40,000 trees help to transform Victorian farm

In 2013 Jacob Pearce and Elizabeth Lakey’s bought a 105ha farm which was rundown and overrun by rabbits, but now they are enjoying the fruits of their labour.

Elizabeth Lakey and Jacob Pearce with 7-year-old Onora Lakey on their farm at Ingliston. Pictures: Zoe Phillips

With views of the You Yangs, White Elephant Reserve and the Brisbane Ranges, this Ingliston property is being transformed to recapture vegetation of years gone by.

Jacob Pearce and Elizabeth Lakey run Iron Bark Fault, a 105ha regenerative agriculture farm located about 60km west of Melbourne.

Jacob said when they bought the farm back in 2013 it was “pretty rundown”, with parts of it resembling a moonscape, overrun by rabbits, serrated tussock and box thorn, but have since worked hard to transform the land, planting more than 40,000 trees and shrubs along the waterways and across paddocks.

“We bought it really with the interest of trying to rehabilitate the land, with a focus on improving the entire landscape. So we spent about four to five years (working on that) before building our property,” Jacob said.

L-R Back: 20yo Ryan Pearce, 13yo Aoife Lakey, Jacob Pearce with 4yo Finian Lakey on shoulders, Elizabeth Lakey, Front: 7yo Onora Lakey and 9yo Maeve Lakey.

The “stunning landscape” is filled with 400-year-old yellowbox trees, iron barks, native grasses, chocolate lilies and the like, with the family enjoying the fruits of their labour.

“We could really see the difference we were making on a very practical level. With land management, you’re in for the long haul, and the improved landscape is something we can take great pride in,” Jacob said.

The couple also bred cattle for about twelve years, but made the difficult decision back in February to destock, after their driest year on record in 2024, and a forecast even drier 2025.

“It’s about giving the property a spell. We could have kept going with containment paddocks and feed, but at the end of the day we could see the whole property needed a break,” Jacob said.

Transforming the land is a lifestyle choice for the family.

In addition to managing the farm, they’ve built a 100 per cent off-grid property, and offer accommodation to visitors, with the move out to Ingliston as much about farming as it was a lifestyle choice for the family.

“Our kids get really excited by seeing the vegetation and land improvement. When you’re doing tree planting, you can get an awful lot done in a day when you’ve got a little army of kids to help … it could be quite a lovely way to spend the weekend,” Jacob said.