Our Farm Story

In 1920 Jack Sharkey purchased a small holding at Balliang East, a rural district on the open plains west of Melbourne. Jack ran sheep and grew oat crops mainly as stock feed for his working draught horses.

In the 1950’s-70’s, with the development of mechanisation, the family started to grow other crops such as wheat and barley and by the mid 1960’s the district had become well-known for producing quality malting barley.

However, through the 1980’s-90’s a series of droughts and challenging industry conditions saw the family looking to diversify to remain viable.

In the 1990’s-2000’s a free range piggery, olive grove and bulk grain storage facility were developed on the property.

In 2018 a boutique stone mill was purchased to value-add the grain enterprise and retail the product to artisan bakers and other outlets looking for a sustainably grown, single origin flour.

Privately run farm tours were also developed at this time. Tours offer a valuable educational resource for urban based educators. Tours provide opportunities to understand modern day, sustainable food production and experience the authentic paddock-to-plate process.

In 2020 the 4th generation of the Sharkey family celebrated 100 years of food & fibre production. In 2025 a large-scale recycled water irrigation project will commence!