A Tasmanian dairy family behind one of the state’s premium produce brands has been recognised among Australia’s best farmers.
The Bignell family of Bream Creek Dairy was one of 18 finalists honoured at The Weekly Times Coles Farmer of the Year awards in Melbourne on Friday night.
The awards celebrated excellence in farming across the 2023 season, spanning beef, cropping, dairy, horticulture and sheep farming categories, alongside innovation.
While they didn’t walk away with the award, the Bignells were finalists in the Innovative Farmer of the Year category for their transition from solely supplying milk to processors to also producing their own brand of cheeses.
Speaking to The Weekly Times, dairy manager and third-generation farmer Jack Bignell said the farm, located east of Hobart, manages 800 Holstein cattle across 809 hectares and produces five million litres of milk a year.
“We were just being price-takers for that whole time. And it definitely came with its ups and downs. With the family growing … we were looking at ways to diversify a little bit, and to future-proof ourselves,” Jack said.
“One of the options we looked at was releasing our own brand and we were lucky enough to have a private little processing company in Hobart, who we were supplying a tiny bit of milk, to come and offer to print a label for us, and start processing our milk for us.”
Family members involved in the business include Jack’s brother Doug, who assists with cropping and irrigation, their mechanic-father Charles, uncle Richard and mother Caroline, who oversees bookkeeping and OHS for the property.
Jack’s aunt Meg handles the businesses marketing and advertising, with his sister Annie in charge of invoicing.
