Seeds for Success

Maria Thompson is an agricultural consultant based in Coonabarabran and just happens to also be the wife of Callen Thompson, our Mixed Farming Officer and podcaster. As luck would have it, COVID restrictions had Callen looking within his own lockdown zone for the next Seeds for Success interview and as you’ll hear, Maria is a woman of many talents with an inspiring tale to tell. In this epis...

Original publish date: 27 Oct 2020. Today, we're taking you back down memory lane. Remember Jarrod and Emma Amery, the super positive duo who own and lease more than 6,500 acres around Forbes in Central West NSW, while keeping up with their six lively kids? Well, earlier this year Jarrod and Emma were rewarded for all their hard work when they were named as finalists in the Cropping Farmer of the...

Darrell Jordison, along with his wife Kylie, own "Barnagrotty". Together, they farm 4,000 acres and run 400 cows at Gulargambone. Unusually, Darrell and Kylie didn't grow up rural. In this episode, Darrell shares Kylie and his journey from growing up in suburban Sydney to running their own farm and getting the chance to travel the world along the way. You'll also hear how a rare illness has given...

Norton Crane runs 200 cows and 500 sheep over 1,400 hectares, just south of Coonabarabran, in partnership with his wife Judi. Norton is well known as a capable cattleman, previously managing Hartley Grazing Company, a beef cattle business covering over 10,000 hectares with farms at New Mollyan and Hartley. In this episode, Norton discusses how creep feeding calves has enabled him to meet his targe...

David and Suellen Taylor join us for an emotional episode about rebuilding after losing their home in a devastating fire. The Taylors run merino sheep and grow dual-purpose oats across 1,600 ha on their property Myola, just out of Trundle, NSW. In this episode, David and Suellen share how important their community was after they lost their home. They share the story of their long journey to recove...

David and Suellen Taylor run merino sheep and grow dual-purpose oats across 1,600 ha on their property Myola, just out of Trundle, NSW. David describes the environment they live and work in as highly variable. And in this episode, you’ll hear him explain how this variability has shaped the natural environment, creating a unique native grassland system and influencing the production decisions...

This is part two of our series featuring Jim Larkin, owner and manager of "Clarefield". "Clarefield" is a self-replacing cattle property with some hay and grain production, east of Binnaway, NSW. In this episode, Jim discusses how the simple process of applying for funding through the Biodiversity on Farms project enabled him to reach his goals for improved management and habitat protection on "Cl...

Jim Larkin owns and manages "Clarefield", a 1,000-hectare property east of Binnaway, where he runs a self-replacing cattle herd with some hay and grain production. John Atkin, the previous owner, was passionate about developing "Clarefield" with the use of lime, fertiliser and tropical grasses. In this episode, we hear how Jim shares John’s passion and has continued to improve the land he ma...

Andrea Fletcher (or Andy as she's known to the locals) is a Senior Biosecurity Weeds Officer with Castlereagh Macquarie County Council, based out of Coonabarabran. Andy is passionate about weed control, and no matter how big the weed problem is, she will have a go at getting on top of it. In this episode, you’ll hear how Andy has had great success with weeds that everyone thought couldn&rsqu...

Tim Bowman, along with his family, run a mixed farming operation on their property “Gundy” near Tooraweenah. In this episode, Tim talks about his Shorthorn cattle enterprise and how he approaches the important decision of selecting bulls, as well as how he’s incorporating artificial insemination into their breeding program to speed up the genetic process and have heifers calve ov...

This is the second part of our conversation with Andrew (Fadge) McFadyen. In part one, Fadge shared his personal journey as a young agronomist, the importance of mentoring and the role he can play as an industry leader. In this episode, Fadge shares his vision for the future of the agricultural industry, and how he believes harnessing the combined power of grower-driven research is key to tackling...

Andrew McFadyen (or “Fadge”), is a farmer and agricultural consultant based at Lake Cargelligo who has recently come back to the family sheep and cropping farm. In this episode, you’ll hear how Fadge's passion for the future of agriculture has lead him into leadership roles within his community and throughout the cropping industry, and how he’s using the lessons learnt from...

In this episode, we catch-up again with Georgia White at her family farm “Talbragar”, near Coolah. In our last episode, Georgia was preparing to launch herself headfirst into the challenging task of managing her ewe flock through to lambing. And now, six months later, she shares what worked (and what didn’t!), as well as a sneak peek at what’s next for this promising young...

Georgia White moved back to her family farm “Talbragar” near Coolah, to help her family manage drought, however, the drought broke not long after her arrival. Choosing to stay on anyway, Georgia instead turned to tackling the mammoth task of managing their ewe flock through lambing, and in this episode, she shares her strategies for managing singles, twins and triplets throughout a gre...

Mick Wettenhall operates a bustling family farm, Weemabah, alongside his wife Kirsty and father-in-law George. It's situated near Trangie. Their diverse mixed-farming business encompasses both summer and winter cropping alongside holistically managed grazing of sheep and cattle. In this episode, we hear about Mick's many passions, from breeding great cattle and building resilient pasture systems,...

Jack Brennan manages "Merrimba", a 20,000-hectare sheep and cropping property between Warren and Quambone. At the time of recording, in January 2020, the drought still hadn't broken. And in this episode, you'll hear Jack's thoughts on how they've managed the livestock throughout, as well as how experiencing drought has shaped his and his team's outlook on farming.   Resources and links: Austr...

Fiona Aveyard and her husband Bill run Outback Lamb, a vertically-integrated farming business focusing on single-origin pasture-fed lamb. It's part of their commercial sheep and cropping operation, 'Westpoint', near Tullamore. Determined to secure the future for their four children, Bill and Fiona came up with a creative approach to growing their business. And in this episode, you'll hear how this...

Jason and Kylie Catts run Futurity Shorthorns, a seed stock supplier with properties at Kenebri, north of Baradine and Coonamble. Together, they grow and store grain and silage to fill feed gaps, ensuring that they can maintain their herd and produce quality genetics for their clients. Jason and Kylie are passionate about agriculture, particularly sharing information and knowledge through their ru...

Gabriel Passmore truly has the best of both worlds. He spends his weekdays in Sydney, working in the corporate world and surfing at Bondi. And on weekends, Gabriel eagerly heads west to work on his family's cattle properties around Forbes and Condobolin. Gabriel has a modern take on how to run the family farm, and it's not always easy convincing his father (with fifty years of experience) to go al...

Bomber Moxham has been around a long time ... so he needs little introduction. Coy about how he initially came to be known as 'Bomber', he's been on the farm at "Mullengudgery" for 89 years, and he's seen a lot of change in agriculture over that time. In this episode, Bomber shares some hilarious stories from his past, he talks about what he loves about merinos, and he divulges the characteristics...

Tallah Looten runs the livestock side of a family cropping and livestock operation at "The Camp", just east of Coonamble. Tallah is truly an inspiring "Lady on the land". In this episode, you'll hear how Tallah has overcome immense adversity (including drought, family illness and fertility challenges) and yet continues to farm with a bright, positive attitude. You’ll also hear how Tal's pass...

Andrew and Meegan Young (along with their son Joseph and Andrew’s parents) run "Napier", a mixed farming enterprise at Purlewaugh. They rotate wheat, canola and lucerne; a system that requires lower inputs and has the added benefit of increased beef production. In this episode, you'll learn how Andrew and Meegan had to make some tough decisions during the drought. Meegan talks about how much...

Pete Rothwell is the cropping manager of "Bramble", a mixed-farming operation just north of Mendooran. They grow winter and summer crops over a thousand hectares, and run sheep and a few cows on the remaining six hundred hectares. In this episode, we hear how Pete, never one to accept the status quo, is always asking 'why'. As a result, he’s pushing the envelope in terms of crop type, yield...

Today, we're having a yarn with Jarrod and Emma Amery. Jarrod and his wife Emma are a super positive duo who somehow manage to keep up with six lively kids. On top of that, they also own and lease more than 6,500 acres around Forbes in Central New South Wales. Their mixed farming enterprise focuses on trading sheep, winter crops and fodder production. In this episode, you'll hear how Jarrod went f...

Today, we’re chatting with Elliot Shannon. Elliot runs a 1,700 ha mixed farm at Bugaldie (north-west of Coonabarabran). And he does it with the help of his wife Kate, his father Rob and his four kids. Together, they run beef cows as well as trade cattle and winter cropping. In this episode, Elliot talks about how early weaning helped him manage through the drought by giving him the ability t...