Blue Penguin Farm

Our Story

Blue Penguin Farm is the happy result of two people’s severe corporate burnout. After 20-odd years of living and working professional jobs in large cities, we (Alan and Marji Irish) found ourselves tired of the hustle and bustle. We yearned for more simplicity in our lives, and were eager to re-connect with the land.

We decided to give up big-city life to start Blue Penguin Farm in 2008, when we bought an undeveloped 14-acre block overlooking the sea near the pretty coastal town of Penguin, Tasmania. We immediately embarked on a long-term project to convert our hilly, empty block into a ‘food forest’—a small holding where every bit of the land could be dedicated to producing wholesome food for our animals, family and friends, with generous bush land set aside for native flora and fauna.

Today, nearly 7 years later, after ups and downs and learning through our experiences, we’re midway through accomplishing our dream. Our farm produces abundant amounts of fruits and fresh vegetables year-round, and our hills are dotted with happily grazing lambs and beef cattle. We’ve brought natural spring irrigation to every corner of our property, and fish and ducks swim happily in our purpose-built dam.

Together with our new farm partners, Davide and Larna Pittiglio, we’re embarking on our next phase of farm development: reaching out to share with other people what we’ve learned about farming, cooking, and food preservation. We will be inviting visitors to our farm to see what we’re doing, with the goal to pass on traditional farming and food preparation skills that they can put into practice at home.

Our Mission

To be a model for sustainable urban farming, resource conservation, and healthy living; to provide our families, our guests, and our community with local produce that has been grown naturally and ethically using best practices; to provide visitors with access to real-life farm experiences; to provide educational opportunities in the areas of food production and preservation; and to serve as a place to gather to celebrate nature’s abundance.

Our Vision

To be a sustainable, bio-diverse, productive farm that benefits others and inspires them to pursue a more natural and healthier lifestyle; to always work in a way that protects the environment and its resources through responsible stewardship; to encourage a preference for locally grown foods; to draw others to come together around the new-old activities of agriculture, farming, and food preparation and preservation.

What’s Next?

We’ve worked quietly for years to put the farm on a firm foundation. Now we’re ready to “go public.” We are launching several projects over the next few years to draw other people in to enjoy our experience. We have a five-year plan in place that includes plans to:

Value-add to our farm produce. We plan to produce a range of preserved and dried fruit and vegetable products, and to offer our grass-fed lamb and beef to customers on both a bulk or by-the-cut basis.

Offer wine and apple ciders made from our farm grown grapes and heritage apples. Our grapes and Old World heritage apple trees are nearing boutique commercial-production levels. We’ll soon have some to share!

Offer Blue Penguin Farm as an agritourism destination. We will work with local tour businesses to offer farm visits and farm stays where we show visitors what we’re accomplishing, and share skills that they can take to apply at home. Visitors will also have the opportunity to buy our wines, cider, and other farm produce.

Offer farm-stay accommodation. We are undertaking plans to build a number of small units on the farm for visitors who want to enjoy a fuller farm experience over one or more days. Farm stay visitors would be invited to eat meals prepared with our farm produce. And if they’re interested in digging in a bit deeper, they’ll be welcome to participate in gardening, animal management, and collecting and cooking farm produce.

Offer visitors the opportunity to enjoy farm-grown foods prepared in our own small commercial kitchen. We intend to offer a casual ‘farm dining’ experience for casual visitors on weekends.

Conduct food-related events and gatherings. We plan to offer customers options for gathering at our farm for catered meetings and celebrations.

Join Us on our Journey

We want others to become part of our story. Please visit us on Facebook and follow our blog at bluepenguinfarm.com.au. That’s where you’ll be first to learn about every new development in our progress, and be able to comment and ask questions.

And if you can, please come visit us in person at the farm. We’d love to share a cuppa or a glass of wine and swap stories. We truly want our adventure to become your adventure.