ROHAN and Fiona Morris are among the newest members of the vibrant Southern Downs agricultural community.

The couple, along with their two children - Eden, 7, and Jethro, 4 - are at the helm of Gleneden Family Farm and Bullock Team.

For just over four weeks, they have been working to establish the farm on the 250ha property nestled away in the Goomburra Valley.

Taking its name from the family's original home in the Gleneden Valley, the organic family farm operates using a simple, holistic farming philosophy.

Livestock is rotated through pastures to ensure the animals are happy, healthy and robust.

"All my life I knew I wanted to be a farmer, but I also knew how hard it was to be a farmer in the traditional system and fighting against weather and commodity prices," Mr Morris said.

"At about the same time as I wanted to stop working as an outdoor education teacher, Fiona and I started learning about holistic farming.

"We were driven by really good food so we decided to go back to the farm where I grew up to begin with.

"We found this area was better suited to what we were trying to achieve, and Southern Downs Regional Council were very supportive of what we're trying to do.

"We're also now much closer to Brisbane where there's more of a customer base for our products.

"I used to charge a freight cost where we were living up north because it was two-day round trip, but now being only an hour and a half from Brisbane I won't worry about that."

The holistic approach to farming harnesses how different animals work together to reduce their environmental impact, enhance soil fertility and, ideally, the taste and quality of the final product.

Using portable electric fencing, Mr Morris is easily able to relocate the farm's chickens, pigs and cows as often as necessary.

"In nature, birds and other herbivores live symbiotically so it made sense to mimic that in our farming system," Mr Morris said.

"By moving the animals this often, it means they are only impacting a small area for a short period of time, and then the grassland is returned to the soil.

"It makes for more fertile soil with more diverse microbiology, and it's also a natural form of parasite control.

"The pigs, which are particularly high impact, will get moved once a week and they won't be moved back to this exact spot for a year.

"I'll be trying to move the cow herd every day when I can.

"Eden has chickens and Jethro has his ducks and they help to spread out the cow manure.

"We used to have sheep and we will look to buy some eventually, and then hopefully in 12 months we'll also be able to grow summer legumes and that sort of crop.

"Our hope is we can have livestock and crop farming working in one integrated system so we can leave Eden and Jethro a more fertile farm than what we began with."

The family also have two milking goats, while Mr Morris works with the bullock team, an agricultural tradition the family hopes will pique the interest of visitors to the region.

In Australia, bullock teams were historically used for hauling heavy building materials and supplies, and Mr Morris artfully demonstrates the dying skill of yoking a bullock team with his dairy shorthorn cattle.

Mrs Morris said her husband had long been interested in traditional skills, having started leatherwork and blacksmithing at 13 before leading his first bullock team at 15.

"No matter how many times I've watched him work with the bullocks, it still amazes me," she said.

"It's just his voice and his demeanour while training the animals that he's using to control them - the whip is really just for show.

"Rohan's a quiet spoken country guy, who is more at home with his cattle in the bush than he is in front of a crowd, but he's also a teacher and was worried people would forget the legacy of the bullockies.

"The bullock breed we use is one of the heritage breeds we have on the farm, so it's not seen as a commercial herd anymore either.

"We're working on getting some seating set up for people to come watch the bullock team and other bush skills but we want to keep it as authentic and immersive as possible.

"The tourism aspect is just for the cash flow side of things but it works well on our farm and promoting holistic farming."

The family have welcomed campers to the property as well as backpackers from right around the globe.

"Often they have this great farming knowledge they can share with you," Mrs Morris said.

"One of the girls we hosted convinced me to get the goats to milk and taught me how to make the cheese.

"We've also set up a bit of a campground over the other side of the creek.

"People are welcomed to become immersed in the farming life while they're here, and can help us feed the animals and milk the animals.

"We've just found this area to be a great option for what we wanted to achieve, with highly productive healthy soil and plenty of water.

"I would love to have one of the smaller paddocks growing spelt or buckwheat eventually."

Rohan and Fiona Morris will be heading to the Australia Day markets at Glengallan Homestead this Thursday.

They hope to have the farm ready for more visitors for the bullock demonstrations by the Easter weekend in mid-April.

For more information, phone 0429137224, visit glenedenfamilyfarm.com.au, or check out Gleneden Family Farm and Bullock Team on Facebook.