It takes dedication, determination and will power to defeat the highs and lows of farming but with some adaptations over 100 years that is what the Heinrich family has done.
Ben and Kerry Heinrich welcomed 200 guests to their Black Springs property last month to mark the occasion.
Manofield, which is now predominantly an Australian White operation known for their Wunderbar brand in the Clare Valley, was established in 1921 when Carl Alfred and Marie Augusta Heinrich purchased the land.
Four generations on Ben Heinrich and his wife Kerry still farm at the Black Springs property with five children in tow.
"We just thought it was a little bit unique how we're still in the same spot, still in the same family name, we're still in the same old house and we're still here," Ben said.
"Farmers in general don't really often give themselves a pat on the back and we thought it was worth celebrating."
Ben said slowly over time they had expanded the farm with a bit more land at Black Springs and some further afield for grazing.
"We have also got a little grazing block up at Bangor and another little block at Baroota with irrigation on it to keep lucerne green to feed sheep," he said.
"Manofield started as 121 hectares originally for this little house block and now we are nudging 1000ha so it's been a slow growth over 100 years.
"It's always been a mixed operation here.
"Everyone back in the day they would have been running cropping, hay, horses, cows, pigs, sheep and wool.
"But now we streamlined things a little bit and it's just cropping, export hay and sheep without wool."
He said Black Springs was an area where they thought cropping 100 per cent was "a bit risky".
Ben said the celebration held on the farm was a nice day to mark the occasion.
Heinrich's create gin recipe and unique label
Attendees at the Manofield celebration were welcomed to the 'Wunder-bar' with unique alcoholic options on offer including Kerry Heinrich's very own gin made from ingredients off the farm.
"I had the idea one day that I wanted to create a Wunderbar gin," she said.
"It was last harvest and I was sitting on the header thinking about how gin was made.
"We approached Kerri Thompson at KT wines because they do a seed gin with the Melva Riesling and Melva was an ancestor from Manofield and Kerri's great grandma.
"We just floated the idea to her and they got it distilled in Adelaide, then we had a little tasting and created it."
Kerry collaborated with Etiquette Distillery to create the recipe which included wheat directly from Manofield.
"It had orange, thyme, mandarin, the Melva Riesling and the wheat," she said.
"It didn't actually take that much wheat.
"It was a kilogram of wheat to distil 163 bottles."
Melva was the eldest daughter of Carl and Marie who purchased the homestead in Black Springs.
Kiara Stacey
Journalist for Stock Journal. Kiara was in classified sales at Stock Journal before joining the editorial team in 2021. Kiara completed a Bachelor of Communication (journalism) at Deakin University the year prior.
Journalist for Stock Journal. Kiara was in classified sales at Stock Journal before joining the editorial team in 2021. Kiara completed a Bachelor of Communication (journalism) at Deakin University the year prior.
