A Keysbrook cattle and sheep farmer has unlocked the success of agritourism after years of trial and error, maintaining several campsites as well as a traditional farming operation.
Bolinda Vale Farm has welcomed campers on to the farm since 2019 after seeing an article about farm camping and the benefits of the additional income stream.
Owner Deb Butler said she put the idea to her family and, with their support, had their first campsite running within months.
“We started one camp, and people loved it so we started another one and another one,” she said.
“Just weekends . . . it’s very popular.”
The fourth-generation farmer manages 1214ha in Keysbrook alongside her daughter Katelyn, brother Mick and mother Coralie, breeding 600 Angus cattle, with some Hereford, Murray Grey and Charolais crosses.
“We have a our own Angus stud,” she said.
“We breed our own bulls, and then we buy in bulls every few years for new bloodlines.”
The Butlers recently bought a few sires from Little Meadows Angus in Dardanup which Ms Butler said met her temperament, growth rate and low birthweight requirements.
Bolinda Vale sells calves directly to feedlots because she said she found weaner sales to be too costly.
“We’ll wean straight off their mothers in January,” she said.
“We might peel off a good line in December just based on how they are growing.”
Ms Butler said she aimed for 400kg in the steers and 300kg in the calves.
“If they’re not a certain weight, we carry them on, feeding them through the summer,” she said.
Ms Butler said they operated with replacement cattle only, with about 100 heifers ready when it was time for the “old girls to go”.
“We’ve done it this way for about 40 years,” she said.
Bolinda Vale is also home to 200 Merino ewes plus lambs, a reduced number since the live sheep export ban announcement.
“My husband is a shearer, so that was always handy,” she said.
“We still do some sheep because we’ve got hill country on the Darling Range and they are a good mob to run through the hill country.
“The wool sales cover the cost of shearing and all the drenching and that sort of thing, then there is the meat.”
Ms Butler said the family maintained a traditional farming approach, avoiding complex data recording.
“We have a sort of bit of a philosophy that you put all that extra work into that side of thing, you don’t get paid extra for it,” she said.
The Butlers celebrated the success of their agritourism business after the farm was recognised twice in Hipcamp’s 2026 Awards on Tuesday September 8 as best place to camp in WA and as a national Legacy Hipcamp, which recognises long-running favourites that campers keep returning to.
The family is also celebrating 100 years of the farm business.
Ms Butler said they had been able to keep it very separate from the farm workspace, using old dairy raceways.
“It’s quite self-sufficient,” she said.
“I’ve really nailed down the nitty-gritty of how to do it.
“They’ll check in, I send them the directions via text, which is the standard text to everybody to each campsite, and they find their way there.”
Ms Butler said the additional revenue stream had provided a small income boost for the farm.
“Farming income is pretty poor, we were on low wage too,” she said.
“We live a good life but that extra income is handy for sure.”
Ms Butler said she recommended those interested in starting up farm camping to start with one campsite first.
“Don’t go full-blown . . . just test the waters,” she said.
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