Skelbrook Vale Stockfeed Mill raising money for Port Sorell Surf Club

Skelbrook Vale Stockfeed Mill at Sassafrass has grown a spectacular 7ha field of sunflowers to provide seed for its horse, chicken and game bird rations – but the benefit reaches far deeper.

Owner Brendon Rockliff opened the gates to the local community to brighten the day of anyone who wanted to bask in their bright yellowness and to raise money for the Port Sorell Lifesaving Club.

For the past two seasons, since first planting sunflowers, it’s been an invitation-only, small scale affair.

This time nearly 200 people attended, raising $500 from gold coin donations for a community group close to Brendon’s heart.

The Port Sorell Lifesaving Club was formed back in 1985 after Brendon’s brother Todd, aged 15, drowned off the nearby coastline.

Since then he’s donated memorial trophies and funds to the club, but the sunflowers provided another opportunity to add to the support.

An estimated half a million flowers will be harvested over the next week, reaping up to 15 tonnes of seed.

“Before I started the mill two years ago I was farming spuds, peas, onions and poppies but I wanted to diversify to make things a bit easier on myself,” Brendon said.

“I invested around $400,000 in the feed mill and silos and started to grow my own wheat, barley and oats and value-add to those.

“My son Liam, a builder by trade, has started working here too and hopefully he’ll be able to run it for me one day.”

The demand for quality horse feed was the catalyst for the feed mill, but the range soon expanded to provide for chickens, game birds, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs and parrots.

Two nutritionists are contracted to work on the feed formulations and while most grains are grown on site, the maize is grown further along the north-west coast.

The 46ha farm is never as bright as when the sunflowers bloom, with plans afoot to grow a variety next season that will appeal more to Brendon’s bees so that his hives produce sunflower honey.

Brendon admits harvesting the sunflowers is “not ideal” for traditional headers, but he goes nice and steady and the job is soon done.

“I’m not afraid to try new things, and while that doesn’t always work out, like the soy beans I grew this year, the sunflowers have been great and hopefully Sunflower Day will be even bigger and better next year.”