Chooks and Ruradene go back half a century, but it was the addition of 'free range' that transformed the business to a modern-day success story.John Rhode's parents introduced laying chooks onto the family farm at Tarlee 50 years ago to supplement the surrounding broad-acre crops. While the chickens weren't caged, they were not considered free range.
In 1991, John and his wife Ange decided to open-end some of the chook sheds to make them free range and realised they were on to something. In 1998, they built their first fully-automated shed and the business really took off.Today, the Rhode's have six huge barns, each surrounded by a fenced in area for the chooks to free range during the day, and are planning to build two more sheds by November - bringing the total number of laying chickens to 40,000.
"The chooks love picking on the ground outside the barns and will often make their way to the far edges of the fence. They really like space to move about," Ange said.
"Their feed and water is kept inside the barn so they are free to come and go as they please. But they're just like humans really; on rainy days they'll all stay indoors where it's nice and warm."
The Rhode's still continue their broad acre farming pursuits, but much of the grain, including the wheat and barley, goes to feed their chooks.
Ange said some customers bought their eggs for the taste, while others because of the free range aspect. Ruradene Free Range Eggs is one of only two South Australian free range layer farms that is accredited by the RSPCA. Ruradene Free Range Eggs are supplied to fruit and vegetable outlets across South Australia, selected Foodland stores and many restaurants. A pallet of eggs a week is also transported to Victoria.
As a child growing up in Southern Italy, Giulio Dichiera's family produced some of the finest olive oil in the region. So it seems only natural that history is repeating itself on Giulio's own family-owned olive estate in the picturesque Clare Valley.
After running a seven-day café in Adelaide, Giulio and his wife Debbie made the move to the Clare Valley, purchasing Evilo Estate property and homestead. It is here they have brought up their three sons, Adam, Luca and Enzo.
Giulio and Debbie grafted the 1,100 Evilo Estate olive trees of local wild root stock with eight varieties: Verdale, Manzanillo, Corregiola, Pendolino, Koroneiki, Leccino, Frantoio and an unknown variety that arrived here in Australia 40 years ago from the family property in Southern Italy. The first harvest - Evilo Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil – was released in 1998.
In 2004 a small cellar door was opened at the homestead, providing locals, interstate and overseas visitors tastings of the Evilo Estate product range, including the family's Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which has won Bronze at the 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2008 Annual Olives SA Awards, and Silver at the 2007 Awards.
Today, the Evilo Estate range includes Chilli oil, Olio Balsamico, marinated olives, dukkah, jams, chutneys and sauce.Debbie says most ingredients for the Evilo Estate products are grown on the estate or are sourced locally. The chillies are sun dried, as are the roma tomatoes for the dukkah.
Evilo Estate has also introduced a 2 litre cask with a non-drip tap dispenser. The Evilo Estate range is available at Sevenhill Cellars, Pikes Wines, Knappstein Wines, Epic Food and Eldredge Winery.