Farm name: Eastwood Farms
Farm district: Kaniva
Enterprise mix: Cropping: wheat, durum, canola, faba bean, lentil, vetch and oaten hay. Livestock: summer grazing prime lambs.
Farming partners: Parents, Malcolm and Diane.
What has been happening on the farm since harvest?
We had two weeks holiday which was a priority because it didn’t happen after 2016 – we just went through from harvest into 2017 operations. We got the summer weed spraying done before going away.
So far, this year we’ve been seed cleaning, crop planning, spreading gypsum and organising soil testing.
What are your plans for 2018?
We’re taking on Variable Rate Technology (VRT) because we’ve been gradually making the machinery upgrades to get to a point where we can implement it now. In 2013, we were yield mapping with our header and now we can compile it with EM mapping and soil tests.
What was the biggest lesson learnt from last season?
Timeliness of application.
We got 10 days behind in our sowing last year due to logistics after leasing some more land.
We’ll be working hard this year to make sure we are where we’re meant to be at the right time.
What are the biggest challenges farmers are facing at the moment?
Employing the right people on farm including specialists and consultants. Marketing is almost a full time job and agronomy services including applications and soil management.
Financially, the returns on broadacre grain growing are getting tighter and profit margins are getting harder to retain. Making decisions about expanding the business in scale or by value adding has to be balanced with decisions about debt reduction.
And getting the balance between the two so we are addressing production and nutrition but still being profitable.
What are you excited about in farming?
We have challenges but the industry finds a way deal with it and keep pushing forward.
Agriculture has huge potential and the industry, including growers, researchers and related companies, are driving the innovation to capture it. Research and extension are seeing advances in plant breeding, crop management in disease and pest control along with new agricultural technology.
