the facts and myths around climate change (previously identifying as global warming), and follows the basic scientific process of challenging something until it can be proven, or disproven...as opposed to simply stated, repeated, and enacted. 
John joins us today to discuss the upcoming edition, AI rainfall forecasting, and more. 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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12: Studio Session - with Ally

Alexandra Vyner is a close family friend from Sydney, who’s particular skill in making costumes led to her studying a degree in properties and objects at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, or NIDA. 
Ally has now worked on several major movie productions that have filmed in Australia, and while she was visiting us at the farm, Ally was kind enough to join me in the studio for a catch up on how her studies have gone, what she has learned, and what she has been working on. 
 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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11: Where are the farmers?

CEO of WA Farmers, Trevor Whittington, joins us in this episode to discuss a range of topics, including: - The varying assaults on private property ownership,
 - The trend in the size of farms getting bigger and the number of farmers decreasing,
 - Where people live and why,
 - Comparisons from agricultural regions abroad,
 - Sheep vs abattoirs 
- Politics, and more.
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If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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10: Sheep ahoy!

If you want to know what the Sheep Live Export process is really like, you need to hear it from people in the industry, not the people stopping it. 
Mandy joins us to talk about her experience working with livestock, how she came to WA and ended up sailing multiple live export voyages (and still is today), what the process is like on-board, at the destination port, and much more. 
The Livestock Collective have some amazing videos and other info showcasing the entire live export process from paddock to processing. https://www.thelivestockcollective.com.au/ 
If you want to help out in the fight to keep the industry alive and our farmers farming, there's ways you can. Find out more here: https://www.keepthesheep.com.au/ 
 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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Thank you for your support!
 

9: Animals on Screen - Behind-the-scenes on an upcoming Aussie feature film.

Filming animals for movies and productions is no easy feat, and training them to be camera-ready, harder still. 
Farmer Nigel from York in WA has had an incredible life working with and training animals, and we'll hear more of his stories in time, but today he joins us to chat about his experience on the set of the upcoming Aussie feature film, Runt, starring quite a few of his animals, and plenty of dramas besides! 
 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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8: Policy Problems - Hon Nick Goiran MLC

Nick joins us today to discuss:
- A wide range of policy issues, including Firearms Legislation, Health and Education. 
- His reasons for entering politics.
- The political landscape and culture now, and what it could be in the near future. 
- Getting actively involved and the importance of knowing who you're voting for.
 
If you would like to support the work of Station 707, please follow one of these links:
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Thank you for your support!