Dicky Bill Group enters voluntary administration after weather shocks and lease terminations halt operations

Dicky Bill, the long-standing fresh produce business trading as Maffra Produce Group, Drinan Farming Company and Lion Freighters, has entered voluntary administration after a severe liquidity crisis forced an immediate shutdown of its Victorian and Queensland farming operations. Sam Kaso, Stephen Earel and Matthew Sweeny of Cor Cordis were appointed administrators on 1 December and are now assessing whether any part of the business can be salvaged through a restructuring or sale process.

The collapse has resulted in more than 180 job losses across the Maffra and Drinan sites, ending harvest and packing activity at a critical point in the growing cycle. The group, a major supplier of baby leaf salads, herbs and prepacked greens to national supermarket chains, has struggled under a series of weather-related setbacks including significant flood damage in Victoria and cyclonic conditions in Queensland. These events eroded cash flow, increased operational costs and disrupted planting schedules, leaving the business vulnerable as the season progressed.

A critical turning point came when the landlord, Warakirri Asset Management, issued termination notices for both farm leases and took possession of the properties, cutting off access to infrastructure and reportedly leaving crops worth millions of dollars in the ground. The fate of work in progress will form part of the administrators’ immediate review.