Pioneering sunflower farm still drawing the crowds

Despite a major dry run, Victoria’s first pick-your-own sunflower farm has seen city-based families flocking to see the golden paddocks.

Ollie Britt with his jack russell terrier name Pippi in the sunflowers at Victoria’s first sunflower farm at Dunnstown. Pictures: Zoe Phillips

England export Laiken Britt launched Victoria’s first pick-your-own sunflower farm seven years ago.

Starting with just six hectares and a desire to grow some blooms, the first-time farmer from Dunnstown’s passion project now spans up to 35ha in a wet year – as well as earning a dedicated following of visitors.

“(About) 85 per cent of our customers this year are return customers, and have been every year since (launching),” Laiken said, with this year’s season just wrapped up.

“This year we were aiming for 90 acres (36ha) but only 30 acres (12ha) germinated and grew.

“This is a tricky season, it was dry and we had no access to water so they didn’t grow as magnificently as they normally have.”

Ms Britt said her dams were dry, and it had been the driest period she’d seen since her move to Australia 11 years ago.

She now has four sons with her husband Karl, who manages a former dairy farm now home to beef cattle.

“When we had the dairy farm we had a ‘pick your own sweet corn’,” she said.

“I was surrounded by boy stuff, and one day I said to my husband ‘let’s grow some flowers’, and then they did and we wondered what we’d do with them all.”

Her pick-your-own sunflower idea reached widespread success post-Covid, after a local mum shared Ms Britt’s idea online.

“I had a close friend who was a kinder mum, she sent it [online] in Melbourne, and that weekend Dunnstown was gridlocked,” she said.

Laiken Britt and her husband Karl started their sunflower farm seven years ago.

Ollie Britt in among some his families sunflower crop.

Ms Britt said she enjoyed having city-based people on farm. The farm hosted its first wedding on Wednesday, and had several prior proposals and baby announcements.

“I’m from England, so I grew up in the city. I thought milk came from the shelves in the supermarket until I married my dairy farmer husband,” she said.

“When the sunflowers aren’t perfect, they don’t understand why they don’t look like usual. We do a lot of explaining about mother nature and nothing in nature is always perfect.

“It’s amazing. The little kids that come are predominantly from Melbourne, and we have goats, sheep and a pet cow they can pat, and they’ve never seen them.”