Big on little lamb
Award recognises passion and talent
SIXTH- GENERATION farmer Sophie Nichols is building a direct link between producers and consumers of lamb and berries from her family’s property, Anglewood at Richmond.
She has been recognised as a Tasmanian winner in the 2018 Delicious magazine produce awards. National winners will be announced in August.
The awards celebrate ethical, sustainable and innovative ingredients, and the passionate, talented people behind them, as nominated by the country’s top chefs.
Ms Nichols, 32, runs a fine wool, prime lamb, cropping operation along with a strawberry patch.
She sells direct to the con- sumer under the Littlewood Berry Farm and Littlewood Lamb label.
She offers hormone and antibiotic free lambs, whole carcass or cut up and packaged. The berries are pickyour-own and she also delivers to restaurants.
Farming has been in Ms Nichols’ blood for generations and she was born and raised on the family property at Richmond, later working in hospitality at Meadowbank and the Coal Valley Vineyard. She also has a diploma in agriculture. Ms Nichols loves farming. “I love being outside, everyday is different and it’s rewarding to plant a crop and watch it grow – we have our challenges, but it’s great.”
The historic family homestead at Anglewood was built in the early 1800s, originally as a hunting lodge for the early settler elite.
The 405ha property runs 800 merino ewes with southdown cross for lambs and another 350 ewes are agisted at another property down the road.
On a one-hectare patch she grows berries from about 20,500 plants.
Another family property 628ha LittleWorth, at Buckland runs 950 merinos for fine wool and 900 merino lambs.
She works the farms with her father Justin Nichols and farm worker Toby.
“We bring the older merino ewes down to Richmond and put a southdown ram over them to create our prime lamb.
The sheep are processed at Taylors’ small family-operated abattoir at Broadmarsh.
Ms Nichols has some orphan lambs, she has raised for school groups and for children coming to the berry farm to see and pat a sheep.
“I see a bright future for the lamb business,’’ she said.
“I was delivering strawber- ries so I thought I would add another product range to the deliveries and it’s going well.
“We were primarily a fine wool, prime lamb and cropping operation, so I thought of growing the strawberries for some pocket money, may help towards a holiday, but it’s gone better than expected and will be a very valuable revenue stream for the farm.
“What I also love about the strawberry patch is when kids come out here and eat one and they just go, `Wow! It really tastes like a strawberry’.
“Our next product is strawberry gin and liqueur.”
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