Hinchinbrook Region, North Queensland
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The Di Bella Farming Story

Sugarcane and Other Crops Go Hand in Hand

Di Bella Produce and Farming is located at Ingham in North Queensland, Australia. We are a family owned and operating small business.

The Di Bella family commenced farming in Australia in 1928, with Italian immigrant Paulo Di Bella purchasing the original farm with his 2 brothers. The family started farming sugarcane on the fertile alluvial soils along the Herbert River, where the family still resides.

Renzo Di Bella acquired the farm from his father Paulo in the early 1970’s growing the sugarcane business with the acquisition of a neighbouring farm in 1994. Renzo’s son Lawrence and daughter in law Anna Maria entered the farming business in 2000, through the purchase of a property located between Renzo’s 2 existing properties. Over the years the Di Bella sugarcane farming business grew and prospered.

In 2019, Lawrence and Anna Maria’s eldest son Hayden joined the business as an employee of the company after leaving school. Hayden’s keen interest in horticulture led the business to diversify into horticulture with sweet potatoes, pumpkins and watermelons being grown commercially on the farm for the first time.

In 2000, Lawrence established a seed sales business, which he handed over to a friend Tom Gilbert to grow the business, while Lawrence and Anna Maria raised their young family. With Tom retiring in 2019, the Di Bella family decided to re-purchase the seed business and continued to grow the business further. The business now sells crop, cover crop and pasture seed across Australia.

Di Bella Produce and Farming is now a diversified farming business growing sugarcane and horticultural crops, seed sales and farm machinery contracting. Lawrence and Anna Maria Di Bella are now the owners of Di Bella Produce and Farming, with their children Hayden, Nicholas and Gemma all employed in the business in different roles and capacities.

Special care and attention to protect the businesses most important assets being its people and the soil in which is farmed are being undertaken. The business is Smartcane BMP and Freshcare accredited, while staff employed are appropriately trained and skilled to undertake the work at hand. Lawrence is a trained agronomist, Anna Maria trained in business management and Hayden trained in horticulture.

Where possible minimum tillage, cover cropping, and soil conservation practices are undertaken across all farms. All crops grown on the farms are grown on a controlled traffic (1.83m) farming system, which has been in practice for over 20 years now. The farm uses mixed fallow cover crops during the fallow periods to increase soil biodiversity, organic matter, improve nutrient cycling and crop rotations to ensure the sustainability of the soil resource. Over the years the business has also revegetated riparian areas to maintain biodiversity and to protect the land from the adversities of flooding.

Di Bella Produce and Farming strives to provide a high-quality service to its clients through its seed and farm contracting business, provide healthy nutritious tasty food for the nation and sustainably produced sugarcane and horticultural crops.

Agriculture is what we do best!!

Di Bella Produce and Farming