Mid August means we need to start thinking about the Dad’s in our lives with Father’s Day just around the corner. It’s a time to celebrate the fathers and father figures in our lives, and to acknowledge their love, hard work and Dad Joke’s! We could make this blog about all of the fabulous free-range, ethically raised, beef cuts that dads like to cook, or be served, but we have another story to tell – the children that, through the efforts of their parents, are growing into the next generation of regenerative farmers.

Most of the Provenir farmers we partner with are working smaller family run farms – with everyone helping out. These families are working with us because they want to be the very best custodians they can for their land and their livestock. By working this way, they are setting an example for the next generation of Provenir farmers.

John and Jo Lambert and sons Alex and Tom

Jo Lambert is a third-generation farmer who understands the importance of family, and fathers on the farm. She was raised on a farm with both her father and grandfather being beef producers. As a young girl her favourite jobs were during calving and being a spectator should her Dad have to assist with any births, along with the very important role of announcing to the world if the calf was a boy or a girl. As a child, Jo also had a job writing out ear tag IDs and documenting weights. It just so happens that she has now inherited her father’s ‘vintage’ weighing computer that still gets used today.

Her father Harry is a constant source of inspiration to Jo who is the main farmer on their property Willowmavin at Molyullah in Victoria. The 250-acre property holds 70 Angus breeders that she tends during the week while John works as a GP Obstetrician. When the stethoscope is back in the drawer, John is hands-on with farming. And despite his lack of history with farming, he has become a natural, especially in terms of reading the land and tending cattle. Their kids Alex and Tom have two inspiring parents, along with their grandfather and have taken to the farm with a passion.  

Alex and Tom love to help check the cows during calving season and passionately work away at reducing the carp numbers in the creek. They also help with looking after the chickens by feeding them food scraps and collecting eggs, they help chop and load firewood and are also excellent at spotting scotch thistles.

The kids are inspired by the care their parents take of the land. They have increased the amount of pasture and adding diversity. The planting of native forests along the creek aims to provide a habitat for the endangered Regent Honeyeater.

The Lamberts love having Provenir process their animals on-site, and they are big fans of the final product. John loves a medium rare eye fillet while Jo enjoys brisket. Alex loves a steak and Tom enjoys a beef sausage with lashings of TOM-ato sauce.

There are dozens of great family and father stories across the Provenir network. We are proud of every one of our partner families and will join them this Father’s Day in toasting the Dads (and the Mums) and the inspiring hard work they do for us.