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In 1896 Johannes Albertus van der Byl bought the farm "Irene" on auction from the estate late Hugo Alois Nellmapius who had named the farm after his daughter Irene, which means peace in Greek.

Most of the buildings that Nellmapius had built are still present and used today, including the "Barn." John van der Byl, of the 3rd generation of van der Byl's in Irene, still lives in the original farm house and Henry and Adrian van der Byl, the 4th generation, also reside within the farm precinct.



The farm, which previously extended to Rietvlei dam and included Kentron as well as ARC to the south comprised the dairy, a fine piggery in its day, a beef herd, as well as sheep, chickens and stabling for horses. In the very early days, fresh produce, including cut flowers, were sold at the Johannesburg market. However the dairy operation was always foremost, and today, with its 44th generation of Friesland cows, the dairy is the sole farming discipline.

Farm manager for the last 20 years, John Thurley, now focuses entirely on the production of quality milk and the breeding and feeding of the herd and is responsible for the artificial insemination of the cows. Naturally, John is a Bulls supporter.

The milking herd of about 130 cows is milked twice a day, at 4am and 3pm and never a day can be missed. It's these black and white ladies that can be seen moving between pastures and the dairy, guided by George Ngobeni (and his voice), a long standing employee on the farm of 31 years. All milk produced by the dairy is sold at the Farm Store and because of the most stringent quality controls and procedures, qualifies, as it has been for the last 115 years, as raw "certified" milk.

All female calves are kept until at least until calving age, the very young ones and kids' favourites, which can be seen in their pens between the Barn and the Lodge. These young ones are all carefully tended by George Selamolela, who has been with us for 35 years now. There is a focus on self-grown and natural feeds and open living conditions for the herd, borne out by the fact that the cows' average lifespan well exceed industry average. A life less hurried.

Telephone Number:

+27 12 667 1000