The McMartins bought their farm in 1945, when Graham McMartin was 10 months old.

His wife Lillian McMartin said her husband was now “pushing 80” but the couple had no plans to retire.

“It’s important for people to slow down and take it easier, but keep going as long as possible,” she said.

This season is the couple’s last sugarcane harvest and the last cane fire for Bli Bli, on their land between Lefoes Rd and Yandina-Bli Bli Rd, and it will occur in about four or five weeks.

The McMartins are well known for their “pick-your-own” strawberries and shop during the winter months on Sports Rd.

But the couple also owns land upon which sugarcane grows and they harvest commercial crops of custard apples and lychees.

Mrs McMartin, 72, said she appeared on the scene in the 1960s when the family was growing beans and watermelons.

The grower said the pick-your-own strawberries and mandarins had been popular during the school holidays.

In total, their farm spans about 101ha (or about 250 acres).

The McMartins are one of many Sunshine Coast farming families producing well-known products.

Check out some of the others:

Yandina Station

According to its website, Yandina Station was established in 1853 and has hosted weddings and corporate events since 1996.

The station, on Yandina Creek Rd in Yandina Creek, offers accommodation for the wedding party so the bride and groom do not have to leave the estate.

The station has also run cattle since its foundation, making it the oldest cattle property on the Sunshine Coast.

The current property is more than 80ha.

“Yandina Station was established as Yandina Cattle Run in 1853 by two pioneering brothers, Daniel and Zachariah Skyring, who had arrived from England on board the S.S. Esther in 1833 with their father, Daniel Budd Skyring,” the property’s website states.

Maleny Dairies

Ross and Sally Hopper run the successful Maleny Dairies.

The farm was bought by the Hopper family in 1948 and began as a cream-only enterprise.

Its website states the Hoppers built their own processing and bottling plant at the beginning of the 2000s in a “fight to survive” following industry deregulation, before their empire expanded.

“The flexibility and control afforded to us, by managing our own plant, has facilitated the opportunity for us to pay our farmers at a much higher rate per litre of milk,” the website states.

“In turn, this has enabled each farmer to keep their herds healthy and their farms viable.”

The business has launched a sour cream product this month and also produces custard, lactose-free milk, cream and more.

Kenilworth Dairies

Owner John Cochrane has been at the helm of Kenilworth Dairies for more than six years.

The business produces cheeses, desserts, yoghurt and milk.

He said one of the highlights from his ownership was seeing the products produced by the business “going further and further” onto more supermarket shelves.

Mr Cochrane grew up on a dairy farm that his grandfather bought after World War I in Kin Kin and was passionate about supporting Sunshine Coast dairy farmers.

“Kenilworth is such a small town and we’re big employers in the town, I want to see the dairy farms and processors survive,” he said.

The business has more than 50 employees and has plans to hire more.

Mr Cochrane said new machinery was also being installed to make production more efficient without sacrificing the quality of their products.

QCamel

QCamel, a camel dairy in Coochin Creek, is run by the Brisbane family and supplies camel milk and other products to more than 80 retailers throughout Australia.

Director Lauren Brisbane, who is passionate about camels, first began researching the camel industry in Queensland in 2006.

According to the farm’s website, the family treats the camels as family members and fellow members of staff.

Products include camel milk, camel milk food products, chocolate and skin care.

The farm is also opened to the public for tours, special events and “camel cuddles” with bookings through the farm website essential.

Maleny black angus Beef

Maleny black angus Beef is a family affair on the lush green hills of the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

The farmers raise grass-fed cattle that are processed at an accredited Sunshine Coast processor.

“And we make it easy to buy reasonable quantities for most freezers,” the website states.

Sugarcane

At the height of the their growing, the Page family owned about 68ha of land they used for sugarcane in Sippy Downs and in Bli Bli.

Allan Page has lived on the same property on Bli Bli Rd, between Nambour and Bli Bli, since he was born in 1922.

The sugarcane grower fought in Papua New Guinea during World War II and was at Bougainville when the conflict ended in 1945.

However, once the Nambour sugar mill closed in 2003, Allan’s son Neil Page said things changed for their family.

“We’ve been selling off since the closure of the Nambour mill, reluctantly,” he said.

“A lot of the country that was suitable for sugarcane is not suitable for small cropping and the size is not there for broadacre farming.”

Part of the family’s former Sippy Downs land, which was on Claymore Rd, was sold to the state government and now forms part of the University of the Sunshine Coast sports fields and a park.

The rest of that land is under housing.

Neil and his brother have kept three blocks in Bli Bli that they live on and have sold other 12ha blocks as lifestyle blocks.

Some of the new owners run horses on their land.

Neil still has a hobby farm.

“We live on our farms as lifestyle,” he said.

“I’ve set up a big garden and we grow fruit and veggies, and we give a lot of our food away. “

Woodlands Enterprises

A Beerburrum poultry farm has been granted approval to more than double the number of birds kept on site.

The farm is owned by Woodland Enterprises, directed by John, Murray, Malcolm and Ian Elks, which applied to the Sunshine Coast Council to have six new sheds approved, which will house a total of 452,640 birds.

The 31ha farm is located west of the Bruce Highway on Red Rd and currently has four sheds on the property containing 171,456 chickens, meaning the green light given at the council meeting on Thursday, June 22, would enable them to add up to 280,000 new birds.

Sommer Stud Droughtmasters

Sommer Stud Droughtmasters, in Maleny, is owned by Daniel and Teneale Sommer.

At last year’s Roma Droughtmaster bull sale the bulls the couple raised averaged more than $19,000.

The stud’s Sommer Dodge topped the draft at $36,000.

Lavin Racing and Breeding

Sunshine Coast horse breeder Caitlin Hoysted runs Lavin Racing and Breeding in Noosa.

Hoysted took over training the family horses from her father Peter Lavin and was able to prepare 23 winners from 138 starts, finishing in 2016 before shifting her focus to taking over from her father on the breeding side of their racehorse business.

Hoysted has helped produce several runners in the white and blue family colours as a trainer and now as a breeder and owner in conjunction with her husband Matt Hoysted and training partner Steven O’Dea.

Peachester Lodge

Linda and Graham Huddy own Peachester Lodge, a horse stud in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

The Lodge team raises the animals from foal to racehorse and some of their current racehorses include Fashchanel, Addriel and Compass Rose.

Sunshine Coast’s new recruits

Husband and wife team Dallas and Adam Simpson have relished the start of their new Sunshine Coast racing stable with wins at both provincial and metropolitan level.

Adam, 23 and Dallas, 29 first worked together in South Australia under Tony McEvoy before they moved to Caulfield and then relocated to Queensland in 2020.

They spent six months on the Gold Coast before getting their training licenses and settling on a 24ha farm in Yandina.

Stuart Kendrick

Trainer Stuart Kendrick relocated to the Sunshine Coast from Mackay and has found success in the southern location.

Kendrick has 60 boxes on course at Corbould Park on the Sunshine Coast and, according to his website, is a “strong believer” in a hands-on approach to each of his horses.

His Palmwoods farm is equipped with a walker, treadmill and freshening and spelling yards.

Damien Batters

Trainer Damien Batters has a stable at Valdora.

Batters told the Sunshine Coast Daily in 2021 that he enjoyed working from his remote stable and believed the horses did too.

“We used to train on course but our stables are a lot bigger here and the view we have in front of us is a clear reason why we train from here,” he said.

“The horses are able to get out and it’s definitely easier to train from here because we find them to be a lot more happier too.

“I love training on the Sunshine Coast so I’ll never leave again as this is definitely home now.”

Beef

Three generations of Fitzgeralds have worked at the Rainbow Beach Meats in the idyllic seaside town.

Owner Scott Fitzgerald’s father started the business 34 years ago.

It was Mr Fitzgerald’s proudest moment in business when his son, aged 16, also started working at the shop.

Mr Fitzgerald grew up in Gympie and moved to Rainbow Beach when his dad opened the shop.

The butcher sources 90 per cent of his meats from southeast Queensland.

His pork comes from the Kingaroy region while much of his beef is raised in Toowoomba and Gympie region farms.

“It’s accessible, we’ve got all the meat, got all this stuff that’s grown in this southeast Queensland area,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

Go Turf

The Heilig family operates Go Turf in the Glass House Mountains and boasts two decades of turf farming experience.

“We specialise in providing instant lawn solutions, ensuring you get the most beautiful lawn with the best quality turf and service,” the family states on the business’s website.

The turf range includes the buffalo, couch and other varieties.

Maroochy Green Turf Supplies

This turf farm operates in Bli Bli and only supplies Limerick Buffalo grass due to its “fantastic attributes” and growing performance in southeast Queensland.

Landscapers, new home builders and buyers, families with children and renovating retirees have all been clients at the turf farm.

Rosemount Turf

Ross and Lynelle Boyle own Rosemount Turf and converted the farm, which has been farmed by the Boyle family for more than 95 years, to turf following the closure of the Nambour sugar mill.

According to the business website, in 2003, Ross began the development of Rosemount Turf Farm on the land on the rich river flats of Petrie Creek.

The business offers a number of varieties including buffalo, zoysia and couch turfs.

Maleny estate

A former luxury car dealership boss and Brisbane identity took control of one of the Sunshine Coast’s premier farms in Maleny in early-2021.

Greg Willims snapped up the stunning Montana Park estate on Mountain View Rd, Maleny, in 2021, and spoke of his plans to restore the property back to mint condition.

An experienced cattle breeder, he told the Sunshine Coast Daily at the time a full-blood wagyu herd had already been prepared for Montana Park, with 50 breeders and two wagyu bulls to enjoy the rolling pastures of the estate.

He had also been in discussions with several racing identities and the property was being considered as a horse spelling estate.

Strawberry empire

Ashbern Farms in the Glass House Mountains has established its name as one of the premier growers in the region and further afield.

Run by couples Brendon and Ashleigh Hoyle and Jon and Bernadine Carmichael, the strawberry empire figureheads run year-round operations from their Glass House Mountains and Stanthorpe farms.

The brand is even a mash-up of the power couples’ names and the fruit is now a fixture in many major supermarket lines.

Both organic and conventional varieties are grown at their Sunshine Coast property, while market supplies and pick your own facilities operate at the Stanthorpe farm.

They’ve withstood some tough times in recent years, after the strawberry needle sabotage scandal that engulfed the industry in 2018 before major oversupply issues struck the sector when Covid hit.

But the Ashbern name has weathered those storms and continues to provide berries to market in abundance.