If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re on a road trip and you’ve spotted a U-Haul trailer featuring an Aussie farming family. You might also be snacking on a sandwich or bickies made from wheat grown by this very family. Or maybe you’ve got a lamb roast on the next dinner rotation, also possibly grown by this family.
Life on the land
Mel is proud to be raising her young kids on a sheep and grain property. With her partner and three kids, they represent your average Aussie farming family, working hard to grow food and fibre for supermarket shelves.
You might have seen Mel before, she’s also known in social media land as Lady Ba Ba and appeared on the hit reality show Big Brother. But her farm life launched onto a more public stage after posting a video to TikTok on the aftermath of a bushfire which showed how everything burnt except the wool.
“If I put videos out there of my life, I can connect with people as a person,” Mel said on the Telling Our Story podcast, a podcast that chats to farmers from all over Australia to give the public insight into this world.
“People will emotionally buy things, even if it’s more expensive, if they feel that connection with you.
“I’ve got kids and I want them to be as healthy as possible. I want to feed them the best food possible.”
Country roads, take me home
Australian trailer hire company U-Haul approached the National Farmers’ Federation with a desire to celebrate farmers like Mel, who grow the food we eat and the fibre we wear. With the support of cartoonist Paul McVilly, there’s now a U-Haul trailer for hire that’s celebrating farming and rural life.
If you’re dreaming of escaping to the country and surrounding yourself with farming landscapes and being part of the same communities as Aussie farming families like Mel’s, U-Haul can help make the tree change to the bush. South Australian sheep farmer Mel McGorman says the rural and farm life is like no other.
“I love every part of our farm.”
Visit Australian Farmers to read more farmer stories, info on Aussie-grown food and fibre, and much more. You can also listen to Mel and other Australian farmers’ stories by listening to the Telling Our Story podcast on iTunes (or wherever you listen to podcasts).
