Elm Park resides in the southern slopes of NSW, just outside Albury. Elm Park is a 3800 acre property, with a gentle balance native vegetation and arable mixed farming on attractive undulating land. Original timber and woodlands of Red Gum, Grey Yellow and White box remain today, protected by the Sowden’s focus on regenerative farming. The landscape is constantly evolving with fenced off conservation areas, a healthy and ever-growing squirrel glider and native bird populations, happy sheep and happy cattle that are born and bred on farm.
It is owned and operated by Anne and Graham Sowden, the dynamic father and daughter team,. Both Anne and Graham share a passion for the natural environment and the practice of ethical farming. Graham purchased the property in 1992, realising his dream of living and managing a farm after operating a successful surveying business in Canberra for forty years.
Anne moved full time to Elm Park from Melbourne in 2020. Anne’s background was one of growing up in the semi bush setting of Canberra where she developed a love for nature from an early age. She went on to study arts, social work, sustainability, and environmental studies and never lost her love for the bush. Over the years she worked in horticulture, environmental education and owned and operated her own small business. Through-out her adult years she yearned to ‘live the change’ and return to the bush, rather than be involved remotely.
Why Provenir?
Working with Provenir sits comfortably with Anne and Graham and they are delighted to see the cattle being treated with respect and kindness right up until the last minute. They are thrilled that Chris’s dream of creating a mobile meat processing unit has made this possible. They are delighted too, that Provenir connects the consumer to the farmer, allowing for a deeper appreciation of the animal itself. It also gives them peace of mind knowing their wonderful stockman Mick, who the cattle know and are familiar with, can work with Provenir on the day in his usual quiet and calming manner.
Anne Sowden
Farm fast facts
| Farm Name | Elm Park |
|---|---|
| Farm Size | 3800 acres |
| How many cattle? | Elm Park cares for approx. 250 Aberdeen Angus breeders and their progeny. Bulls are from Aberdeen Angus stud, Dunnon which are selected for their easy-going happy temperaments and excellent marbling. They graze on a mix of Phalaris and sub-clover rye grass and natural pastures. They are free range and pasture fed. |
| Who works on the farm? | Anne and Graham have a fabulous team of workers on the farm including stock manager Mick, and stockmen Col and Martin, both calm and quiet in manner with decades of experience working with cattle |
| Favourite beef meal? | |
| Why Provenir? | Provenir’s animal welfare values align well with our own. We also know that farm to plate processing – with minimum animal stress – gives the customer the best possible product. |
Why we farm
There were so many facets of farming that Anne loved that lead to her managing Elm Park. Waking to the menagerie of pet sheep “baaing”, dogs eager to start work, pet calves waiting for a nose rub and the birds waiting for their baths to be filled. The open horizon, the sunrises and sunsets, the moon and star filled night skies made it an easy decision for Anne to leave the city and move permanently to Elm Park. Supporting her passion and workload is her husband, Michael who has his own building business and is super skilled restoring the heritage listed buildings at Elm Park. Anne and Michael’s two children part of the future succession of Elm Park with Lizzie who is studying Environmental Science and Alistair who is studying Vet science…plenty of opportunities ahead for them on the farm!
“Anne and Graham are excited about the future of farming. They are motivated by the fact that both research and innovative businesses such as Provenir are supporting farmers to be a part of a sustainable and welfare orientated industry.”
Elm Park
Heritage
Elm Park has a history dating back to the late 1800s where the owners at the time were known to host grand balls in the ballroom homestead. Another of Anne’s many projects is to bring the ballroom back to it’s former glory for weddings and community use. Graham, to his credit, in his early years at Elm Park roofed the old homestead to protect it and fenced off areas of land for conservation.
Livestock
They care for the 250 Aberdeen Angus breeders and their progeny. Bulls are from Aberdeen Angus stud, Dunnon which are selected for their easy-going happy temperaments and excellent marbling. They graze on a mix of Phalaris and sub-clover rye grass and natural pastures. They are free range and pasture fed.
Livestock management
In the early days Anne was in some ways uncomfortable with being a livestock farmer. However, after years of research and consideration she came to the conclusion that the phasing out of cattle farming is not likely in the foreseeable future. She feels that if less people farming ethically, this will only result in more people farming unethically – resulting in an increase of feedlots. Given this, she applied herself to adopting ways to make the process as ethical and sustainable as possible. However, there was still the area that Anne was most uncomfortable with, that being the process of sending cattle off in trucks to endure a fearful and most undeserved end of life. Given the cattle are born and bred on the farm, are free to roam on the beautiful natural woodland of Elm Park, free to hang out with their chosen mates both Anne and Graham believe it is only right that they are treated with respect right up until the end. Both Anne and Graham feel their responsibility to the welfare of their animals should not cease at the yards when they are loaded on to a truck. Without an option to selling cattle on the farm in the past Anne would go AWOL when the time came for the cattle to be loaded. That was until she read about Provenir.
Land management
The many areas that were protected from further land degradation, are now showpieces of land regeneration, teaming with wildlife and vegetation, a true transformation from eroded over stocked land to amazing biodiverse habitats supporting native wildlife. Anne and Michael have installed a large number of squirrel glider boxes on the property, and as a part of the local Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre, LLS and West Hume Landcare they now have a very healthy population of squirrel gliders. In addition to this 5 years ago Anne joined the Birdlife Australia’s ‘Birds on Farms’ project where she, along with experts from ‘Birdlife Australia’ survey and records bird activity at Elm Park each season annually.
As farmers Anne and Graham are very much connected to the seasons and weather patterns. They believe that as the climate is changing, the need to adapt and look after the environment is more important than ever. They are of the belief that farmers are custodians of the land and they have a responsibility to improve and restore the landscape with a true balance and respect of nature. Old dead trees are never removed and are an important part of supporting native wildlife as they are so important for their hollows for nesting birds and gliders. Similarly fallen trees and branches are left to lie providing much habitat for reptiles and insects and small mammals. Elm Park is home to a number of wedge-tailed eagles, of which peeries can be found high up in the trees in the conservation areas. Every year with the support of Landcare, Wirraminna and Birdlife Australia, mass plantings take place of native seedlings with an emphasis on vegetation endemic to the region that supports native wildlife. Anne can often be found in the summertime dashing about in a truck with a firefighting unit watering her seedlings to help them get established.
Anne and Graham ensure stock numbers are well below capacity which avoids land degradation and allows the environment to flourish. Rotational grazing is practiced allowing paddocks to rest and regenerate. White and yellow box woodland with magnificent old trees are noted as of significance to with the local Biodiversity Trust. Anne and Graham are working with BCT to tie up land in perpetuity to ensure these unique and valued woodlands remain in place for future generations. Selected pieces of eroded land degraded due to historical overuse are fenced off from stock and reshaped and regenerated. A small amount of acreage is dedicated to growing hay and some no-till direct sowing cereal cropping..
