Ethical, sustainable and unashamedly delicious. Discover how a passion for regenerative agriculture and a deep commitment to her local community earned Bundarra Farm’s Lauren Stevens the ultimate title of Producer of the Year at the 2026 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards.
Lauren Stevens didn’t come to farming via the usual route. After pursuing several different career paths, she chose farming for the best of all possible reasons – to produce ethical, sustainable, delicious food.
What began as a heritage Berkshire pig farm in 2010 soon grew into a thriving paddock-to-plate charcuterie business, which made the most of every part of the animal. Heritage-breed chickens joined the flock next, adding pastured chicken and eggs to Bundarra’s growing offering. An on-farm butchery and store followed, but as demand grew for the farm’s premium produce, further expansion was needed, and so Stevens opened her own community shopfront in her home town of Barham in NSW, offering ethically produced meats and smallgoods.
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A cooperative launched by Stevens – the Murray Plains Meat Cooperative – also advocated to open the region’s first farmer-owned micro-abattoir in 2024, providing local regenerative, organic and paddock-to-plate producers with access to ethical processing options, while also creating employment and training opportunities for locals.
A local co-owned abattoir can be a game-changer for small-scale producers – transporting animals huge distances to commercial abattoirs causes immense stress to livestock, which negatively affects the quality of the meat. A nearby, farmer-owned facility ensures ethical treatment right to the very end, while also protecting the quality of the product.
“It’s easy to talk about provenance, but Lauren lives it every day with an unyielding commitment to quality, sustainability and animal welfare, backed by a genuine connection to her community,” says Lennox Hastie, National Judge and chef-owner of Firedoor and Gildas in Sydney’s Surry Hills. “It’s the kind of farming that gives chefs something truly worth celebrating.”
On Bundarra Farm, the health of the soil and environment are always a priority, while slow farming practices and an enduring commitment to animal welfare guarantee the best quality produce every time.
It might have taken Lauren Stevens a while to find her path, but it’s clear that she’s definitely on the right one now.
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