Farm History Farm Sustainability
We invite you to join us for ‘a day in the life of a dairy farming family’.
Tommerup's Dairy Farm is a genuine working dairy farm in Kerry, Queensland. We invite you to come visit our farm located in the picturesque Scenic Rim area. The Kerry Valley is 15 minutes from Beaudesert and a little over 1 hour from Brisbane & the Gold Coast.
We milk our cows twice each day, every day of the year and we welcome you onto our farm to see how it’s done. Your family or group can experience what it’s like to be a dairy farmer for a day with hands-on farm chores.
We open our farm to visitors from April to October each year however, tours are by appointment only as this is a genuine working farm.
Treat your family to a farm tour within easy reach of Brisbane and the Gold Coast where you can milk a cow (or the whole herd), hand feed our calves, sheep, chickens, goats, guinea pigs and birds and join in with hands-on genuine farm chores for the whole family to enjoy.
School vacation activities for kids are available every holidays. Check our current flyer for details.
Tag along with our family while we work and see what farm life is all about. Your family or group can enjoy a hands-on tour of our property including milking, animal feeding, farm museum tour, farm chores, organic gardening displays and much more.
We proudly produce quality milk for Norco Co-Operative. We aim to do this through sustainable farming practices. Come and see how we are achieving our goals to better the future of our land for our family & yours. Farmers are striving to control environmental issues on their farms every day; come take a look!
Every child visiting our farm receives a free farmbag packed with activities and information relating to agricultural industries in Australia and how important they are to all Australians.
With our hands-on farm tour you can see exactly how quality milk is produced at ‘grass roots level’.
Since 1874
History buff or not, you’ll marvel at the items collected over 5 generations of farming. Take a walk down memory lane in Horan's Hut.
When I first moved to this property one of the things that I loved the most was the historical value that it holds. I couldn’t imagine a family living on the same property for over 100 years and I was extremely proud to become a part of the living history of this magical place. Coming from the city, I understand how precious the life that we lead is and how lucky my children are to be growing up in a community such as this. We try to instill in our children an appreciation of the wonderful treasures we have here on our farm.
 
Our property was one of the first land selections in the Kerry Valley. Mathew Horan selected the land in 1874 and moved to the property with his wife Susan and children in 1877. The original home was built close to the Albert River however a large flood came in 1887 and forced the family to the higher ground of the cattle yards for the night.
It was after this they decided to build in a safer place on the hill overlooking the property. This homestead, built in 1888, still stands today and is home to Mathew’s great grandson Theodore & wife Joyce.
Dave & I live in the other house on the property which was built by Dave’s grandfather in 1939 just before the birth of their first child, Theodore.
The Horan’s were very well respected in the district. Mathew was known as the best bone-setter for miles around. He also had a butcher shop; one of his original chopping blocks is the stand for our mailbox. Mathew’s daughter Katie was a music teacher in the local area and she married Hannibal Tommerup.
Hannibal had a brilliant mind and was a Professor of Languages at Queensland University for some years. He was also Principal at Darlington State School where our children now receive their education.
A partnership was formed in 1917, Horan and Tommerup. It consisted of Mathew & 4 of his children along with daughter Katie’s husband, Hannibal Tommerup—hence the name. The partnership has continued to this day, changing when the property was passed to the next generation. It is now run by Dave & I and we hope, will one day be run by our children.
Sustainable Farming
Sustainable farming is our aim as dairy farmers.
We love what we do and hope that through the changes we make and our farming attitude we will be able to improve this beautiful property for our children and their children.
We hope that through our efforts, we can continue to supply high quality milk to Norco Co-Operative for many years to come.
By purchasing Norco / Fonterra milk you are supporting farmers just like us, who are striving to provide you with a quality product and are environmentally responsible operators. We support other Australian primary producers and companies by only purchasing food grown/produced in Australia; you can too!
Through programs launched by various industry groups, farmers are constantly upgrading their knowledge and skill to ensure they continue to produce quality products using environmentally sound practices.
We welcome visitors to our farm to see how we are improving the future of our farming land and in turn preserving it for future generations.
Some of our current environmental activities are listed below.
Fertiliser Trials
Dave & I have always tried to avoid excess chemical usage on our farm and it is rare for us to use pesticides on our property.
Our interest in organic / sustainable fertiliser started several years ago however the products were not readily available to farmers nor was there supporting documentation to prove their effectiveness. Given that I have always gardened using organic practices I already knew that these products worked but getting them for large scale use has not been possible until now.
We are now trialing kelp products on our pastures and have been impressed with the results so far. We have encountered skepticism from some areas however we plan to continue our trials. So far we have seen a dramatic increase in frost resistance and clover production with the use of these kelp based products. We will keep this space updated as more results come to hand.
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