It is one thing to grow food, it is quite another to sell it, say Rick and Barbara Scoones of the heirloom vegetable trade.

The couple have been growing unique, heirloom varieties at their property near Pemberton, in south-west Western Australia, for the past five years.

They said the experience had been very different from what they imagined, and tough going.

"Last year we sold all our pumpkins but all the other things — tomatoes, eggplants, capsicums — we probably only sold about 20 per cent of what we produced," Mr Scoones said.

"Eighty per cent went to waste."

The Scoones' finger squash, one of the unusual heirloom vegetables they grow in small quantities. ( ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne )

The challenge for a small operation growing niche vegetables is that in addition to managing all stages of production, growers like the Scoones then have to attract potential buyers.

"Growers are not normally marketers," Mr Scoones said.

"You can't go to someone and say: 'If we produce these, will you buy them?'

"They will always say: 'Bring us some when you have some'.

"So you have to not just put your foot in the water but dive in. Produce a substantial amount and then see if it sells."

Growing and selling collective

In an effort to tackle this issue, farmers from the southern forests region around Manjimup, Pemberton, Northcliffe and Walpole have banded together in a collective.

The Southern Forests Food Council has created a brand, Genuinely Southern Forests, for the collective to sell their produce under.

Canning Vale Markets link wholesalers with retailers and chefs throughout Perth. ( ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne )

They have also leased their own wholesale point at Canning Vale Markets.

It is a one-stop-shop that the council hopes will set their brand apart and allow chefs and retailers to get to know the products from the region better.

Bevan Eatts is the chairman of the Southern Forests Food Council, and his family farm produces beef cattle, sheep, stone fruit and rainbow trout.

He said conditions had been difficult for growers in the region over the past decade.

"The stone fruit industry has been through some of its toughest times," he said.

"We used to have a big cauliflower industry in the early 2000s.

"We lost that opportunity and a lot of those growers either planted blue gums or went out and worked."

Avocados from the WA southern forests region. ( ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne )

But a standout success for the region has been avocados — 70 per cent of all avocados sold in Australia between October and February were grown in the southern forests area.

Buy local

Mr Eatts said he hoped public enthusiasm for supporting Australian farmers and buying local would translate into strong support for the council's brand.

"People, nowadays, want to know where their food is grown," he said.

"This [collective] will point buyers, retailers and chefs to the great produce that we have in the region.

"We can promote it [at the markets] and show them how to go about getting it."

Chef and cooking school owner Sophie Zalokar said the dedicated space at the markets would make it easier for chefs to source products from the small growers in the southern forests area.

"Chefs and retailers are incredibly busy, so this is another way of creating those relationships and reducing the layers that you have to go to source the product," Ms Zalokar said.

"It will shorten the supply chain and they will have direct access to the produce."

Changes in consumer behaviour a win

Mr Scoones said he and his wife would keep selling their unique produce through their own efforts, but also expected to send a lot to the markets in Perth.

He was optimistic that they will sell far more than they did last year.

"We might get less per kilo, but we will make more money," he said.

Ms Scoones said she was certain that interest in locally grown food was strong.

"If we had tried what we are doing 10 years ago, no one would have bought the stuff," she said.

"In the last few years, people have actually started to think about food and they are happy to pay more for food.

"Previously, people just wanted to buy cheap food."