Former county pair hail life Down Under

A former Shropshire farming couple who swapped the county's green pastures for Australia have made a success of their life Down Under.

Ali and Jack Pockley left Shropshire in 1995 so that they could farm in Australia.

And the couple have made such a success of their business that they have been featured in a range of Australian newspapers.

The Border Mail and Weekly Times have both featured the farming couple and published extensive interviews, with photographs.

The couple live in Indigo Valley, in north east Victoria, and farm rare breed sheep that are personally delivered to customers.

The couple originally farmed sheep, cattle and crops on a 60-acre plot in Shropshire, before relocating.

However, they grew tired of the subsidies and "farming paperwork" and decided to move to Australia.

They spent time on the West Australian goldfields, where Mr Pockley worked in the mining industry.

But in 2000, the couple moved to a picturesque 148 acre grazing block in the Indigo Valley, near Wodonga.

They built a sustainable, solar powered home of rammed earth and corrugated iron, with views down the valley.

Mr Pockley now works full-time as a procurement manager for a sausage-casing plant in Wangaratta, while Mrs Pockley is deputy mayor of Indigo Shire.

The couple started out with a handful of low-maintenance Wiltshire Horns, a breed they had never heard of in England.

The couple took time to adjusted to different farming seasons in Australia. While Shropshire farmers are presently lambing, Mr and Mrs Pockley will have to wait around six months for theirs.

They also ward off problems with foxes by keeping two guard alpacas, who tend their flock.

The couple also produce olive oil. The first real harvest last year yielded 160 litres of oil.