We are Lara and Jamie McCall and together with our three sons, two daughter in laws and granddaughter welcome you to our organic working farm. 

We purchased the farm in 1997, with two young children and one one on the way. We haven’t looked back. Following our dreams, working together, growing a successful business and farm and growing nutritious organic meat and produce for our family to enjoy.

We offer a genuine agritourism experience. A love of the Margaret River Region and ongoing lived experience in viticulture, wine making, organic farming and surfing has equipped us to inspire and help you make long lasting memories of your Margaret River holiday.

Jamie’s background includes sailing, pearl diving, furniture making, building and Journalism.  Jamie studied Maritime Operations and Journalism at uni. He worked on the Leeuwin Tall Ship and many other Tall Ship sailing boats. Later Jamie worked as a journalist at The West Australian and also started his own recycled timber furniture making business. From a young boy he kept chickens and quail and dreamed of being a farmer. Inspired by his father’s small cattle farm and a close family friend where he spent many school holidays.

Lara studied Economics at uni and worked as an Economist, Stockbroker, Pearl Technician and taught English in Japan. She has a Polish heritage and it was her grandmother and mother that gave her skills and love of growing food and cooking. She inherited a passion for the ocean from her surfing father. Lara’s father built a shack at his favourite surf beach, Gracetown over 50 years ago. A place with a simple routine of surfing, swimming, snorkelling and bbqs on repeat.

The rest is history as Lara and Jamie made their home on a farm just 10 minutes from this original surf shack.

Our family all love to surf, swim, dive, walk and spend time outdoors.  Wine, cooking, self-sufficiency, animal husbandry and nutrition are also interests. We also enjoy being involved with community groups; Giving back and being useful. Including our favourites; Nature Conservation, Local Bush Fire Brigade, Community Pantry and the Edible Gardens Festival.  We mentor volunteers in the areas of small scale farming, Biodynamics, market gardening and agritourism. We love to share and guide from our real life experiences and also many mistakes too.

Our organic farming journey

From the very beginning when we planting the first vineyard in 2001,  we decided to start the organic certification process.  Our three young sons were playing in the dirt as we planted our first zinfandel vineyard.  We ave found it challenging at times but not difficult, just a different way of doing things.  Patience, observation, working with nature and using animals in the systems are the key to our success.

What we do on the farm 

We both work full time on the farm.  Jamie looks after the cows, pigs, sheep and geese and gardens.  Also building maintenance  and fencing projects.  Revegetation and timber growing, viticulture, orchards and market garden. 

Jamie’s favourite thing to do on the farm is working in with the animals. 

Lara looks after winemaking, wine tastings, accommodation, guests, tours, chickens, preserving food and the market garden.  Lara’s favourite thing to do is the morning animal feeding and farm tours with guests. 

We both enjoy helping each other and working together with our sons. March is grape vintage and wine making and every July we enjoy the routine of pruning the vines.

We have always loved the ocean and enjoy surfing.  In recent years we have embraced ocean swimming all year.  This has been a beautiful challenge and now is part of our routine together. We love to walk or ride to town on the Wadandi trail and explore the Cape to Cape track.

The Future

Out three adult children and their partners are getting involved on the farm. With off farm jobs in nutrition, strength coaching, wine making and building, swimming teaching and library they are following their dreams.

Burnside Organic Farm’s vision for the future lies in inspiring others to produce their own food, sharing their ideas about resilience for future sustainable living, and helping and encouraging others to create their own story. Building strong communities that are prepared for economic, social and environmental change.