Irene Farm has been producing and selling Certified Raw Milk to the public for over 120 years. Given our extremely strict and rigorous health, hygiene and maintenance programmes, our milk has always been of the highest quality.
Irene Estate was established by Alois Hugo Nellmapius in 1889, before being bought by Johannes Albertus Van Der Byl in 1895. Nellmapius had named the farm after his daughter Irene, which is derived from the Greek word "peace". Nellmapius planted various species of trees extensively throughout the farm, which was then continued by Van Der Byl and hence why there so many large beautiful trees in Irene. Nellmapius also brought in various livestock to the farm, one of which has become synonymous with the Irene Farm and surrounding area. Our iconic black and white Holstein cows, that are descendants of the original herd, that still produce dairy for the public to this day over a century later.
The farm has evolved to now include restaurants, a deli and various venues for special events or conferences; whilst keeping the old charm Irene is so well known for. A wonderful outing for both work and leisure!
Irene Farm has been producing and selling Certified Raw Milk to the public for over 120 years. Given our extremely strict and rigorous health, hygiene and maintenance programmes, our milk has always been of the highest quality.
Being a working dairy farm, it’s inevitable that we would get a few extra ‘visitors’, one of which is bees. We don’t keep bees on the farm but we sometimes have them around and have therefor taken steps to implement a safe strategy for the bees as well as our patrons’ sakes.
Most of us are aware of the necessity to protect our bees and due to the recent water shortages, bees are known to travel 5 to 8 kms away from their hives in search of food. We don’t believe in killing the bees as they are an integral part of our ecosystem not to mention their critical role in our food cycle, and they have their function right here on the farm too. After much research, discussion and expert advice, we decided to rather implement a safe strategy as opposed to an ‘eradicate’ one. Our safe strategy makes use of strategically placed ‘Bee Boxes’ around the farm.
Our design allows us to attract bees to a specific location where they will find a very rich food source (supplied by us). Once inside the box, the bees are unable to get out until we open it for them and so we do this in the late afternoons (after closing time) and the bees then take the food back to the hive. By repeating this every day, the bees become accustomed to the placement of the boxes and return to the same spot on a daily basis. We believe this to be the best form of bee safety on our farm and will continue to monitor the bee population. Please note that this does not ensure that there will be no bees in the restaurants however, it does mean a significant reduction in the amount of bees and a more pleasurable dining experience for our patrons.
Copyright Irene Farm 2024 - All Rights Reserved. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
