Towards the end of 2021, Deanne and Phillip Crowder hit the local news with people captivated by their beautiful sunflower paddock - an eye-catching display for anyone driving past.

Their full story is one of both happiness and heartache as this hard-working couple sought to fulfil their dream of an outdoor lifestyle where they could work together and be their own bosses.

Phil (58) is a former dairy farmer, and Deanne (41) worked in retail but was raised on a dairy farm. They found their 34 hectares (27 hectares effective) in 2018, renting nearby until their house was completed in June 2018.

Phil Crowder brings in the remaining late calves. Photo: Catherine Fry.

Calves and maize

'We built a shed for storage and raising calves, and use the land all year round, rotating between calves and maize,” says Phil.

Four-day-old autumn bobby calves from local farms arrive from mid-March onwards. It's full-on for the Crowders as the calves are taught to use the calfeteria in the shed.

The two of them can manage about 350 calves on the property at one time, hence the staggered arrivals, and the shed only holds 65 calves at a time.

'Unless they are too small and need a bit longer in the shed, after four days they are put into little blue 'smurf” raincoats and are out in the paddocks and fed once a day. We have good shelter in our paddocks,” Deanne says.

The calves are sold through a stock agent, leaving the farm when they are 110 kilograms. The spring calves start arriving in July with the last coming on August 20.

'It becomes a bit of a juggle at that point as we start planting maize as soon as the first calves start leaving the farm. When calf numbers reduce, we free up paddocks for the maize,” Phil says.

The juggle happens at the other end too, with maize being harvested and annual rye grass being planted ready for the calves.

Contractors are brought in for all the planting and harvesting. The paddocks are all large to accommodate the contracting machinery. Their expected maize yield is 20,000 kgDM/ha.

Sunflowers

These giant yellow flowers have a bittersweet connection for Deanne. Her sister Leisha was tragically killed in a car accident in 2001.

'It's left a real hole in our family which is still felt 20 years on and times like Christmas just don't feel the same.”

The sunflower has huge meaning to Deanne's family after one of her cousins painted one on Leisha's casket. They associate the flower with her, and Deanne even has a sunflower tattoo on her forearm.

Deanne has a sunflower tattoo in memory of her sister Leisha who passed away after a car crash at just 18. Photo: Catherine Fry.

'In 2020, we decided to plant sunflowers all along our road frontage to surprise my parents when they came to visit.

'It didn't work too well as the seeds got caught in the contractor's planter and many were dispersed through the maize,” Phil says.

It wasn't just Deanne and her family who gained pleasure from seeing the big, happy flowers, it was a real hit with locals too and the Crowders picked them and sold them at the gate.

'We were blown away by the response, so with 2021 being such a hard year, we decided to plant our 1.7-hectare front paddock with 150,000 sunflower seeds which certainly raised the contractor's eyebrows!” Deanne says.

This year there are paths cut through the sunflowers and families come from far and wide to pick their own and just enjoy the spectacle.

'We have a stall set up and we love meeting people. It just makes people smile and for me it makes me feel my sister is watching over us.”

Using every last hectare

The couple of months over the summer is usually 'downtime” for the couple. The sunflower venture has changed that, but they wouldn't have it any other way and are already planning next year.

'We're looking at how they can be commercially viable. We're thinking of planting them in a maze pattern and erecting an elevated viewing platform,” says Phil.

Both love gardening and despite only being three years old, the 2500 square metres of garden around their home looks like it has been there for years. The couple were married on the property in 2019.

Beautiful formal gardens with a tropical theme, reminding them of a wonderful Hawaiian holiday they had, produce an abundance of blooms that are sold to the markets.

Phil and Deanne man the stall which is set up to welcome visitors to the sunflower paddock. Photo: Catherine Fry.

Phil has his eyes on the seven hectares of swampy land in the centre of the property for 'some sort of 4WD venture, maybe buggies”.

'It's lovely being able to make a living from our land, we're both hard workers and full of ideas, but we do make sure we get down time and go hiking two or three times a week,” says Deanne.

If another larger property caught their eye, the couple are unfazed by the thought of starting again.

'We know how to do it now!”

Two hectares of sunflowers is a striking sight. Photo: Catherine Fry.