“It’s a really beautiful time of year here at Easter,” says Sophie O’Neil, director of Torello Farm, the Mornington Peninsula producer and winner of the 2023 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards ‘From the Paddock’ trophy. “It’s not quite as hot on the Peninsula, and you get to see that lovely change of seasons which Victoria does so well, along with all the autumnal produce that comes with it.”
While it was Torello Farm’s Belted Galloway beef and Dorset Down lamb that caught the eye of the Produce Awards judges last year, the buzz this season is all about what else is on offer at the Torello Farm Gate.
“We have a collective of growers at the Farm Gate – there’s someone growing flowers and we’ve got a market garden intern program,” O’Neil says. “That came about because I recognised there was a real need to incubate more young farmers on the Mornington Peninsula. There’s a lot of land that’s not being used to grow food, and there are also a lot of young people who want to start farming but can’t afford to buy land. Our
