Australian Skybury

Skybury Farms is a family-owned company that was founded in 1987 by Ian and Marion MacLaughlin, who established Australia’s first commercial coffee plantation, naming their business Skybury Coffee. Today, the business is the oldest commercial coffee plantation in Australia, having successfully exported coffee to Europe, Japan, and other countries for over 20 years.
Skybury Farms is situated at the top of the Great Dividing Range, 520 metres above sea level, with well-drained soil, no frost, and an annual rainfall of 800mm per annum. These conditions provide the ideal climate for the Bourbon and Catuai varietals grown on the farm.
Each October, Skybury’s 90,000 coffee trees flower spectacularly with a perfume likened to the heady scent of jasmine. Decades of experience mean the flowering is a carefully synchronised event, achieved through controlled irrigation of the trees at exactly the right time. The current annual crop consists of 40 tonnes of green beans, with half of it being exported.

In 2002 Skybury assisted the Department of Primary Industries in writing the QA Manual for Australian coffee. The farm is accredited by "Fair Farms" (similar to Sedex) and Fresh Care.
Skybury’s farming practices are environmentally sustainable, carbon levels in their farmed soils are significantly higher than when farming started in 1987. High levels of carbon make good financial sense as carbon retains moisture and nutrients, discouraging certain pests and diseases.
Skybury's on-farm practices include water conservation, renewable power, erosion control, integrated pest management, carbon sequestration and dual cropping.
The farm’s research team have developed protocols for multiplication, breeding and disease resistance.
Skybury Farms continues to sustain and play a major role in their local Mareeba community and the surrounding district. They strive to be employers of choice, employing around 110 people from 17 nationalities.