The second Farmgate Festival will be held on November 24 and 25 and will showcase the diverse products and goods grown in the area.

The festival features a diverse mix of farming personalities, many of which have settled in the Tamar Valley to use the ideal growing conditions and fertile soils.

Visitors during the Farmgate Festival will not only visit farms but also hear the stories of how their passionate operators came to Tasmania and begun farming.

Founder of the Farmgate Festival and co-owner of Tamar Valley Hazelnuts Carol Bracken said the festival was a great opportunity for people to see behind the scenes of some of the farms and produce.

“We have people come and visit us a lot that are interested in growing hazelnuts. We give them a tour of the farm and show them what we do and talk about how we got started in the industry,” she said.

“Part of the idea for starting Farmgate came from making these private farm tours more accessible, a lot of the farmgate festival farms aren’t usually open to the public.”

Some of the operators who have moved to the region did so from outside the state, and have come to love their new patch of paradise.

One of the producers who will be participating in the Farmgate Festival will be Bob and Rita Richter, who moved to Tasmania in 1987 to set up a vineyard.

The pair admit they did not have any practical viticulture experience when they began, but they desired to take advantage of Tasmania’s status as a premier cool climate region for wine-making.

“It was a bit of a shock, like stepping back twenty years in time. But we fell in love with Tasmania and wouldn't want to be anywhere else,” Mrs Richter said,

Grey Sands Vineyard, at Glengarry  specialises in cool climate wines and the pair says viticulture offers new challenges every day.

“There are a lot of vineyards in Tasmania, especially in the Tamar Valley. If you're a small vineyard like us, making completely different styles of wine to 'typical Tasmanian' is difficult to market. Plus, we aren’t 'open' all the time so it's hard,” Mrs Richter said.

Farmgate Festival was established last year to help the region showcase its agricultural products and to engage consumers with those who grow the food or the products.

It also is a chance for the producers to develop consumer networks, and to offer that true paddock-to-plate experience.

For the team at Tamar Valley Pastured Eggs, a tree change, a cooler climate and a desire to farm lead them south from Queensland to Tasmania.

Katt Ferrero and her family have made a success with the move, with their products growing in popularity as consumers increase their focus on animal welfare.

The chickens are truly free range and the caravans in which they live in ensures they are given access to fresh pasture on a regular basis.

Children will be at the heart of this year’s Farmgate Festival, with the event partnering with the Children’s University and other primary schools.

The partnership will see students from the Children’s University and other schools participate in learning activities throughout the festival.

Exeter Primary School, which has a strong agricultural focus, has already signed up to the program.

Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association chief executive Peter Skillern said events like the Farmgate Festival were invaluable for producers.

He said despite the importance of agriculture to the state, there remained a “disconnect between what takes place in food production and what the broader community would see on their supermarket shelves".

Lentara Olives is participating in the festival this year, with their award-winning olive oil available to purchase.

Owner Martin Grace said his business was now diversifying into pomegranates, to offer a unique new experience.

The Tamar Valley Farmgate Festival will be held at various farms on November 24 and 25. Tickets and toilets are available at all farms. Tours start from 10am, last hourly tour starts at 3pm. For more information on tours and locations visit the website.

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