BCG recently welcomed research and extension officer Brooke Bennett to the team. Raised on a farm at Mia Mia in Central Victoria, Brooke joins the team after completing her Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences at La Trobe University in 2017.
Mia Mia is a very small town with a population of about 250 people. After finishing high school, I headed to Melbourne to study at university.
I have always looked up to my dad growing up as farming is his passion, and it was this along with his dedication towards this industry that drove me to pursue an agricultural degree at uni.
Once at university my interest into research and combining this with working with farmers developed.
Tell us about your family farm:
My family run a fat lamb enterprise on about 1,500 acres. We also grow wool and run a small herd of self-replacing beef cattle. Both my parents were born in the area on sheep farms, so it’s no surprise we are still very much sheep farmers. My dad is a third-generation farmer.
Our soil type is varied across the farm, however most are silty loam to clay loam. Our average annual rainfall is 600mm and our annual growing rainfall (May – Oct) is approximately 400mm.
What are the biggest challenges your farming family has faced over the years?
Without a doubt one of the biggest challenges I’ve witnessed on the farm is dealing with drought; we had some extremely challenging years in the 2000’s.
We’ve faced many other speed bumps along the way such as bush fires and major price drops in markets.
What are you looking forward to living in the Birchip community?
I’m extremely excited to move in to such a tight knit community, so far everybody has been extremely kind and friendly to me.
I’m keen to meet more people and join in on social events. I don’t play a sport, but I’m hoping to try my hand at hockey or netball.
What are you looking forward to working at BCG?
I’m really looking forward to combining the skills I’ve developed at university with the knowledge I’m learning from the BCG team and applying this in the field.
I am excited to learn about the opportunities and challenges facing farmers in this area.
