Putting the Mallee on the map: Lameroo celebrates agricultural award
Nearly a year after being named South Australia’s Agricultural Town of the Year for 2025, the Mallee community has come together to celebrate the recognition and what makes the town special.
Lameroo, a Mallee town, was named the 2025 Agricultural Town of the Year by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), which delivers the initiative in partnership with InDaily.
A regional standout for cereal cropping and sheep grazing, Lameroo is also home to major enterprises, including McPiggery and the Pye Group, known for its $45 million potato, carrot and grain hub.
The town won the award for its leadership in sustainable farming, agricultural education, local innovation and community resilience during dry conditions.
After a six-month postponement due to severe weather forecasts from the original date, celebrations finally took place last Friday, with locals turning out in high spirits to mark the occasion.
People of all ages gathered to enjoy food stalls, live music and kids’ activities, including basketball and tennis, with the town silos overlooking the festivities.
Year eight students at Lameroo Regional Community School organised the day as part of their school passion project, submitting paperwork to the local council and managing event logistics, from road closures to maintaining a cash float.
Holly Byrne, who supported Lameroo Forward’s submission to the Agricultural Town of the Year Award, said who and where the town’s initial nomination came from remains something of a “mystery”.
“I saw (Lameroo) at that first section of the process where people vote on the website, and I started sharing on our Facebook … and encouraging people to get behind the town,” she said.
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After Lameroo made it through to the finalist round, Byrne and Nicole McMahon, chair of Lameroo Forward Incorporated, worked together on the submission.
They gave each of the town’s silo artworks – referred to as “him” and “her” – a “voice” to answer questions about how Lameroo supports and promotes agriculture.
“We wanted to give them names, specific identities, because they represent so much,” Byrne said. “He gave his perspective of the rich history and traditions, and she gave her perspective of looking forward, innovation and progression.”
Byrne described the day the judges visited Lameroo, as part of due diligence for the award, as “epic”.
For her, the recognition was significant both personally and as an opportunity to showcase a community whose richness and diversity she considers a “blessing” to grow up in.
“I think an amazing part of this town is multiculturalism. It’s been a direct result of the agricultural industry. (We have) the only school in Australia that teaches Afrikaans as a second language,” she said.
“I think this part of South Australia and the regions, the Mallee, can sometimes be overlooked. It’s always been dryland cropping, broadacre farming, and it’s known for that, but it’s changed and grown so much.”
McMahon’s connection to the town is similarly rooted in its community, with her passion shaped by the childhood she hopes to provide for her own kids.
“Why I am so passionate about Lameroo and the community is that I’m bringing up my three kids and wanting the same incredible upbringing I had by living in this community,” she said.
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Coming from a fifth-generation farming family, riding motorbikes off-road and recognising familiar faces at the local supermarket are among the everyday experiences McMahon never takes for granted.
She said the award was less about attracting tourists and more about celebrating a place that locals are proud to call home.
“We are rural, remote, a few hours from the city, but we just want this to be a place where people love to live, work and raise a family.”
Lameroo Regional Community School deputy principal Hannah Beelitz also described the achievement as a celebration for the entire town.
“Winning Ag Town of the Year in 2025 really has put Lameroo on the map,” she said.
Beelitz said the region’s agricultural industries provided a range of employment opportunities for those considering a move to the area.
“We are very well known for our potato industry, our piggery, our broadacre. So, loads of different prospects for people to come and work.”
Her advice for those yet to venture to the Mallee was simple: visit Lameroo.
“We’ve got a beautiful main street that’s a lovely family environment. Have a coffee … and have a chance to meet the locals,” she said.
For Byrne, those everyday interactions best capture Lameroo’s character.
“Don’t drive through it,” she said. “Whether you’re in the cafe, the pub or the shop, strike up a conversation. You don’t know who you’ll end up talking to, or the stories you’ll end up hearing – and there are some pretty crazy ones.”
The winner of the 2026 Agricultural Town of the Year will be announced at the celebration event on Thursday, November 5, at Peter Lehmann.
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