Our Farms and Farming
Integrity. Sustainability. Excellence. Collaboration.
With a focus on quality and consistency, Dicky Bill Australia has proven capabilities to provide 12 month supply of premium quality baby leaf salad lines – achieved through geographical diversification and innovative farming and processing techniques.
To serve the consumer by cultivating excellence one leaf at a time.
High Level Farming and Processing Practices
Full Year Production
Triple Washed
Compliance
Both Dicky Bill farms and processing facilities in Queensland and Victoria are audited annually to ensure continued compliance with Freshcare and HACCP certification. Our Maffra (Victoria) facility is also SQF accredited.
Vac-Cooled within 30 Minutes
Our produce is vac-cooled within 30 minutes of harvest (dropping the leaf temperature to 2°C), resulting in extended shelf life and next to nil shrinkage.
Sustainable
Less Waste
A clear focus on greater technology that allows us to bag all products to a reduced plastic footprint per kg of salad.
Fresher
Our wash and processing facilities are at the farm, reducing waste, transport costs and extending shelf life (fresher products for you).
Processing on Site
Our produce is harvested and triple washed to order, minimising waste and ensuring the freshest product is delivered to your table.
Continuous Improvement
Sustainable Farming
- Wide product growing beds and efficient watering
- Harvested on order – no wastage
- Processing at the farm – maximise freshness
- Farming at scale for greater efficiency
- Leading Harvest Australia sustainability assurance standard accredited
- Reduced packaging
Our Farms
Dicky Bill Australia run two farms totalling over 1,100 acres in Queensland and Victoria which allows the supply of high quality leafy salad vegetables, ready herbs and salad kits and bowls for 12 months of the year.
Both sites have processing/washroom facilities on-site, with the capability to triple wash and package in excess of 40 tonnes of loose leaf salads per week.
Maffra, Victoria
Our Summer production is done out of our Maffra farm in East Gippsland, Victoria, which sits on just over 700 acres with beautiful sandy loam soil. While vegetables are grown all year round in Maffra, the main season runs from September to May.
Drinan, Queensland
Dicky Bill’s Winter production comes from our Drinan farm which enjoys close to 500 acres for vegetable production. Located to the west of Bundaberg in Queensland, the property boasts extremely reliable irrigation water with a temperate climate over the winter months making it great for vegetable production. The main leafy salad vegetable season runs from May to October.
Leading Harvest Australia
Dicky Bill, through its partnership with Warakirri Asset Management, has been recognised in conformance with the Leading Harvest Australia Standard, a world-first sustainability assurance program designed to harmonise sustainability reporting across crops and regions.
This includes adhering to the principles of sustainable agriculture for:
- Soil Health and Conservation
- Water Resources
- Crop Protection
- Energy Use, Air Quality and Climate Change
- Waste and Material Management
- Cropland for Wildlife Habitat
- Habitat Conversion
- Public Health and Safety
Leading Harvest is a nonprofit organisation working to harmonise sustainability standards across the food sector and scale best practices in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. The comprehensive assurance program is comprised of standards, audit procedures, training and education, and reporting. All standard users are held to the same Leading Harvest Australia Standard, seeking to apply and improve agricultural best management practices on the farmland that they manage to advance sustainable agriculture.