Paterson, McKenna and Barber families: 20 of Victoria’s biggest farming families revealed
From massive Wimmera cropping farms to one of Australia’s largest family-owned dairy operations, Victoria is home to some world-class farming families.
From massive cropping enterprises in the Wimmera and Mallee to one of Australia’s largest family-owned dairy operations, farming families have snapped up thousands of hectares of Victoria’s farmland to form formidable ventures.
Some have forebears who have farmed in Victoria since the 19th century while others have partnered with major institutions to feed Australia and the world. See the list:
McBride family (Telopea Downs, Victoria and South Australia)
Trading as AJ and PA McBride Ltd, the McBride family has become one of Australia’s largest wool growers, shearing more than 300,000 sheep and lambs a year to produce 1442 tonnes of wool, or 1.4 million kilograms annually.
While the sixth-generation farming family has its roots in South Australia’s northern pastoral regions, the McBrides purchased a massive slice of Victoria in September 2018, buying the 47,677ha aggregation known as Telopea Downs.
Located between Bordertown and Kaniva in western Victoria, the 11-farm aggregation was sold to the McBrides by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund-owned Hassad Australia for a reported $70 million.
The aggregation is now home to a Merino sheep flock with some crossbred influence, a beef herd and a large fodder and commercial cropping enterprise comprising wheat, barley, lupins, beans and canola.
JHW Paterson and Sons (Western District, Victoria and NSW Riverina)
Fourth-generation farmer James Paterson is not going to die wondering, taking the reins of his family’s farming partnership, which owns more than 10,120ha in Victoria’s Western District.
Led by his grandfather Gordon Paterson, the JHW Paterson and Sons company owns mixed farms at Anakie, Cavendish, Darlington, Hawkesdale and Macarthur.
Fuelled by the 13,000ha Hell’s Gate property on the flat Hay Plains in the Riverina, its 5000-head feedlot has helped the family’s ventures.
Last year the family paid $63 million to secure the almost 20,000ha Webster spin-off Kooba Pty Ltd.
Paterson family, Excel Farms (Western Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia )
Powered by Canadian agricultural investment fund Fiera Comox and its $850 million worth of assets, the Paterson family runs a massive farming operation, mostly across Western Victoria and southern Western Australia.
Owners of regional media network Ace Radio, Rowly and Judy Paterson are part of the partnership while their son, Nick Paterson, is managing director of Excel Farms.
Launched in 2020, the partnership between Fiera Comox and the Paterson family now spans seven aggregations including the $100 million acquisition of Cherylton Farms earlier this year.
In Victoria the family manages broadacre cropping on Anunaka at Tutye in the Mallee, Kulwin Park at Towaninny South and Wirrinourt at Mininera; while livestock are carried on Karrara near Ecklin South.
McKenna family, Midfield Pastoral (Western Victoria)
With properties split between dairy, calf rearing and beef and lamb production, Midfield Meats boss Colin McKenna owns about 7285ha across eight properties in southwest Victoria and South Australia’s South East.
Colin’s late father, Bernard (Ben) McKenna, was one of 15 World War II soldier-settlers at Injemira, 22km north of Warrnambool, securing a 78ha dairy block alongside his wife, Rosemary, in 1955.
Since then the family has expanded incrementally with Colin making a major move to buy the Warrnambool municipality abattoir.
Key holdings in the family’s portfolio include 3237ha Union Station near Warrnambool and 1894ha Kuleah-Quamby East at Woolsthorpe.
Bennett family, (Lawloit, Victoria)
Between Kaniva and Nhill in the state’s west Wimmera, Alan and Donna Bennett have established a vast farming portfolio of at least 7800ha.
Farming at Lawloit, the Bennetts run a prime lamb and cropping operation across several properties, including a main grazing block on the edge of the Big Desert.
In previous seasons the Bennetts have run 4000 Merino and prime lamb ewes alongside a 2500ha cropping program.
Gubbins family (Chatsworth, Victoria and Coorong, South Australia)
Mark and Anna Gubbins along with their children have crafted a massive Angus and Black Simmental stud, turned commercial Angus operation.
Their Victorian home, Coolana, at Chatsworth in the Western District was originally purchased by Arthur Gubbins in 1930.
Then in 1972 and 1981 respectively, Arthur’s son John purchased a further two properties: Northside, comprising 445ha and Smalls, comprising 168ha.
In 1994 the family added the 788ha Woop Woop to make what is now known as the 2630ha Coolana aggregation.
The family also owns the 1619ha Hamilla Downs and 2428ha Carinya, near Meningie in southeast South Australia, purchased in 2006 and 2011 respectively.
Across 2017 and 2018 the family dispersed their stud, with Mark and Anna’s son Max taking the reins to run the commercial Coolana Angus enterprise.
Ian and Camilla Shippen (Western Victoria and Moulamein, NSW)
Under the title Banyandah Pastoral, Riverina pastoralists Ian and Camilla Shippen have made two significant expansions south of the border, adding to their expansive NSW Riverina farming portfolio.
In 2021 US-backed Laguna Bay Agricultural Fund sold its 3353ha Woorndoo aggregation near Lake Bolac, part of which was purchased by the Shippens.
Meanwhile the Shippens also acquired the renowned 5900ha Western District station Mt Fyans, paying $37 million in 2018.
In total the Shippens produce between 3500 and 3800 bales of wool a year, from about 75,000 Merino ewes, up to 15,000 Merino wethers and 10,000 crossbred ewes.
Barber family (Elphinstone, Victoria)
Located 46km south of Bendigo at Elphinstone, the Barber family had created a whopping sheep enterprise with its roots dating back more than 100 years.
Spanning at least 5260ha from central Victoria southto Birregurra, the family has run 30,000 sheep under the stewardship of Duncan and Jess Barber.
Coliban Park was acquired by Anthony Barber in 1917, but it was Duncan and Jess, the fourth farming generation of the family, who made the call to expand the enterprise when they took over in 2005.
Coliban Park is the main breeding property for the Barbers, while at Birregurra the family produces most of their wool.
Inchbold family (Yarrawonga, Victoria)
Cropping wheat, barley, pulses and oaten hay, while also carrying cattle, the Inchbold family has established a massive farming enterprise in North East Victoria stretching back five generations.
Adam Inchbold with his wife Ingrid, and in conjunction with his parents, Richard and Dorothy, run 5000ha near Yarrawonga, carrying on the legacy of Adam’s father, Richard, and grandfather Harvey.
A key part of their operations has been the inclusion of oaten hay crops, which offered strong returns, especially during the drier years of the millennium drought.
Bibby family (Berriwillock, Victoria)
About 20km southeast of Sea Lake, the Bibby family has formed a cropping and cattle operation at Berriwillock, in Victoria’s Mallee, planting 5000ha of crops in previous seasons.
Garry Bibby and family have run a no-till, high technology, precision agricultural business growing wheat, barley and canola varieties alongside legumes, as well as introducing vetch to the mix in the mid-1990s.
About the turn of the millennium the family sold off its sheep, retaining the cattle to help graze out weeds and vetch, and make use of stubble.
Bennett family (Lawloit, Horsham and Wallaroo East, Victoria)
Across about 5000ha on their three Wimmera properties, John Bennett, wife Allison Bourchier and children Hamish and Sophie have combined crops and sheep to great effect.
John and Hamish work mainly in the cropping enterprise, while Allison and Sophie manage 4500 Merino ewes, a portion of which are joined back to Merinos while the others are joined to terminal sires.
On the cropping front, 25 per cent is sown to canola, 25 per cent to wheat, 15 per cent to barley and the remainder to faba beans, lentils and oats.
Rickard family (Birchip, Victoria)
At Curyo near Birchip in Victoria’s southern Mallee region and further south at Lake Bolac, Craig Rickard and family grow cereal grains, canola, lentils and vetch across 5000ha.
In partnership with agronomy consultant Alistair Ferrier and Jim Rickard, Mr Rickard returned to his family farming operation more than a decade ago.
Jim’s sons Edward and Matthew are also part of the family affair with Edward joining his family on the farm after graduating with an economics and finance degree at RMIT in 2012 and spending eight years working for financial services companies, including three years in London from 2015 to 2018 with Investec Asset Management.
Hooke family (Sepentine, Victoria and NSW Riverina)
From their 3800ha property, Willera, set on the Loddon River flood plains, the Hooke family has established five generations of farming history across three regions in two states.
The Willera family team is made up of Robert and Cathie Hooke and their three adult children and their partners — Will and Kia Hooke, Karl and Kate Hooke and Arishika and Simon Coutts.
In recent years the Hooke family’s main enterprises have been Merino wool, prime Merino lambs and sale 1½-year-old and 5½-year-old ewes, breeding ewes and stud Poll Merino rams.
They also have 1200ha of dryland crops, producing wheat, barley, canola, oats and oaten hay.
In addition to their home block, they also own 344ha near Macarthur in the Western District and 12,000ha Wargam Station at Booroorban in the northern NSW Riverina.
Mark Wootton and Eve Kantor (Cavendish, Victoria)
Mark Wootton and Eve Kantor were pioneers in carbon-neutral farming, becoming some of the first producers to achieve that status.
Their 3400ha property in western Victoria known as Jigsaw Farms, 20km north of Hamilton, runs a fine Merino wool system based on 20,000 ewes.
Their cattle operation consists of 550 cows and replacements while they have also dedicated more than 600ha to native trees and shrubs or timber species and 65ha to natural wetlands and dams.
Mulcahy family, KyValley Dairy (northern Victoria, Goulburn Valley)
Regarded as one of Australia’s largest family-owned dairy operations, the Mulcahy family, led by brothers Wayne, David and Peter, have created the massive KyValley Dairy.
The Mulcahy family migrated to Australia from Ireland in 1857, with James and Bridget Mulcahy establishing their dairy farm in Byrneside along with their 13 children.
More than 100 years later, the family rapidly expanded in the 1990s from 280 cows to 3500 by 2001, paving the way for its current standing.
Paired with their co-operative farm suppliers, KyValley Dairy manages more than 7500 dairy cows, processing 75 million litres per year to the Kyabram processing facilities, including A2, A1 and organic supply.
Carter family (Marnoo, Victoria)
One of Australia’s best known Merino studs, Wallaloo Park has developed from a family business to a major mixed-farming enterprise in the Wimmera.
After steady acquisitions of land over the past 30 years, the Carter family’s broadacre and stud Merino sheep business is now at least 4000ha.
John and Jenny Carter, their son, Trent, and his wife, Kate, have carried on the family legacy growing it from its 600ha size when John first returned to the property in 1972.
Weidemann family (Rupanyup, Victoria)
Three generations of the Weidemann family have grown crops in the heart of Victoria’s wheatbelt including well-known Andrew Weidemann.
Andrew, the former VFF grain group president, is currently serving as Grain Producers Australia southern director while also farming at Rupanyup across 3500ha in partnership with his family.
In previous seasons they have grown wheat, barley and canola across 60 per cent of their property with the balance a mix of pulses, vetch and cereal hay. Some are dedicated to pastures for a White Suffolk Stud.
Richmond family (Little River, Victoria)
Led by Jock Richmond, four generations of the Richmond family have run the Rose Grange Pastoral Company at Little River, between Melbourne and Geelong.
Managed by Jim Gaylard, the 3220ha Rose Grange Pastoral runs beef, prime lamb and cropping ventures, including 900 Angus females in previous seasons.
Rose Grange Pastoral won the JBS Australia’s Great Southern overall beef division in 2018, selling between 800 and 1000 steers and cull heifers into the JBS program each year since its inception in 2011.
Sims family (north-central Victoria)
Pine Grove, located west of Echuca and Rochester, is home to the Sims family’s six-generation cereal, legume and oilseed cropping operation.
Spanning at least 3440ha, Grant Sims has focused on no-till farming while also producing his own biofertiliser.
Mr Sims has also established an enterprise selling multi-species cover crops, forages and custom-made blend seed mixes.
Jochinke family (Murra Warra, Victoria)
NFF vice-president David Jochinke is a third-generation Wimmera grower, now managing a 3000ha property at Murra Warra north of Horsham in western Victoria.
At just 18, he took the reins of the family farm transforming it from what was half Merino self-replacing stock and cropping, to what is now predominantly cropping growing mainly lentils, canola, wheat and barley.
During a 10-year stint in leadership positions with the VFF, Mr Jochinke served as treasurer, vice president and president.
Manning family (Mansfield, Victoria)
Father-and-son Rod and Rodda Manning run more than 2000 Angus females across six properties within a 60km radius of Mansfield in Victoria’s North East.
Rod, who trained and worked as a veterinarian and farm consultant, first bought land in 1976, taking on about 100ha and running 40 Angus cows.
That land area has gradually scaled up to its current size of 2200ha of freehold and another 200ha of rougher lease country to run the Angus herd, and has been managed over the past 10 years by Rodda as manager of operations.
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