What and Where is Downsanup Downs?

"Hey Freddy, Where is Downsanup Downs?"

"Billie, my satellite navigation device tells me that we are here!"

What is Downsanup Downs? It is a farm in the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia. The Jones family runs the farm and makes plans each year for what to plant there. The farm contains six paddocks with fences around each one to keep sheep where they're supposed to be. Look at the map at the end of this page to see what's been planted at Downsanup Downs for the past two years.

One of the the most important crops in Australia, and at Downsanup Downs, is wheat. Much of the food you eat contains some wheat in it - breakfast cereal, bread, noodles, pasta, pizza crust, muffins and more.

At Downsanup Downs, Billie Bean and the gang live, work and play. We hope you'll come back and visit!

For more information about wheat and wool production, you may want to check out your library for the book 'The Story of Wheat on Australian Farms' which is part of the Workboot series, produced by the Kondinin Group.

The Jones's Farm Map

The three maps below show what was planted at Downsanup Downs last year and the year before. What's planned for this year? You'll find out as the year progresses.

As you can see from the maps, Downsanup Downs is divided into 6 paddocks. The red bit in the middle is the farmhouse.

The Jones's rotate their crops. This means that different crops or pastures are grown in the paddocks in different years. Look at the maps to see where wheat has been rotated with lupins, and where canola has been rotated with wheat.