Category / Guest post

by Lynne Strong

Meet Tom Tourle whose attraction to the big toys in the sky in agriculture found him with his feet firmly on the ground

Today’s guest post comes from Tom Tourle who if he is as good a farmer as he is a story teller agriculture is very lucky indeed he chose this career pathway

Tom Tourle (1)

Why I am I doing all of this? Because I love what I do!

And everything I’m doing is taking me to where I need to be. Where that utopia might be, I have no idea, but I’m pretty sure it involves me, on our property, surrounded by healthy animals, lots of grass, on a bike and with a big smile on my face, just like when I was a kid.

This is Tom’s story……………………. 

My parents have always said “give me the boy and I’ll show you the man”. They couldn’t have been more right.

My journey in agriculture started the same way as any other kid growing up on the land.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” They’d ask, and the response was always the same- “Just like dad”.

Sure, different ambitions would come and go, (motor cross racer, pilot, bull rider ), but in reality, things don’t change. I’m still that bike riding, animal loving, pliers wielding seven year old I was back then.

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And it isn’t only me:

My family has always been active in the Rural Fire Service. My sister, Kennedy, especially loved it. If dad was out at a bushfire, she would wait until he got home, just so she could go to sleep with dad’s smoke filled jumper. Now what does she do? Community Safety Officer with the NSW Rural Fire Service.

My brother, Sam, had his favourite toy lamb as a kid. He would drag this thing around with him wherever he’d go. As he grew up, that toy lamb became poddy lambs, and so started his love affair with sheep. Some things don’t change. He is now working with us on our property, and is the go to man when it comes to questions about wool or animal selection.

So this is where it started- before we even knew it, we were becoming who we are today.

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Growing up, I knew agriculture was the industry for me, but in what aspect, I still wasn’t sure. We have always run sheep at home, but for some reason I had a love of cattle and horses. Maybe it was the Troy Dann influence or The Man From snowy River, either way, an interest was sparked early.

I left school with aspirations of flying helicopters. That’s all I wanted to do, it was my passion. Any spare moment I had at school, I was studying flight theory (which really didn’t help out the subjects I was meant to be studying).

I soon worked out that school just wasn’t for me. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to learn (I love learning!), it was mostly because I felt as though I was spinning my tyres- looking for a bit of traction to get moving!

I stepped out of year 12 and straight into a Business of Farming course, then Low Stress Stock Handling, then TAFE, then KLR Marketing.  I think you get the point. Education opportunities just popped up everywhere and I grabbed them with both hands. This really set the wheels in motion for my love of education and desire to become an educator.

After working at home with mum and dad for 18 months, I still had dreams of flying choppers and working with cattle and horses. Seeing as I couldn’t convince mum and dad that there were huge advantages in owning a helicopter, I decided I would find somewhere I could do these things.

Time to head north!

I left home in February 2011 and headed to “Rosella Plains Station”, North QLD. This was a big step for me. There was so much to learn! I was leaving my friends and comfort zone at home..

What if I didn’t like it? What if it wasn’t like the glossy pages in Outback Magazine? Well, lucky I had nothing to worry about. I had such a warm welcome by the Scholes and Green families at Rosella Plains who took me under their wing and into their homes, teaching me everything I needed to know if I was going to make it as a ringer and stick it out in the north.

I was so appreciative of the level of responsibility they gave me. I think that was the advantage of working on a family owned and managed property- you get to do a bit of everything. I wasn’t just some young ringer expected to work in the stock camp from dawn til dusk, I was given the chance to operate machinery, travel to neighbouring properties to pick up cattle and sit in on business meetings. What an experience! Every day was just learn, learn, learn. There was always something new to learn about, and I loved every minute of it.

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I spent a lot of time during mustering looking up at the chopper, but with no real desire of actually flying it. I was having so much fun on the ground, why would I want to be up there?! This is when I realised where my passion really lies- working with livestock and growing grass. I still wouldn’t mind having a chopper parked in the shed, but I’d much rather be working on the ground. Maybe one day…

After 18 months at Rosella, it was time to come home. I came back to Dubbo in September 2012 and got back into the life as a sheep farmer. The first few months took a bit of readjusting- looking for cows to chase and missing the horse work.

It took a bit to find my feet, but once 2013 came around the ball started rolling again.

I caught up with some of my old TAFE teachers in early 2013, just to touch base and catch up. Suddenly I was enrolled in Certificate III Agriculture, then Cert IV Ag, then Woolclassing, and that was just the beginning..

As much as I have always loved to learn, I’ve also loved to teach. While I was on a bit of a roll with my studies, I decided to also pick up my Certificate IV in Training and Education, meaning I could then teach with organisations such as TAFE.

2013 was such a big year for me, completing 6 qualifications, picking up a job teaching at Western College in Dubbo, starting my own grazing and trading enterprise, while working at home full time.

Not that I did anything special- I just took every opportunity that came my way. These opportunities are everywhere and the more that you take, the more that seem to appear.

2014 is looking just as busy, looking at teaching more, travelling overseas and interstate on scholarships and development programs, while working at home and expanding my own business. Fun times ahead!

Why I am I doing all of this? Because I love what I do!

And everything I’m doing is taking me to where I need to be. Where that utopia might be, I have no idea, but I’m pretty sure it involves me, on our property, surrounded by healthy animals, lots of grass, on a bike and with a big smile on my face, just like when I was a kid.

by Lynne Strong

Meet passionate young agriculturalist Kate Lumber

Today’s guest blog post comes from Kate Lumber who is a passionate young agriculturalist from Tamworth NSW.

Grand Champion Parader, Dorrigo Show 2011

Grand Champion Parader, Dorrigo Show 2011

This is Kate’s story…………………………….

Agriculture runs in my blood.

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Dad and me 

Both sides of my family are off the land but growing up I lived in town. I was very fortunate to have open access to family properties and I developed a strong love for Agriculture as a result. I grew up on the Liverpool Plains in Northern NSW, one of the most productive agricultural regions in Australia and so from a young age I was exposed to both cropping and livestock production. And it was here that I developed a passion for agriculture and the lifestyle it provided.

Quirindi Pony Camp aged 14

Quirindi Pony Camp aged 14

Beautiful view of the pastures at my Uncles property “Colly Plains North” Quirindi, NSW.

Beautiful view of the pastures

Horse riding at my Uncles property “Colly Plains North” Quirindi, NSW.

Horse riding at my Uncle’s property “Colly Plains North” Quirindi, NSW.

I have always been a lover of animals. I have ridden horses all my life and have shown steers and stud cattle for over five years, both of which I still enjoy. I was fortunate enough to attend McCarthy Catholic College in Tamworth for my secondary schooling and absolutely loved it. I had some fantastic teachers that really encouraged me and fostered my development in Agriculture. I began to show cattle in year nine because a friend of mine decided to join the Show Team. Aside from the animal husbandry and practical skills I gained from this I have also been lucky enough to meet and network with some amazing people. I learnt key skills in public speaking and became heavily involved in junior judging competitions and thoroughly enjoyed paraders and handling classes. I have competed at many shows with great success but my highlights would have to be qualifying for NSW State Finals at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in Beef Cattle Paraders, Fleece Judging and Pig Judging. Through these ventures I was exposed to many fantastic opportunities and role models in livestock production.

Fleece Judging State Final and Sydney Royal Easter Show 2010

Fleece Judging State Final and Sydney Royal Easter Show 2010.

I was awarded the Primary Industry Centre for Science Education (PICSE) Scholarship in 2011 by the University of New England, which truly broadened my horizons in terms of career options in Agriculture and tertiary studies options. Prior to completing the student camp and Industry placement I was set on studying Veterinary Science but came out with knowledge of so many new and exciting career opportunities in Agriculture that I had never even considered.  I fell in love with the University and was very impressed with the facilities and naturally worked towards my goal of entering tertiary study at UNE after completing my Higher School Certificate. I was also selected as one of ten high school students nationally to attend the 2011 PICSE Think Tank Forum in Canberra. This was a fantastic opportunity to meet and network with passionate like-minded students and well respected Industry leaders. We addressed issues facing the Agricultural Industry in Australia such as food security and the growing population. This forum truly inspired me to be someone that would make a positive impact on the industry and be a part of the generation of agriculturalists to address these issues.

On Industry Placement at the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) Scanning Cattle at Bald Blair Angus Guyra NSW

On Industry Placement at the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) Scanning Cattle at Bald Blair Angus, Guyra NSW.

I enrolled in a Bachelor of Rural Science at the University of New England with my mind set on Livestock production. Little did I know some amazing opportunities were around the corner that would in fact change my life. Due to the nature and diversity of the Rural Science Degree I studied not only livestock units but also agronomy based units, of which I really enjoyed.  I have become heavily involved within the University in the Rural Science Undergraduate Society, for which I am the Industry Liaison and sponsorship officer and Farming Futures, for which I am the minute’s secretary for 2014. These roles require me to liaise with Industry representatives and students, with the aim to bridge the gap between industry and tertiary education students in order to create open communication lines and promote career opportunities within the Industry. These are both initiatives that I am very proud to be involved in and look forward to the continued development of these in the future.

Farming Futures Careers Fair

 Farming Futures Careers Fair

Rural Science Undergraduate Society (RSUS) Spring Fling Ball 2013

Spring Fling Ball 2013.

I have also been involved in mentoring and ambassadorial roles. I have always been heavily involved in public relations, be it public speaking in formal or informal situations and I possess interpersonal skills that allow me to communicate with people from a large variety of backgrounds. I also currently hold employment as a Student Ambassador for the University of New England. My role as a Student Ambassador has allowed me to speak at various functions and forums and complete promotional presentations for the University of New England. I have addressed school aged students, promoting Agriculture and tertiary education at field days such as the Central North Machinery Expo and Primex and conducted presentations at University and Industry based events.

Marketing for the School of Environmental and Rural Science at Primex, Casino NSW 2013

Marketing for the School of Environmental and Rural Science at Primex, Casino NSW 2013

I also attended the Australian Agronomy Conference held at UNE in 2012, which a fantastic experience where I was able to attend presentations on some amazing new research in the Agronomy field. At University I have also been able to be involved in many team sports and activities of which I am a very active member. In 2013 I was fortunate enough to travel down to Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga as a member of the UNE meat judging team to compete at the Intercollegiate Meat Judging Competition (ICMJ). As an observer and a planned competitor in 2014 we attended many presentations, demonstrations and workshops by Industry Leaders and learnt methods of meat grading and processing; as seen below.

Beef carcase judging in the chillers at Teys Australia Wagga Plant for the ICMJ competition.

Beef carcase judging in the chillers at Teys Australia Wagga Plant for the ICMJ competition.

Although most of my Agricultural involvement prior to and during the first year of University was in the livestock sector my interest for pasture and crop agronomy grew as I began to study agronomy at University.

I was told about a summer job opening for cotton checking by a friend who strongly encouraged me to give it a try. So in my summer holidays at the end of first year I took up a position with an Independent Agronomist in Moree, North Western NSW as a croup scout and I absolutely loved it. Having just completed my second season working again for Integrated Crop Management Services I took on the responsibility of being a senior member of the team, which was an exciting new challenge. My job as a crop scout involves physiological crop assessment and field data collection, tissue sampling and analysis of data to assist in nutrition, irrigation scheduling and the recommendation of pesticide and insecticide applications. I find it a very rewarding job where I am constantly learning and adapting my techniques in order to meet the needs of the grower and the ever-changing crop in the aim of increasing productivity in a sustainable manner.

In the field, Moree NSW 20122013 season

In the field, Moree NSW 2012/2013 season

heading out to check a whitefly trial, Moree NSW 2014

Heading out to check a whitefly trial, Moree NSW 2014

Conventional Cotton crop Mungindi NSW 20122013 season

Conventional Cotton crop Mungindi NSW 2012/2013 season

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Early 2013/2014 crop

beautiful views at Moree NSW 20132014 season

Beautiful views at Moree NSW 2013/2014 season.

I am constantly inspired by people in the agriculture Industry and I feel very strongly about other young people having the same experiences I have been lucky enough to have had

I have had those experiences because I have been exposed to them throughout my school career and feel very passionately that agriculture should be embedded in the curriculum as the current systems means so many young people have no idea what they are missing by not having the opportunity to explore agriculture related careers

I now aspire to be someone that others can look to draw motivation from. I wish to act as a role model and a leader for young people and in turn promote the Cotton Industry and agriculture as a whole to the best of my ability.

Although my time in the cotton industry has been relatively brief, I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and have developed a strong passion for the Industry. I love the fast pace of the Cotton industry and the complexity of production. I cannot imagine myself spending a summer not knee deep in mud checking cotton. And I sincerely look forward to my future in the Cotton Industry.

by Lynne Strong

Meet Alexander Stephens growing the fibre that Australia wears

Todays guest post comes from young Goondiwindi cotton farmer Alexander Stephens

I am very passionate about the Australian cotton industry, and taking up every opportunity that is placed in front of me will not only build my own personal career, but it helps bring connections throughout the cotton growing regions of Australia.

Hi my name is Alexander.  I am 23 years old and I come from a great, loving farming family of four children. Being the youngest of the family, I was the child that always got that ‘special attention’ from my parents out of my two older sisters and brother.
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I grow cotton and you wear it

I was raised on an 800Ha beef/grain/cotton farm on the northern Darling Downs, about 30 minutes east of Dalby. My father managed the farm for 13 years, and it could have not been a better area to germinate the great passion for agriculture that I have today. The majority of my childhood was spent playing in and around of the farm house, with my mother constantly yelling at my brother and I about all the mischief we got up to. At a young age I developed a great obsession with machinery, especially tractors. This obsession would see me having little make-shift farms with my toy tractors around the house, and when it was too wet outside I would be inside the house, pretending to farm up the carpet floor.

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Me as a young fella checking out some of the cotton grown on the property “Plain Farm” which my father managed.

After the years of ripping up my mum’s gardens and eventually wearing the wheels off my toy tractors, my attention quickly turned to what was happening on the farm. My afternoons/weekends were spent helping my father, either feeding the cattle in the feedlot, changing syphons in the irrigation, or sitting on my dad’s knee with my hands on of the steering wheel of a tractor.

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Helping my dad with pest control in our chickpea crops

After the years helping my dad tackling jobs on the farm, and completing primary school in Dalby, it was time to ship off to high school. At this stage, the property on which my family had been living and farming was sold due to the drought which swept through the region in early 2000’s. However this gave my parents the opportunity to buy into a partnership with the previous owners of the property.

So we packed up and moved three and half hours north to a small town called Wallaville, about 30minutes South/West of Bundaberg. This property was a whole different kettle of fish to what I was used to. It was a 700Ha (approx) citrus farm, and consisted of 60,000 fruit trees, the biggest fruit packing shed in the local growing area, lucerne which supplied the local area with hay, and about 300 head of cattle.

After 4 years of attending high school in Bundaberg, my interest in school began to fade. My parents then decided to send me off to the Australian Agriculture College (Dalby campus) to help me expand my knowledge in what I was more interested in: farming. This would see me excel in my subjects, and I ended up receiving 2 scholarships in 2008. One these scholarships with Oswald Brothers (a earth moving company) and Monsanto Australia helping out with cotton research trials throughout northern NSW and Southern Queensland.

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Receiving my Diploma of Agriculture

Attending agricultural college opened up many opportunities for me in the agriculture sector, including the chance to do work experience on my holidays. I was fortunate to be invited to spend time in the cotton growing area around Goondiwindi, with a well-known local farming family, the Corish family.

The Corish family gave me the opportunity to rotate across their farms, learning many skills off the highly knowledgeable farm managers. While doing my work experience with the Corish family, I ended up working and living with one of Peter and Kerry Corish’s sons, Nigel Corish. Nigel is now a highly respected farmer within the cotton industry in Australia. Little did I know all these years ago that working with Nigel Corish would have such effect on my life in the future.

After my two years at the Australian Agriculture College, I graduated at age 18 with a Diploma in Agriculture. With this diploma under my belt, I walked straight into a farmhand role on a Jimbour Plains property, just north of Dalby. The farm is owned by Neil and Sonya McVeigh, and consists of about 2,800Ha of dryland and irrigation country. In summer, the McVeighs farm sorghum, cotton, millet, corn is grown; in winter, wheat, barley, canary, chickpeas. Though Neil had three sons of his own (Matt, Craig and Lachlan), I was treated like I was one of the family. The McVeigh’s farming enterprise was expanding rapidly, and I was given the chance to become care taker of one of their properties. With this responsibility came long work hours, and I would often miss out on nights out with my mates.

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Planting millet in late January

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Grain Millet

Similar to most Australian cotton properties, we relied heavily on international workers (i.e. ‘backpackers’) during busy parts of cotton growing season, especially around cotton picking in April. I spent many long hours working side by side with the international workers, and I got to know them well. I’d listen to all the stories they had to tell about their home countries, and it made me think it was about time to pack my bags and head overseas. So in 2011 I flew to Europe on my maiden flight, and I spent three weeks tracking through countries such as France, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.

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Visiting Rome, Italy

After I returned, three and a half years of growing crops on the rich and fertile soils on the Jimbour Plains quickly flew past. I then decided it was time for me to move on to see what new experiences the world had to offer. Although the McVeigh’s gave me plenty of great opportunities while working for their farming business, I knew I had to start expanding my career and my love for farming the land. So after a lot of phone calls, plenty of nagging to my good mate, and a long trip down to Sydney, we booked a one way flight to Kansans City, Missouri. We obtained a working visa with an American “Custom Cutter’ company, a header contractor in Australian terms. I then spent the next six months harvesting wheat in the summer, and corn in the fall, travelling from the great flat plains in northern Texas to the rolling hills of Montana. So far, this would have to have been one of the best experiences of my life.

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Waiting for wheat to dry in Seymore, Texas
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Harvesting corn in Ellendale, North Dakota

After returning to Australia in early November of 2012, and working for a farming contactor for 9 months, I had an urge to resume my career in growing cotton. Cotton has always been a part of my life, no matter what I was doing or where I lived. This passion for cotton would see me take up a leading farmhand role with Nigel Corish on his irrigated cotton/dryland grain farming property, just 15kms west of Goondiwindi. It was the very same property I had undertaken work experience on so many years ago. In addition to taking on this job, I am also now studying part-time for a Diploma in Cotton Production, through the University of New England.

I am very passionate about the Australian cotton industry, and taking up every opportunity that is placed in front of me will not only build my own personal career, but it helps bring connections throughout the cotton growing regions of Australia.

Australia produces cotton that yields two and half times the global average, and we are renowned for our high quality fibre. To remain competitive on the global market, it is essential that we as a growing community aspire to build on our high achieving attributes. That’s why I see that it is very important to build relationships outside the farming community to show how professional  Australian farmers are generate pride in the community and abroad for what they grow and produce.

by Lynne Strong

Meet Daniel Fox who is looking forward to balancing the needs of his farm business with the expectations of the community

G’day, my name is Daniel Fox and I am lucky enough to be a fifth generation farmer, my family farming in the Marrar (NSW) district for over eighty years.

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Our property of 2000 hectares is located approximately 10 kilometres north of the Marrar township in the heart of “Prime Lamb Country”. Our farm is run by three generations of my family, with my grandad, my father and myself, as well as my grandma, mother, younger sister and girlfriend lending a hand when the times are busy (which seems to be more often than not these days!!!).

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All hands on deck: Lamb marking is a family affair.

I have been told that my love of agriculture began at a young age, helping Dad around the farm while still in nappies (although photos show I might have been in the road more often that I helped). As a toddler, when not outside in some sort of machine with dad, I would get out all my farm toys and make each room in the house a different paddock, coaxing mum into pushing all the toys around and around the rooms, spraying, sowing and harvesting them, all in one day! She still blames me for her “crook” knees.

From looking at photos of myself when I was young, I don’t think I stood a chance of being anything other than a farmer. From a young age, I developed an appreciation for all things agriculture, even at shearing time!!!

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Learning the ropes from a young age.

As the years passed, I progressed into my schooling career, which began at the local primary school at Marrar with a grand total of around 40 enrolments from around the district. I have some very fond memories of this great little rural school and its enormous (at the time) playground.

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View of Marrar silos from home.

When my sister began school, I moved down the road to Coolamon Central School, a K-12 school where I completed my HSC in 2009. As the years progressed, my passion and love for agriculture grew stronger, as did my passion for science and mathematics. Throughout my time at Coolamon the school took great care of my interests in science and maths and accelerated my studies, where I completed my HSC extension mathematics and physics whilst in year 10. Through these years, it was a tough choice to stay inside and pursue my schooling interests rather than help on the farm.

My hard work and tough choices paid off, gaining some great results I am very proud of. As I was going through those last few years of school, the question of “what are you going to do when you leave school” was often asked of me. My response was always the same; I was going to be a farmer. Many people, who were aware of my success in my studies, often did a double take when I told them the I was going to be a farmer. I would get responses like  ‘You should be a doctor or an engineer. You are too smart to be a farmer and you would be wasting your brain if you returned to the farm”.

I was proud to respond that that farming today is a highly complex and challenging  industry that requires the best and the brightest and its the place I want to be. In fact in my opinion it is far more exciting and rewarding than any other ‘prestigious’ occupation that was suggested to me through school.

It was through my later schooling years that I became even more involved in the farm and this fuelled my desire to farm even more. I successfully wrestled the prized “header driver” position from my Dad in my senior years at school, which I’ve always had my eye on since I could walk. When I saw my first good harvest that came after the droughts in the 2000’s that I could appreciably remember in 2010, I felt the great sense of achievement that farming can bring.

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Mum, driving the tractor and chaser bin, loves her new toys as much as we love ours!!! Harvest 2013

I began studying a Double Degree in Science and Education at Charles Sturt University. During the four years, I learnt what full time study at university was all about!!! The juggle between study and work on the farm often ended up with me up until all hours of the night in front of the fire trying to catch up with my uni work after coming home from a full day on the farm. All I can say is that I am very glad that those days are behind me!

University was a great chance for me to meet a huge number of new friends, all coming from vastly different backgrounds. My passion for farming was often a topic for conversation, and all too often I found that many of the people at uni had never experienced the joys of agriculture and were often unsure of how we as farmers do things. In actual fact, they had many misconceptions about the workings of a farm that were quite amusing.

During 2012, I also participated in a Rural Leadership Program run by FarmLink Research, a local agriculture research company. All of the participants had a background in agriculture, and whilst talking to them, this topic of common misconceptions about farming and agriculture was a constant source of humour, with some funny ones coming up like the origins of milk being the supermarket shelf .

Farming is our livelihood. We wake up on the farm, walk out the door to the farm, it dominates our conversations with friends and family, and it’s what we love doing. We also know that up to 99% of the population today may not have the generational, educational or experiential understanding of why we do what we do and they are watching every decision we make via the enormous range of multimedia avenues available to them.

So the misconceptions about how food is produced is a topic of concern.   Farmers rely on the support of people disconnected from the origins of their food who work outside our industry to buy what we produce and ensure the decisions that they make with respect to legislation and policy continue to enable farmers to feed and clothe people ethically and profitably.

I am now enjoying a career that allows me to  not only begin to take a greater role in the management of the family farm as well as taking every opportunity to raise awareness about how we farm and why we do it and why we love it.

by Lynne Strong

Meet Naomi Mulligan part of the growing numbers of young women choosing a career in the cotton industry

Today’s guest post comes from Naomi Mulligan part of the growing numbers of young women choosing a career in the cotton industry

Food is a necessity, farmers are a necessity, and it is true that every family needs a farmer.

Hi, my name is Naomi and for me, agriculture is life.

Naomi Mulligan

My journey in agriculture started the day I was born. Proud to be a third generation cotton farmer, I grew up on a cattle and cotton property west of Moree, NSW.

I spent much of my childhood visiting dad in a tractor or moving cattle around. There is a special connection between my family and the land, especially when all three generations are out irrigating the cotton together. My grandfather is a cotton farmer, as is my dad. Dad is passionate about cropping, soil health and optimum management. I have learnt a lot from him over the years and credit much of my knowledge to him.

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My Grandfather and uncle after buying the first four-row picker in Moree

Brought up on the land, I was surrounded by all things agriculture and I felt as though it was my obligation to start working in the cotton industry from a young age as a farm hand. But at 11 years old, I had to move to Brisbane for boarding school. The contrast between the planes of western NSW and the bustling high rises of Brisbane was a major change. After graduating, I was excited to be back home, irrigating the cotton. Cotton is an amazing plant and fibre, being one of the world’s most used natural fibres. Yes, we grow your clothes!

My role in agriculture is all practical work. It often involves long hours in a tractor or fixing planters and other implements. It’s not common to see a girl as young as myself driving tractors, but I love it. I began my first tractor shift work at the ripe old age of 12! Now I have the ability to do most of the crop ground preparation and achieve such things as planting this year’s 500ha of cotton.

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Tractor maintenance work

Every task comes with its challenges. Some are small and others big, such as the severe drought in last couple of months. It’s particularly difficult to plan for such circumstances and still come out on top. This year I’m working full time on a cattle and cropping property at Croppa Creek, NSW. The property grows feed for cattle including corn and sorghum, but also cotton and wheat.

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Heads of sorghum

Every season changes, depending on what we plant and the rainfall we receive. Growing both irrigated and dryland crops means that water availability is vital. This year we have both irrigated and dryland cotton planted as we we are hopeful to have a high summer rainfall.

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Me and my cousins during cotton picking season

My family also has a Piedmontese cattle stud where my main job is to feed and look after  the livestock. This involves mustering, maintaining fences, maintaining water systems and any other challenges that the cattle manage to throw at me.

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A Piedmontese Bull

This year I’m studying agriculture by correspondence while working on the farm. It is a fantastic and rewarding lifestyle. Education is important and is the key to moving forward within the industry. One of the great things about my agriculture studies is that I can still work full time, while also gaining new knowledge and skills to benefit my practical work. I believe this gives me an advantage over many of my peers who aren’t able to put their learnt skills into practice as early in their careers as me.

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One of the many challenges we face, including jumping from a window.

I would really like to lift the profile and image of agriculture, particularly among young people. There is more to agriculture than a lot of Australians realise, even in more urbanised areas.

It’s easy to see why people who aren’t fortunate enough to grow up the way I did often struggle to understand the role of agriculture in today’s society. But I believe my firsthand experience and knowledge, from growing up on the front line, gives me the ability to educate and inspire others.

Food is a necessity, farmers are a necessity, and it is true that every family needs a farmer.

Working in agriculture is full of challenges, rewards and opportunities – it is not yesterday’s industry. I am proud to be part of the younger generation inspiring everyone to appreciate agriculture!

by Lynne Strong

Giving your students a head-start to partner with farmers to help feed the world

Feeding the world when another 158 people are born every minute is a big job and if we are going to meet this challenge the world will need to see partnerships across the globe between farmers and consumers

In Australia many wonderful initiatives are actively working to engage the next generation of consumers with farmers to partner to achieve this huge task

Today April Browne and Chris Vella are sharing with you an initiative they are coordinating at  University of Western Sydney (UWS)

Chris Vella

Chris Vella Science Education Officer Primary Industry Centre for Science Education (PICSE)

As we all know students who participate in agriculture related activities are passionate about the Agriculture industry. They are motivated about their role and are ready to play an active part in Agriculture’s future growth and development. Teachers do an excellent job of building the intrinsic drive for students to get involved in in agriculture. We at the University of Western Sydney (UWS) see our role, as stakeholders in the agri-food chain to build on teachers’ efforts and encourage a lifelong involvement in the industry.

The Youth Agvocate Forum will give a group of year 10 students a unique opportunity to develop their own agricultural values whilst building social capital, an understanding of the agricultural industry and of UWS course offerings. Working in groups, students will engage in three days of experiences at the Sydney Royal Easter Show and UWS which will showcase the best that agriculture has to offer. Over the three days, each group will use their experiences to design an engagement strategy for increasing ‘agvocacy’ amongst their high school colleagues. Students will then have the unique opportunity to pitch their strategy to the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) Youth Group for consideration.

The experience of interacting with the general public and promoting agriculture in light of what they participate in is also a skill which will serve them as lifelong learners and ‘agvocates’.

We look forward to giving these students as well as their colleagues a head start into what will be a bright future for them in the agricultural industry.

Ag Forum Flyer

You can find the flyer and application form here

You can read about April Browne who will be helping Chris run the workshop here

April Browne

by Lynne Strong

Meet Diana George who is proud to be part of the next generation of female farmers

Farming has a reputation as been traditionalist.  According to long held traditions farming is a man’s world and the men inherit the earth and the women become farmer’s wives. Well not everybody is doing what their grandfather did.

Here is a great guest post from Dee George whose family is bucking the stereotype

Dee George

My name is Diana George, I am a Bachelor of Agriculture Student at UNE. I am a fourth generation farmer and my sister and I will be the first girls to inherit our property. I come from a mixed farming enterprise two hours West of Dubbo near the small town of Nevertire NSW.

On our family farm where I have lived all my life, we run Beef Cattle, Meat Sheep and dry land cropping enterprises. We have also previously been Cotton Irrigators. Agriculture is in my blood, my mother is a farmer, my father is a farmer, my older sister is a female shearer and my younger sister shows cattle and loves machinery as much as I do!

Our first cotton crop was picked in April 92, and I was born in March 92. So it’s safe to say that the obsession I now have with cotton and agriculture started from there, in dad’s arms when I was one month old. .

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Dad and me in one of our cotton crops.

I basically went everywhere with dad, in a little carrier he had strapped on his chest. And when I was old enough to walk there was no way I was missing out on any syphon changes even the ones at 2am in the morning! Much to my mother’s protest. With cotton in its prime articles were being written of bumper crops all over the state. The Land Newspaper approached mum and dad about doing an article on our seasons and crops. I featured in  The Land Newspaper with dad in one of our cotton crops at picking time. And still to this date I have the picture on my desk.

Diana and Trevor George in the cotton

Did I always want to be in agriculture? No. when I was a little girl in primary school, I was going to live in the city, drive a convertible and be a dance teacher.

Agriculture was just where I came from and I didn’t realise how dearly I treasured it and needed it. But when I had to quit dancing as it was becoming too far to drive for lessons three times a week, I discovered my love for cattle and tractors. The rest just fell into place. Unlike most farm children you see I didn’t own a horse and couldn’t (and still can’t) really ride one!

When I was in year five in 2002, we picked our last cotton crops. After 8 years of drought and no water allocations we turned to dry land cropping, even sowing wheat and barley into our irrigation blocks. Often our crops wouldn’t get to harvest due to the lack of water, and we were hand feeding our sheep and cattle day in and day out. Only one year in the middle of the drought was there enough water in the irrigation scheme to allocate water to famers, we choose to plant and irrigate forage sorghum to bale into hay to sell and feed for our stock..

My love of Agriculture extended throughout high school where I studied as much Ag related subjects as possible. I attended Kinross Wolaroi School in Orange. Here I was a part of the Cattle team, and after much encouragement from our neighbour and stud owner Steve Chase I learnt to show cattle and joined the KWS Cattle team. My love for cattle grew even more. Showing cattle opens up so many opportunities that linked into everyday life, which may surprise you. By showing cattle with the school I was exposed to the stud industry at all levels. We showed at all our local shows and also at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. This also helped me achieve numerous awards for Judging Cattle and Handlers Classes, including winning RAS NSW Reserve Champion Junior Judge. All of these experiences gave me a new sense of confidence in myself. Showing cattle enabled me to make friends and contacts for life, helped develop many life skills the main one being public speaking and also allowed me to apply for scholarships to do things I’d only dreamed of doing. I don’t show cattle as much anymore, but I am still involved by helping out with junior heifer shows as well as I am a part of the Dubbo Show Society.

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Showing cattle at Blayney Show.

Even with the drought and lack of funds my parents did everything they could to ensure I had the education I needed and ensured I stayed at Kinross. It is at times like these you can see boys and girls that have grown up before their time, accepting responsibilities and helping their parents as much as possible. My little sister and I were like this, as much as mum and dad didn’t want us to worry about how tough things were at home we always did, it was always on our mind. And due to this every holidays we would come home and set to work on the farm to help dad out as much as possible. The main gesture I remember offering dad was I opted out of going to schoolies after finishing my HSC to come home and sit on a header for dad over harvest. In 2009 my HSC year, dad purchased a header of our own to ease the costs of sourcing contactors. At that time I never even thought I’d get to drive it but at the first chance dad jumped at teaching my sister and I all the bits and pieces. This didn’t just include driving it, we also learnt how to service it, because as dad says if you drive it you must know how to fix it (this included cars to!).

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Me Driving our Case 2388 Header.

Many times over the years my father has been asked if he would rather boys to help instead of girls, my father’s response is simple, I wouldn’t trade my girls for the world!

As dad has always ensured that both my sister and I are capable in handling stock and driving machinery, proving to many that we can do just as much as any boys ( and as Ginger Rogers once said ‘even backwards and in high heels’)

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Me sowing our Wheat.

In my year off in 2010, between school and Uni I had planned to travel or head north to work on a cattle station, but instead headed home for most of the year. Helping dad plant, spray and harvest our crops. One of my greatest achievements was being accepted to University of New England (UNE). This was also the year that the drought eased for us, giving us a year average of 704ml! ( Our rainfall yearly averages had gone from 665ml in 1998 to 346ml in 2002, and hit a low of 201ml in 2006)

I am currently at UNE in my last year of study for my Bachelor of Agriculture. During this time I have participated in many subjects which have given me a better understanding of Agriculture, how to improve aspects of our farm and have been given hundreds of opportunities to do things which I didn’t even know where available. In my 2nd year at Uni I applied for an Angus Youth Scholarship and won a trip up to the Rockhampton Beef week, to learn about northern producers and to meet with some great people. I also became involved in the annual Farming Futures Dinner and Careers Fair that UNE run, I was the dinner coordinator for two years, gaining so many contacts through this experience, which have allowed me to line up summer jobs as well as give me an insight to where I would like to go with my degree.

In my 3rd year, I applied for a MLA and Live Corp Scholarship to travel over to Freemantle to undertake a Stockman’s Accreditation Course, which enables me to work on a Live Export boat as a Stockman. To be fully accredited I have to do two practice voyages where I am assessed and then am given the ok to be fully accredited. I am hoping to get on two voyages this year. I also gained my certifications for Pregnancy Testing and Artificially Inseminating cattle. Now in my 4th and final year of study I was lucky enough to be the 2013 recipient of the Rob Seekamp Memorial Scholarship, and have also just been informed I have received an RAS Scholarship.

In my 1st year of Uni in 2011, the government’s water buy back scheme finally went through, at this point we sold our water licence as along with many other properties we were in an area which wasn’t viable to move water to. Our irrigation channels and dams were decommissioned and we can no longer grow cotton, which saddened me as it was such a big part of my childhood,

There is an upside to the decommissioning as we  now have more area to put to dry land cropping than before. We are now solely dry land cropping with our sheep and beef enterprises. I enjoy just as much as I ever did heading home and helping dad with our commercial herd of Angus cattle, our small mob of Dorper sheep and the preparation, sowing, spraying of our crops, but most of all you can’t beat getting on the header during harvest especially when you have a great season.

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My summer jobs have always been agriculture related and I have just come back from working on a cotton property in South West QLD. Taking me back to my love of cotton and irrigating. As well as this harvest just gone I gave the header driving a rest and worked for our local Grain Corp receiving and unloading grain trucks.

Agriculture is a part of who I am, I wouldn’t be the same without it. I don’t have a favourite industry within Agriculture I love them all, after all I am a farmer’s daughter and very proud to be part of  the next generation of female farmers!

by Lynne Strong

Meet Elizabeth Munn who believes a future in the cotton industry is on the horizon

Today’s guest blog post has been written by Liz Munn a young lady who believes you get out of life what you put into it and agriculture deserves a life- long commitment

 

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My name is Liz Munn and I am 20 years old in my 3rd and final year of my degree studying at the University of New England in Armidale.

I come from the small rural community of Moree in the North West slopes and plains of NSW. Moree has a population of just over 9,000. It is situated in the centre of a large agricultural sector due to the areas rich black vertosol soils, allowing enterprises such as cotton thrive. It is also renowned for its natural hot springs. During the past few years the community has been brought together in crises of major flooding, fires and drought.

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My grandfather inspired me to have a love of the land. From an early age, I spent time following him around the farm and learning as I went. He had a mixed farming enterprise. As well as lamb and calf marking, there was shearing, tractor driving and harvest which both my parents and I helped with.

Over the years, the farm changed to focus more on grain growing. He taught me that you can only take out, what you put in – which is a good motto; not just for agriculture, but for life in general. He was at the forefront of soil conservation, ensuring that the farm would be around for future generations.

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I completed my schooling in Moree at 3 separate schools- Moree Public School (K-6), then St Philomena’s (7-10) and finally Moree Secondary College (11-12).

As a kid I had lots of opportunities to grow as a person and I took them with both hands.  I firmly believe life is what you make it and I put a lot of effort into everything I did

At school I was sporting house captain for Freeman House in year 11, and a school leader in year 12. I was heavily involved in a range of sports from horse sports, soccer and athletics.  I was even lucky enough to compete at state level in Sydney for athletics. I also attended classical violin lessons for 5 years winning many trophies and ribbons for both sport and music.

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I am in the navy and red competing in 100m hurdles at state level in Sydney.

Nearing the end of year 12 it was time for me to choose a degree for my university studies. I was very interested in visual arts as well as biology, but had to choose one or the other, so I followed the science path.

I was accepted into a Bachelor of Environmental Science. Several people mentioned that I was going to be a “Greenie” now but I know from the wise words of my grandfather

that it is the marriage of the environment and agriculture that will ensure the survival of both.

Agriculture is a constantly evolving industry and it needs leaders who are up to date with the latest technologies and techniques. Leaders who promote adaptation and adoption of environmentally sound farming methods , to ensure Australia can be competitive on the world market, and give the best protection for our farmers and our farmers against our unpredictable seasons.

At University I live at St Albert’s College, which has a family ethos and I now consider it my second home as we are all a family. Here I made many friends and was introduced to several sporting, academic, and cultural groups. I am highly active in the college’s netball team as well as the chugby team (women’s rugby). I currently hold a position in the college known as a pastoral advisor (PA) where I support my fellow students in any way possible and help organise events.

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On the right hand side at the end, after we played our first game of chugby in 2013.

In Moree I am also involved in rural community programs. I have been a member of the Moree Show society for 4 years. Show societies run events that bring the whole community together to celebrate agricultural excellence and raise awareness of the value of farming to rural and regional economies 

I have been a steward for the car show and this year I am the assistant secretary. I also competed in the local show society showgirl competition and received runner up.

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That’s me third from the left before the winner of the showgirl was announced at the Moree Show.

For the last two university summer breaks I have worked for a local agronomist as a crop scout. I first applied for the position as a learning experience. Then I found the more I learnt, the more I enjoyed myself and finally realised this was the profession I wanted for me. I find the cotton industry fascinating and have been inspired to join their ranks by the enthusiastic people I have been lucky enough to work with to date

Last year I also went on a tour of one of the local gins where we were shown all of the aspects of the ginning process, which allowed me to see the industry from field to fibre.

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Agriculture is not just an industry to most people. Its a lifestyle, a passion that is passed down through generations. But you don’t have to come from generations of farmers to be part of this wonderful industry

Agriculture currently influences every person in the world as we are all consumers 

Agriculture in Australia faces pressure from competition for farmland from mining and housing and vagaries of climate. It suffers from poor image problem and a misconception it is not a good career choice for a young person

As a person who knows you get out of life what you put into it I am looking forward to taking an active hands on role and helping provide solutions to the challenges our farmers face and building partnership with the community to take on this shared responsibility    

You can watch this video from the US that shows all the opportunities for careers in agriculture

by Lynne Strong

Meet Rebecca Freeman doing it backwards and in high heels

Todays guest blog comes from Rebecca Freeman another young agribusiness professional who has made the most of all the opportunities a career in agriculture has opened for her.

“A career in agriculture isn’t mapped out in stone. It’s as diverse and changing as the different cropping systems used across the nation”

As you will seen Rebecca is also a great story teller

This is Rebecca’s story ……

I’m Bec Freeman and my agricultural background reads like a farmer driving her header blindfolded backwards without autosteer through the hilly block.

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I was born into a mixed broadacre cropping and livestock family that through the years became more broadacre than livestock, moved from being a four son operation, to a husband and wife team, to a two generational partnership.

I learned to ride a motorbike at 5, drive a car at 10 and a tractor not long after. I grew up knowing in summer you itched of barley dust and rain was the best smell and sound in the world. Winter was a time of gumboots and raincoats and the sting of cold air on your cheeks as you checked the ewes or monitored the crops.

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I knew everyone in town and had 24 friends at school – the whole school. Saturdays were for sport and dinner at the local pub and holidays were yearly trips to the beach. Dogs were your first work tool you owned and the last mate you had left when things got tough.

By age 14 I wanted out. Surprised? My folks weren’t. Some spirits are meant to roam free and they saw that in me and trusted that the love they had given me of farming, rural Australia and the land would guide me in the right direction, wherever that was to be.

Boarding school and three years doing a degree in Sport Science landed me still not knowing where I wanted to head and keen to swap the city for the country again. After eight years away I found myself back at home working in the local vet clinic as a vet nurse and helping out on the family farm with my Dad and brother. I had good communication skills and so helped out on the farm mostly with brokering discussions and facilitating brainstorming (or just storming) sessions. Off farm I continued to work in customer service over the years, as a barmaid, in administration and in sales.

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Fast forward a decade and I’m still here in the Mid North, but wow my career in agriculture has been anything but traditional. Back then I knew I didn’t want to be a farmer long term, I am too restless and people orientated to be committed to the routine and dedication to seasons required of a grain grower. However, I loved farmers and I understood their passion. My passion wasn’t farming; it was the farmers themselves – the people behind the business. I admired all the qualities of these amazing people and I had skills that I knew, if I could just find some way to apply those skills to farmers lives whole communities would benefit.

I had an incredible opportunity to work nationally as the Executive Officer for the Future Farmers Network. This was perfect for three very simple reasons – I got to meet hundreds of young people in ag, I got to travel all over regional Australia and I could raise my three children from tiny, little Koolunga because I could work from home in the industry I loved (and still drive the odd tractor or drench the odd sheep).

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It was during this time I had three encounters that shaped where I am today. The first was meeting some key people in the network. They opened my eyes to the variety in careers in agriculture. Until that point my exposure had been very traditional – farmers or service providers from banks, dealerships, chemical companies and the like. Then I discovered capacity building careers, like consultants and facilitators, job titles are a lot less defined but to me so appealing! I found out that people without agricultural backgrounds are some of the most successful people in the industry, because they think creatively about how to help the passionate people on the ground.

The second encounter was attending a grains conference and meeting people developing mobile technology for farmers. This was when I realized my true potential wasn’t in a job that was already out there waiting for me to find it. My future lay in taking my ideas for improvement, mixing them with varied experience in the industry I loved, adding the right knowledge from different sources and applying it back to my passion – farmers. I created my own job in agribusiness and haven’t looked back.

The third encounter was my experience with the RIRDC Rural Women’s Award and discovering what a difference good leadership could make in rural Australia. This award caused me to embark on a journey to develop my own natural ability, in work or as a member of a rural community, to lead others to achieve their own success. I realized that by developing myself constantly, there would always be a place for my career to develop too.

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I currently live in Clare, South Australia with my three children. I am the Yorke and Mid North Regional Manager with the Department for Primary Industries and Regions, and have the goal here of developing my knowledge of all aspects of the rural sector and the relevant industries, to better lead and guide farmers in the future. I am also a Director in an agribusiness that is passionate about capacity building for the ag sector and a partner in my family farm. I know what I don’t want from my career too, which is as important as knowing what you do want.

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Best of all I am still only a short drive away from my family farm and enjoy watching the sixth generation look in awe at their Grandpa as they occupy the little seat next to him in the header, like I did, and realize they are a part of feeding the world. I call them holistic farm kids because I’m teaching them about agriculture from the tractor right through to my office in a government department and every step I’ve taken on the way…so far.

“A career in agriculture isn’t mapped out in stone. It’s as diverse and changing as the different cropping systems used across the nation’

My key message to young people looking at agriculture as a career path is don’t pigeonhole yourself or the industry. If I can go from being a fifth generation farmer, to a first generation agribusiness partner, having developed an iPad app, experienced the national not-for-profit ag sector and increased my knowledge of government agency operations in the space of ten years, where could I be in another ten?

For me, the common thread in all I’ve done has been the passion I have for the people who produce food and fibre.”

Follow Rebecca on twitter @rusticbecca

by Lynne Strong

Meet Laura Bennett third generation banana and beef farmer who now has cotton in her veins

Today’s guest blog comes from Laura Bennett.  Laura is a young girl who has experienced a great many exciting things in her short life 

This is Laura’s story  

Laura Bennett Cotton Flower

Agriculture has been flowing in my veins since birth. I am a third generation banana and beef farmer from a small seaside property on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales.

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The banana hills I call my home near the town of Woolgoolga, bordered by the Pacific Ocean

My love of agriculture was fostered by a childhood spent feeding and caring for animals, whether they be poddy calves, chickens, rogue piglets or dogs, along with harvesting produce we grew.

Growing up as a farm kid was a wonderful opportunity and whilst many little girls wanted to be princesses, I wanted to be a farmer. I was happiest sitting amongst the banana stools playing in the dirt and “helping” my Dad to fertilise, bag, spray or cut bananas.

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Our small piece of land with kikuyu pastures, 1600 mm of annual rainfall a year and views of the Pacific Ocean was a world away from the wide open plains of black soil where I travelled on holidays as a child. We regularly made our family friends giggle when we arrived at their remote properties out in the western agricultural regions of New South Wales because they always claimed that “people GO to the coast for holidays – not leave”. But once or twice a year we looked forward to packing up and travelling west over the Great Dividing Range to camp on muddy river banks, go shearing, mustering, motorbike riding and get involved in wheat harvest or cotton picking. It was here my love of  scarcely populated plains, dry, cracked billabongs, night skies completely filled with bright stars and the country way of life grew.

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Myself along with my siblings and a family friend admiring modules of cotton on a friends farm

Throughout my school years I was still fascinated by agriculture. As a ‘coastie’ this was a rare thing. Agriculture wasn’t offered as an elective in my senior years so I went down the  science path, choosing subjects that would allow me to study an agricultural science degree. My love for agriculture grew and grew and I picked up an extra job for my last few years of high school as a farmhand on another beef property where I mustered every weekend on horseback, drove old tractors and re-fenced paddocks after regular flood events. My coastal town friends never understood what I did at work and I was always  amazed by how little they knew about where their food came from, despite living in regional Australia.

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Gary (a poddy calf who only posed if he could suckle my finger) and I

During year 11 in 2010 I was fortunate enough to be selected to represent NSW in Perth in a geography competition, and went on from there to be selected as part of the Australian team to compete at the Asia-Pacific Regional Geography Olympiad in Mexico in 2011. I was the only member of the team of four selected from a public school and the only one who didn’t live in a capital city. It was here in Mexico that I met many other students from countries as widespread as Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Mexico.

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The Australian Team on a trip to a tequila plantation in Mexico

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Making friends with students from all different backgrounds was a highlight of my trip

When these students discovered that I had grown up on a property they were amazed and thought I was the richest person they had ever met. It was then that I realised just how little our urban cousins, especially in other countries that rely on so much Australian produce, know about our agricultural industry. I learnt so much in the two weeks spent overseas with these students, and it fuelled my passion to become an advocate for my way of life as a farmer and primary producer even more.

Upon return to Australia our trial HSC marks had been released and I had achieved better than I had expected. My careers advisor along with others convinced me that I could be anything I wanted, and that I should apply for medicine or veterinary science rather than agriculture. This advice resulted in an application being sent to Charles Sturt University in Wagga for a highly competitive place in their prestigious veterinary science degree. Much to my disbelief I was offered a place in the 60 person course from 470 applicants, and so I packed my bags and moved 1000 kilometres from home to begin study. I loved vet for many reasons; the wealth of knowledge learned, the feeling of helping an animal and making another person smile, along with discovering what it is like to work hard and realise just how much you are truly capable of achieving.

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My short lived vet career will always be a fond memory and gave me lifelong friends

However I also realised just how physically, emotionally and mentally demanding a career as a vet is. I had many friends studying ag science and hearing about their studies made m,e rethink whether  I had made the right choice. With this in mind I set off on my autumn mid-semester break spending a day at the Ag-Quip Field Days held in Gunnedah. A conversation with a friend in the cotton industry led to a summer job as a bug checker. So after university finished for the year I headed off to Narrabri on the north of the Liverpool Plains in NSW. Little did I know that soon my life would change forever, and that this was going to be a crucial yet unforgettable summer.

I began work at Auscott and here I counted bugs, looked at the cotton growth stages and took note of changes, sought out flowers and freshly cracked bolls, sampled plant leaves and petioles (stems) for nutrition tests and regularly doused myself in water while attempting to start siphons that would irrigate the fields. I spent the summer knee deep in mud, battling the outside air temperature of over 40 degrees and the 110% humidity of a freshly watered cotton crop. I became accustomed to the feeling of hundreds of flies on me, along with regularly having spiders, grass hoppers and ants trying to make my body their territory. I worked long days and lived by myself on a farm 60 km from a small rural town. And I absolutely loved it!

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The gateway to where it all began… Togo Station, Auscott Narrabri, Namoi Valley

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This is why I get up in the mornings!

I was captivated by everything cotton and it was the only thing in my life, all day every day, for the whole summer. And while this job was tough and seen as the lowest job on the ladder, I still drove home through those crops with a smile on my face every day, bigger than I ever had when I was studying and performing vet.

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Oink! It’s not just all cotton while bug checking!

It was through this summer that I reconsidered my career aspirations. I loved living in a remote community, a friendly town where the summer dress code included Canterbury short-shorts no matter your gender, half-button work shirts, John Deere caps and a Landcruiser or Hilux ute for transport. I loved that people would stop me in the street and admire the black mud on my feet or my tan lines rather than make me feel embarrassed about them. I wanted to be a part of this community and help it in any way I could because it is a small country town that faces challenges such as a decline of skilled workers, a lack of local education opportunities and population decline.

I love living in agricultural areas and small towns, I love nurturing the cotton crops through every stage in order to grow a fibre to clothe the world, and I love finally being truly happy as I rediscovered that my passion for agriculture had not faded.

So despite successfully completing my first year of vet I changed courses and enrolled in a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at Wagga and have never looked back. I have just finished my second season as a bug checker, this time in Moree, and still my passion and love for the fibre is endless.

The cotton industry is fast paced, highly productive and extremely intensive and I cant  imagine doing anything else.

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My first cotton crop ready for harvest. Never been prouder!

This time 12 months ago I wouldn’t have been able to give a clear answer on what I was going to be doing in 10 years. As for now I can happily and confidently say that I plan on graduating university, becoming a well-respected cotton agronomist and then studying part-time in order to complete a Bachelor of Education. The next step in my plan is to become an agriculture teacher and believe that through education I can inspire students to study and enjoy an industry that is so important. I want to share my stories in hope that others can see all the options available to them.

I want to be part of the young generation of agriculturalists that are responsible for changing the face of agriculture in the community and reconnecting farmers and the people who eat their produce and wear the fibres they grow.

By building relationship and trust within the community and raising awareness of why we farm the way we do we can create a new appreciation of modern farming practices   . This will also help remove the stereotypes, generate interest in the industry for future skilled ag graduates and ensure we can sustain the livelihoods of rural communities and farmers.

I also hope to one day to be a farmer and surrounded by the things I love.

But there is plenty of time for that and for now I will head back to university for another year of study and hopefully a year of successfully being an ‘agvocate’ for my favourite industry.

Laura Bennett and horse