The Mallee is a world-away from the lush green hills that surround the western Gippsland farm where BCG extension manager Ciara Cullen grew up. Despite this, a genuine interest in grain growing and a willingness to embrace community life made the transition from Gippsland to the Mallee relatively easy for Ciara when she started working at BCG six years ago. Today, it is with some pride that she now calls Birchip ‘home’.
I grew up on a potato farm in Cora Lynn, an area located in West Gippsland on the highly fertile peat soils (10-20 per cent organic matter) of the Koo Wee Rup swamp. My Irish parents bought the property in 1985 and leased additional land and grew potatoes until our last crop in 2006.
The average annual rainfall is approximately 850mm (34 inches) and we pumped water from the Bunyip River to irrigate crops. Our potatoes were planted in November/December, harvested in March-May and predominantly grown for crisping.
Although it is common for potatoes to be continuously cropped, we grew pastures and ryegrass – the latter a ‘swear word’ in these parts – for dairy and beef cattle, as well as sweet corn and maize on the odd occasion to give the soil a rest, manage weeds and provide disease breaks.
Although we no longer farm the land, we still own it and lease it out for asparagus and dairy agistment.
The main reason my parents ceased growing potatoes was due to a soil borne disease – Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN) – breaking out across the region. This meant that all potatoes leaving the farm/region had to be washed to mitigate the risk of the disease spreading. At this time, my parents had also purchased a business importing farm machinery from Italy and Germany which helped them make the decision to cease farming.
After school I took a GAP year working for the family machinery business before completing a Bachelor of Agriculture from the University of Melbourne, spending time at both the Melbourne and Dookie campuses.
In my final year of university I was required to do an industry research project. Being interested in grain farming, and fascinated by genetically modified (GM) crops, my research focused on the attitudes of Wimmera and Mallee farmers towards GM canola. I was put in contact with the then BCG CEO Alexandra Gartmann who helped connect me with the farmers. Upon completion of my research project Alex provided me with the opportunity to do three months casual work at BCG and as they say, the rest is history.
Although a small town, Birchip has a lot of things going for it – professional opportunities, a social network of young people, social events, sport and recreation activities and most of all a friendly and supportive community. Having grown up in a high rainfall zone I appreciate the marginal farming land in the Wimmera and Mallee and continue to see the beauty in the landscape.
If you find a job you love you never work a day in your life – a cliché but actually somewhat true for me. I don’t dread going to work, in fact I try to take the angle that it is a component of the lifestyle I lead – I live and socialise in small farming communities where agriculture is the most common topic of discussion at the pub, at footy/netball, at the supermarket and so on.
I particularly enjoy the fact that BCG works directly for farmers. We keep our research and extension focused and targeted and work to problem solve. I also love knowing the intimate history of the organisation and its humble beginnings, it means so much more to go to work each day when you bump into the founding members down the street who worked hard to get it to such a reputable organisation that it is today. And the organisation’s mission hasn’t strayed since inception in 1992.
