Edition 6: Your Rural Success Magazine

MAGAZINE SUCCESS Your

Lazy Cow Farm

Paddock to plate produce from the Darling Downs of Queensland

No Wine Left Behind

Sarina vet Rebecca Bannan finds a tasty use for fruit rejects

Agronomy: Next Generation

Why Pursehouse Rural are investing in the next generation of agronomists

Bellevue Pastoral Co.

Pushing the boundaries of broadacre cropping across NSW

On Farm Automation the Way of the Future?

Swarm Farm robotics driving change in on-farm automation

Remolea Poll Herefords

60 years of Poll Hereford stud success

DESIGNED FOR COMBATING WEEDS IN THOSE HARD TO REACH PLACES, THE COMPACT MARSHAL RANGE OF SPRAYERS ARE AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL PURSEHOUSE RURAL BRANCH

17 LAZY COW FARM

Paddock to plate produce from the Darling Downs

23

REMOLEA POLL HEREFORD STUD 60 years of Poll Hereford stud success

28 NO WINE LEFT BEHIND Finding a delicious use for fruit rejects in Sarina

33 BELLEVUE PASTORAL CO. Pushing the boundaries of broadacre cropping across NSW

7

Animal

11

15

3 MALCOLM PURSEHOUSE: A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO BUSINESS

5 IAN SCUTT: WILL BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS REPLACE CONVENTIONAL CROP PROTECTION INPUTS?

47

Editor: Scott Pursehouse

Artwork/Design: Jessica Rea

Photography: Jessica Rea

Articles: Jessica Rea

Publisher: Pursehouse Rural

Cnr Lennox and Loder Streets Quirindi. NSW. 2343

P: 02 6741 2555

E: marketing@pursehouserural.com.au

W: pursehouserural.com.au

All rights reserved. No part of this publication [Your Rural Success Magazine] may be reproduced in whole or part without prior written permission of Pursehouse Rural. All material appearing in the publication is subject to copyright unless otherwise stated. Pursehouse Rural have taken reasonable steps to secure the copyright of each article and photograph reproduced in this publication and every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information in this publication. Pursehouse Rural accept no responsibility for any errors, omissions or resultant consequences including any loss or damage arising from reliance on information in the publication. Pursehouse Rural Pty Ltd takes no responsibility for advertising content. Products featured within this publication are subject to availability at Pursehouse Rural branches.

MALCOLM PURSEHOUSE: A Proactive Approach to Business

The introduction of new farming technologies, sustainability-focused practices and advanced equipment are changing the agricultural industry. Pursehouse Rural acknowledges that change is a constant and by taking a proactive approach to the inevitability of change we will be a rural business partner for the future, thereby enacting our Company vision for the future.

The four pillars of the Company’s strategic plan are People, Customers, Sustainability and Profitability, and these are the key drivers that influence our decision processes when we relate to change. At Pursehouse Rural we know that business processes do not progress without also advancing communication procedures across the business.

Ensuring we have the right people with the right skills in the right roles when initiating change in the Company is paramount to its success. Particularly with the introduction of advanced equipment and other rural related advancements, Pursehouse Rural employees are made aware of changes in the agricultural industry so they can best inform customers. Further, in adapting to change we are able to grow with customers and plan collaboratively for shared success.

Members of the agricultural community value sustainability and transparency more than ever. Today we seek to incorporate sustainable practices to ensure the longevity of farming operations, and customers are increasingly concerned with traceability. Therefore by increasing our sustainable practices across our business, we seek to prioritise minimising waste, invest in initiatives that support environmental sustainability, and actively stay at the forefront of industrial changes across rural business. Importantly, we hope that welcoming change will lead to increased profitability to both Pursehouse Rural and the Company’s customers.

Here's to your success.

Malcolm Pursehouse Managing Director

Will Biological Products r e Place c

Ian Scut CEO AgLink Australia

onventional

c roP Protection i n P uts?

Ian Scutt: AgLink Australia

Biological inputs within the agricultural industry have gained significant attention in recent years. Market reports project exponential growth, with the global biological market estimated to reach $29 billion by 2029, up from $11.66 billion in 2022. This article explores the reasons behind this surge in interest and delves into the ongoing discussion of conventional chemistry versus biologicals.

Key drivers for increased interest and use of biologicals*:

1. Sustainable Agriculture: With a growing emphasis on sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices, biologicals provide an alternative to conventional synthetic chemistry, aligning with the demand for reduced chemical inputs and ecosystem preservation.

2. Major Investments: The traditional agricultural chemical companies, including Bayer, Syngenta, and Corteva, have acquired biologicals companies and labs in recent years, highlighting the industry's recognition of the potential of biological solutions.

3. Research and Development: Increased funding has attracted research organizations, universities, and industry bodies to conduct trials and research, resulting in enhanced understanding of biologicals and their application.

Despite the drivers mentioned above, several concerns hinder the widespread adoption of biologicals by the industry. Comparatively to synthetic crop protection chemistry/fertilisers, biologicals often disappoint due to perceived poorer outcomes. Biologicals exhibit variable efficacy based on environmental conditions and formulating products that can survive throughout extended periods of time in the supply chain poses challenges. Additionally, the inherent variability of biologicals, influenced by environmental and metabolic functions of crops and soil, can lead to observable differences in the field following application. These

challenges can make it difficult for biologicals to gain the same level of trust from end users compared to the synthetic options.

To date the conversation has centred around ‘conventional chemistry vs biologicals’. A shift in mindset to ‘conventional and biologicals working together’ would be a more productive approach within a crop protection or nutrition program. Along with fertiliser, conventional crop protection chemistry has long been the dominant input in crop production, but the industry is expected to face increasing pressure such as pesticide resistance, manufacturing costs, regulatory constraints, and evolving consumer demands. Embracing innovation and development of biological products alongside conventional practices offers increased possibilities and flexibility for farming systems.

Whilst biologicals possess significant potential through increasing market demand, the industry to date has encountered challenges in training, education, and understanding their application in farming operations. Overcoming these challenges is crucial for mainstream integration into conventional farming systems. Therefore, trusted advisers from agricultural companies bringing reliable biological products to the market and continued learning within the industry are instrumental in dispelling misconceptions and enhancing acceptance.

The use of biologicals is expected to rapidly increase within the global agriculture sector, and over time, will play an integral part of sustainable farming systems. Importantly though, an open mindset to embracing both conventional chemistry and biologicals as part of an integrated approach to crop protection and nutrition is needed for both to co-exist.

* The term "biologicals" refers to living organisms used for pest control or stimulating effects on plants.

Mandatory EID is coming get ahead of the curve and get ready now

Simple and easy-to-use tool

Gallagher offers a complete range of animal performance and traceability solutions designed to help livestock owners monitor and manage their animals effectively.

Built-in NLIS integration in Gallagher’s Animal Performance app makes it quick and easy to take control of your animal performance data and stay NLIS compliant.

Get in contact with your local Territory Manager for more information.

ne W industrY regulation

M andates eid in s H ee P and goats F roM JanuarY 2025

As a leader in the agricultural industry, Gallagher offers a comprehensive suite of animal management solutions that enable farmers to meet NLIS compliance requirements, while maximising profits and improving on-farm activity.

The Australian government has announced the move towards mandatory implementation of sheep and goat EIDs nation-wide by January 1, 2025. The introduction of mandatory electronic identification (EID) of sheep in Australia provides a golden opportunity for farmers to level up their operations. Access to accurate and up-to-date data completely transforms on-farm operations. Beyond just weighing and tracing animals, it also means optimising feeding habits, tracking animal pedigree, making smarter selling decisions, and ensuring animal health to minimise loss.

With over 85 years in the farming industry, Gallagher are the experts when it comes to high-performance animal management solutions.

Gallagher’s range of handheld EID tag readers makes on-farm portable scanning easy, with large LCD screens and an ergonomic design. Tag readers sync with Wireless Load Bars, as well as the user’s smartphone, making weight-tracking and recording traits as easy as the click of a button.

Gallagher also offers a range of Weigh Scales that collect weight and other data, by using EID tags. The best-selling TWR-5 Weigh Scale has an inbuilt tag reader and combines weighing and tag reading into one task to simplify the drafting process.

When it comes to sheep, Gallagher also has a solution for automatic drafting. The Sheep Auto Drafter is the answer for farmers wanting to make the most of EID tagging with high-speed automatic sorting of animals, saving the time and effort usually associated with drafting.

Tying this all together, Gallagher Animal Performance Plus is a cloud-connected app for both web and mobile that allows producers to access their animal data from the yard, the farm, or the office from a range of devices.

If you want to learn more about Gallagher’s range of animal management solutions, contact your local Territory Manager or Gallagher stockist.

8

Wayback Working Dog is a complete, nutritionally balanced feed to keep the hardest worker on your farm fuelled all day long. Produced in a tasty, bite-sized kibble, Wayback Working Dog provides affordable quality in every mouthful.

FIBRE

% 10.5 ENERGY FOR SAFE PERFORMANCE

% 10 FOR GOOD DIGESTION MJ PER KG

Complete Ride is a nutritionally balanced feed for horses in any discipline. Specially formulated with cooked and steam-flaked barley, corn, lupins, oaten chaff and lucerne chaff to create a palatable, muesli-style feed in one handy scoop.

Wayback Feeds were developed with quality at the forefront of our formulations. Wayback Feeds aim to provide optimal nutrition to your livestock, at an affordable price, using only Australian sourced ingredients.

Avaiabl e a ty o u loca lPus e hous e Rua l

14 PROTEIN % 0.4% PHOSPHORUS 3.5 % CALCIUM

Scratch N Lay Chook Feed is an Aussie allrounder. A complete chicken food, specially formulated with a nutritious blend of whole and cracked grains, legumes, vegetable proteins and shell grit, to support adult laying hens.

MANAGING WORMS MEANS MORE THAN JUST DRENCHING

We can no longer manage worms just by using drenches. Pasture management is key.

Monitoring worm egg counts and drenching only when required reduces the exposure of the parasite to the drenches that still work. By doing a faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) every 3-5 years, we know what drenches still work against the parasites in our animals.

Using an effective drench like Tridectin®, reduces the number of worm eggs deposited on pasture by treated animals. The difference between 98% efficacy (average Tridectin efficacy), and 93% efficacy (average Abamectin-triple drench efficacy) results in 3.5 times more resistant eggs on pasture. 1 With a worm egg count of 1200 eggs per gram of faeces, a mob of 250 ewes (70 kg each) will produce 42 million more eggs per day if treated with the drench that’s only 93% effective.

The more we use the same drench, we inadvertently select for resistant worms that survived the drench. To delay the onset of resistance, we’ve increased the use of combination drenches. Unfortunately, most of the drenches used contain Abamectin (table 1).

Increasing the selection pressure for resistance against this molecule. All actives that are proven to still work should be included in the program. Using the same active (e.g. Abamectin) repeatedly should be avoided, however. Including Tridectin® is a smart choice, as it is the only three-way combination drench containing Moxidectin that controls reinfestation with barber's pole and small brown stomach worms for 14 days due to Moxidectin's persistency.

Moxidectin-single-actives (e.g. Cydectin Long Acting Injection for Sheep) can be added to the program, if used concurrently with a primer.

For more information visit portal.tridectin.com. au and contact your local area sales manager from Virbac to assist you to design your worm management program.

References

1: Skirting The Issues, Spring 2022; portal.tridectin.com.au (Virbac FECRT data 2018-2023)

2: APVMA Public Chemical Registration Information System, accessed May 2023, https://portal.apvma.gov.au/pubcris

3: Tridectin 3-Way Oral Drench for Sheep - label, APVMA Approval number: 83241

cattle care and H ealt H

Worms are growing increasingly resistant to parasiticides. Infected cattle have 7.4% less average daily weight gain 17 and can have 5.4% lower feed intake. 17

Dr Matthew Petersen, Livestock Operations Manager at Zoetis recommends that reseller staff ask their producers six questions before selling a cattle drench:

• Is the drench being used for weaners and young, growing cattle?

• Are they buying cattle in or bringing cattle back from agistment blocks?

• Are cattle being inducted into a backgrounding or feedlot facility?

• Have they been disappointed by previous results from drenching?

• Have they had parasite resistance diagnosed on their farm?

• Do they also need to control ticks and/or lice?

"If a producer answered 'Yes' to any of these questions, the producer should consider using a dual active drench to ensure a high efficacy worm kill and to either prevent parasite resistance developing on your farm or break existing resistance profiles", said Dr Petersen.

DECTOMAX V is ideal for all weaners and young, growing cattle which are most economically impacted by worms. Given its very high treatment efficacy, Dectomax V is ideal as a quarantine/induction drench to prevent resistance worms entering through introduced stock. It can also be used in replacement breeding stock, such as replacement heifers and where necessary can be used in adult cattle. It is an ideal product for use on entry to backgrounding and at induction prior to feedlot entry to ensure resistant worms don’t hinder weight gain.

DECTOMAX V is an evolution from Dectomax which has been trusted and used across Australia for over 20 years. DECTOMAX V combines the trusted performance of doramectin, from Dectomax, with the added strength of levamisole. DECTOMAX V is the first injectable ML/Levamisole combination product registered in Australia and provides a dual active killing power with unsurpassed efficacy against key parasites, including those often resistant to other single active drenches. 1-14

Providing high efficacy, this broad spectrum

administration results in highly reliable dosing. In addition to treating gastrointestinal worms, it also controls cattle tick & sucking lice.

• For the treatment and control of adult and L4 larval (immature) stages of gastrointestinal worms, including both macrocyclic lactone and levamisole resistant strains

• For the treatment and control of Cattle tick –prevents development of viable ticks for 30 days after treatment

• For the treatment and control of Sucking lice – 56 days

• Safe for use in calves from 3 months of age and at all stages of pregnancy

• MEAT WHP & ESI: 35 days

• Refer to product label for registered label claims.

WHEN DEALING WITH RESISTANT PARASITES, DELIVERING THE RIGHT DOSE IS VITAL.

An injectable drench is deposited below the skin and absorbed directly into the bloodstream. Injectable drenches therefore achieve higher peak blood and tissue levels compared to pour-ons. Injectable drenches slow the development of resistance 16 . Doramectin when injected achieves higher tissue concentrations than ivermectin and moxidectin.

Dectomax V was also compared to leading drenches in Australia and the results were outstanding with an overall mean efficacy of 99.7% across 21 studies 18 However, two leading single active ML drenches used for comparison both showed results less than 95%, indicating a growing level of resistance to this drench class.

Dr Matthew Petersen BVetBiol, BVSc, Livestock Veterinary Operations Manager – Zoetis Australia Pty Ltd.

la ZY coW Far M

Taking paddock to plate produce their own way on the Darling Downs of Queensland

Photography by Oak and Mist

Nestled between the rolling hills of the Goomburra Valley, on the Darling Downs of Queensland, lies 200 acres of grazing country, bought by the Lax family in October 2013. James Lax and his wife Jacinta, had plans to establish a boutique equine agistment facility there. At the time, feed was plentiful in their paddocks and the creek that neighboured their house yard flowed lazily by. It was a picturesque scene that made them immediately fall in love with the place. Before long, James and Jacinta were adding to their herd, in more ways than one, with the birth of their eldest daughter in 2017. From then on life got rather busy for the Lax family.

The onset of the drought in 2016/2017 changed their plans somewhat, as it did with most farms across Queensland. As the feed dried off, the reality of running a horse agistment business seemed less likely on their 200 acres of land. One day, whilst James was at work and off-farm, Jacinta made her way to Warwick for the weekly cattle sale. Encouraged by a few helpful regulars, she

was drawn to two poddy calves and thought they would be the perfect addition to their property. She snapped them up and quickly informed James that he must organise transportation for them before he had time to talk her out of her decision. It was these two poddy calves that would start an entirely new business journey for the Lax family, one that would celebrate all the best parts of rural life.

And so began Lazy Cow Farm. James and Jacinta found that the land by the creek and close to the house was a great spot to feed their poddy calves. They quickly added to their herd, investing in Hereford breeders as their land moved out of drought in late 2019. Early on it was clear to James and Jacinta that their 200 acre property would not sustain a conventional commercial herd. So, the question became, how to diversify their operation to keep their land as profitable as possible? How could they tailor their product to suit demand? And it just so happened that demand for paddock to plate meat was on the rise.

Jacinta put her creativity to good use, already well practiced through her wedding coordination and event hire business Lace and Barrel. They worked on a business model that would cut out the middleman in the major supermarket chains, and instead take their product directly to their customer base. By directly marketing the produce in this way, James and Jacinta could have more control in the pricing of their meat. They could produce smaller numbers in a boutique style, selling directly to market through their website, their farm shop and at local markets.

Within this paddock to plate business model, it is important for consumers to know where their meat is coming from and what is has been raised on. Meat produced at Lazy Cow Farm is pasture raised and ethically and sustainably produced. James and Jacinta engaged the help of a local butcher to process their meat and to teach them all about the best bits of each cut, meaning they know their product inside and out every step of the way, from paddock to plate.

As their business and their farm began to grow, so did their family, with two boys and another

little girl added to the herd before long. James and Jacinta also branched out into lamb, pork, pasture raised chickens and eggs, all in a response to the popularity of their paddock to plate approach. Very quickly, deliveries to Brisbane became a weekly endeavour for the pair, as well as co-founding and then attending the Warwick Farmers Markets each Saturday morning. Orders through their website and through the farm shop, keep them busy throughout the week.

The Lax family welcome, with open arms and a touch of chaos, visitors to Lazy Cow Farm who would like to get to know more about their farming practices and the life of the animals before they reach the plate. Upon your first visit to Lazy Cow Farm, you may notice the number of animals that have quickly become pets. In the garden you might bump into Pete the sheep, or a lamb that has been brought up to the house for an extra bottle of milk, eagerly taken on by the kids and most likely will become another friend.

A schoolteacher by trade, Jacinta is committed to educating children on the agricultural industry. You may find droves of children exploring the paddocks and learning all the essentials of rearing cattle, sheep and pigs, exposing urban kids to Australian farming. Not stopping there, Lazy Cow Farm is expanding into agritourism, once again making the most of the growing popularity and appeal of the bush to tourists. This winter, Lazy Cow Farm have teamed up with Toowoomba based winery, Rosalie House, to host the Lazy Long Lunch on-farm in the Goomburra Valley. The lunch will hero produce raised at Lazy Cow Farm, and will be paired with produce sourced from within 100kms of Lazy Cow Farm. This includes Gin from Toowoomba based distillery, Hopscotch Gin, and wine produced by the vines at Rosalie House. The Lazy Long Lunch is assisted by the tourism drive,

Jumpers and Jazz, Warwick. The lunch will be set within the stunning grounds of Lazy Cow Farm and visitors will enjoy a spectacular outlook of the rolling hills of the Goomburra Valley. They will be entertained by a live jazz band and be treated to the culinary wizardry of the team from Rosalie House.

Driven by a love of their farming community, the agritourism projects at Lazy Cow Farm showcase the beauty in farming, albeit in a polished manner by Jacinta’s very creative eye. Events such as the Lazy Long Lunch create conversations around ethically and locally sourced produce, as well as sustainability and the realities of living and working in rural communities. Sustainability is something high on the priority list at Lazy Cow Farm, especially when you are talking with James.

Understanding that their 200 acres cannot support too large a herd, James and Jacinta do everything they can to make their land as productive as possible for as long as possible. This means researching and investing in sustainable practices such as mob cell grazing. The meat produced at Lazy Cow Farm is also as ethically produced as possible, being pasture raised. To maintain this standard, mobs of cattle and flocks of sheep are kept on the smaller side. Direct marketing their meat enables their paddock to plate business model to succeed, with smaller quantities of meat produced reaching a fair price, delivered straight to the consumer.

Taking an innovative approach to meat production requires bravery, passion, and dedication. Something that James and Jacinta display in abundance. Their approach to their business endeavours reflects the imagination, creativity, and energy of their young family. James summeraised their approach to business opportunities quite succinctly; just say yes and we’ll work out a plan later. By just saying yes, they have achieved a startling amount in just 18 short months of business, direct marketing their produce. Now, as they continue to push forward, with the help of four, albeit small workers, nothing can slow them down.

re Molea P oll H ere F ord stud

60 years of Poll Hereford stud success, breeding world-class cattle on the Darling Downs of Queensland.

Article

and photography by Jessica Rea

In every regional town there are familial names that are synonymous with the land. For the Clifton region of Queensland, one of those names is O’Leary.

The O’Leary family made their way to Clifton, south of Toowoomba, from Stanthorpe around 1863. First moving up through Warwick, then on to the then small township of Clifton and finally settling on what was then a sizable holding named Fontainbleau, west of Clifton, and surrounded by other large properties such as Talgai and Ellangowan.

Over time, the Fontainbleau property was broken up and divided between the generations of O’Leary family. An 1800 acre section was parceled off and allocated to Matthew O’Leary and named Remolea. As with many of the properties in the area, the original Fontainbleau homestead and, by extension Remolea, was set up to raise sheep. And Matthew O’Leary did so, successfully, for many years. However, with the emergence of Lippia in

the area, smothering other pasture grasses, and with part of Remolea being situated on a flood plain, over time it became clear that rearing sheep at Remolea may not be sustainable. And so, Matthew began to explore a move into the cattle market, building a commercial herd of purebred Herefords and Poll Herefords.

During these early years, Matthew’s three eldest children, Kevin, Helen and Hilary attended the Fontlea school, ‘Font’ for its position on the Fontainbleau property and ‘lea’ for O’Leary. This was a school made up of students all with the surname O’Leary. When the boys were old enough, they moved on to boarding school in Toowoomba, whilst their younger brother, Terry, was sent to school in Clifton after the closure of the old Fontlea school. A strong football player, the middle O’Leary brother, Hilary, held high hopes of pursuing a football career. However, by the mid 1960s the call of the family farm was strong and he returned to Remolea to work alongside his brother, Kevin, and father, Matthew.

Hilary O'Leary

The 1960’s was a time of change at Remolea. Matthew could see that sheep didn’t have longevity on his land, and as the land was broken up into smaller paddocks, a shift towards breeding commercial Herefords and Poll Herefords was made. A strong commercial herd gradually emerged, and a small number of unregistered bulls were sold on occasion. But it wasn’t until brothers Kevin and Hilary took a more active role in the farm, that an official Poll Hereford stud was established at Remolea in 1962.

Things started modestly for the Poll Hereford stud, with the brothers saving a few hundred dollars here and there through a hay contracting business, and using that money to invest in a cow or two for their breeding herd. As time passed, the stud herd at

Remolea continued to grow, with Kevin and Hilary diligently working to make sure they produced high quality Poll Hereford bulls suitable for the Queensland market. By 1977, they were ready for the first Stud Bull Sale through the Warwick Sale Yards.

As they approached sale day, the farm was a hive of activity and their father, Matthew, continued his work on the farm happily into his 70s. A busy day was had by the whole family, preparing the bulls for the upcoming sale. As they all headed for bed, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but sadly Matthew was to pass away suddenly in his sleep that night. Mourning the death of their father, the brothers proceeded with the inaugural sale in his honour.

The O’Leary family would sell their bulls at Warwick for a further three years, before moving on to sales in Glen Innes, Tenterfield and Roma. They continued selling their stud bulls for the next 25 years at sales across Queensland and New South Wales, building a loyal customer base who returned year on year for their quality Remolea bulls. The awards for Remolea bulls naturally followed their growing popularity. They were awarded champion bull at the Glen Innes sale, as well as champion pen of three and champion pen of six. All prestigious awards, held in high regard by the family.

As time went on, the eldest of the O’Leary brothers, Kevin, decided it was time to move his family to Warwick. So Hilary put a call out to his younger brother, Terry, asking if he would like to return to the family farm and help him run the Poll Hereford stud. Terry had always loved the land. After school he embarked in a successful career in regional banking, moving to a number of regional locations including Goondiwindi, Taroom and Miles to name just a few. But the time was right to return

to Remolea, and Terry fit right in to the operation.

Once again, the brothers continued with their recipe for success on-farm, looking for only the best genetics and breeding for their herd. Their reputation in the industry continued to move from strength to strength, aided by Hilary’s passion for the breed. For fourteen years, Hilary invested his time into the Australian Poll Hereford Society and subsequently the Hereford Society of Australia, being one of just a few to hold positions with both, including treasurer and chairman. Here he delved deep into trends within the industry and with the Hereford and Poll Hereford breeds, doing whatever he could to support other breeders. He noted growing popularity and emphasis placed on eye placement and pigmentation. But above all else, Hilary asserts that any bull must remain practical and produce practical offspring, to support commercial producers in their operations. A bull must throw offspring that are easy for a cow to calve on her own, and that display the calm temperament the O’Leary bulls are known for.

Below: left to right, Hilary O'Leary, Terry O'Leary

Above: Dot O'Leary

So calm in fact that for many years, Hilary and his son Pat toured Australia with one very famous bull indeed, Hereford Hank. Hank attended many an exhibition, a favourite of his being Hyde Park in Sydney, where a young Pat would pop a stock saddle on his back and ride him around, cracking whips from his back. Hank handled himself as well as any stockhorse would and had a growing fan base of city folk who would come up for a cuddle and a photo with a very patient Hank.

And it seems that the calm and kind temperament of Hank has run through the O’Leary herd for many more years. In fact, they proved quite the willing models for our photos to accompany this story. The O’Leary family take pride in each and every one of their bulls that they put forward for sale. Today the family produce an average of 50 bulls per sale, held annually on property at Remolea for the past ten years. Holding a sale on farm is testament to the loyal customer base the O’Learys have built over the years and the popularity of their Poll Hereford bulls. A quick ride around the paddock with Hilary and Terry shows the passion they have for all of their animals and the knowledge they have to share.

Today, at Remolea they run a breeding herd of 250 stud females selecting the top 50 bulls to be put

through to the sale at two years old. Each year a letter is selected to dictate the names of the bulls. In 2023 that letter is S leading to some spectacular names such as Sargent, Stockman and Scotch to name just a few. Each year Hilary’s wife, Dot, will sit down with an atlas and a dictionary and set about selecting the best 50 names she can. Not an easy job.

Each July, the O’Leary family welcome prospective buyers to Remolea, ready for the annual bull sale. With the advent of online technologies such as Auctions Plus, the sale has gone from strength to strength. When once upon a time, the pool of buyers was set at a 100km radius of Remolea, today buyers come from as far away as Emerald, Wilcannia and even Western Australia, to pick up a top-quality bull. In 2023 the top priced bull, lot number one Remolea Scone, sold for an impressive $21,000.

For 60 years, the O’Leary family have poured their heart and soul into their Poll Hereford stud. Their work ethic and passion for the land is well known in their local town and across the industry. Today, Remolea Poll Herefords look to the next generation of the O’Leary family to continue to produce high quality Poll Hereford Bulls, continuing the work of the generations that have come before them.

no W ine le F t B e H ind

How Sarina vet, Rebecca Bannan, is using fruit rejects in a tasty way.

Article by Jessica Rea 28 Images provided by Rebecca Bannan

Every community has one, very special, person who is always on the go, starting new projects, busying themselves with this or that. You may often wonder, where on earth do they find the time? In the Queensland coastal town of Sarina, that person is Rebecca Bannan.

Growing up in Barcaldine instilled a country work ethic in Bec that has clearly stuck with her for years to come. After completing her university education with a degree in Veterinary Science from the University of Queensland, the urge to return to her rural roots was strong and Bec took her first job as a newly qualified vet in Emerald. In 2002, she moved to Sarina along with her husband, Joe. Plans to move to the UK within a few years went by the wayside when the local veterinary practice came up for sale, a business opportunity Bec could not allow to go wasted. She took over the practice with then office manager, Stephanie Sleeman. Before long Bec was immersed in the Sarina community through her work as the local vet and juggling a busy career with a young family.

One may say she had enough on her plate, but Bec is just not that sort of person. By her own admission, she is someone who seeks out a project and the bigger the challenge the better.

It was the Christmas of 2016 and Bec, along with her family, were enjoying the sunshine on their 15 acre block close to Sarina. Bec’s block is home to some 30 mango trees which are rather productive. Unfortunately this means,

more often than not, the fruit would drop to the ground and rot before it could be picked by the Bannan family, and the odour produced by the rotting mangoes was not so sweet. This got Bec to thinking, what can we do with all this fruit? There are only so many mangoes that can be given to the kids for a snack, that can be dehydrated or made into a mango daiquiri. And Bec didn’t love the idea of mango chutney taking over her pantry. This is when a thought came to her from her childhood, a memory of her grandmother making fruit wine. Bec’s grandmother was a lady of German descent whose family came to Australia with very little money. This meant, in their household absolutely everything was used including discarded fruit to ferment into fruit wine.

Bec shared memories of gathering prickly pears for her grandmother to make into fruit wine, but young Bec thought a great way to do this quick was to crack them with her stock whip. It's safe to say this did not end well for her. She recounts scenes from her grandmother’s kitchen where batches of fruit were juiced, bottled and fermented in an effort to reduce food waste in her grandmother’s home and that’s where the fruit wine came in. This concept stuck with Bec and over time developed into her passion project, The Farm Fruit Wines.

But rediscovering the fruit wine making process was not an easy road for Bec. Vague memories were all she had to go on initially and her first batch of mango fruit wine was less than tasty. But that did not deter Bec from trying again. So, it was back to the drawing board for The Farm Fruit Wines. With a bit of trial and error and some assistance from Google, Bec began to develop her fruit wine making process. Still today she tries all varieties of fruits and vegetables, pairing them with tasty food combinations to bring out their best flavours. Bec accepts fruits from all parts of the community, from bags of homegrown mandarins taken after a vet visit on-farm, to locally collected bush lemons, to fruit from local growers rejected by the major supermarket chains. With little to no damage at all, the fruit would otherwise be disregarded and go to waste, a huge issue in the industry that underpins the Sarina community.

Over time Bec has developed her own way of processing the fruit to make wine, whilst still an experiment with each new fruit she tries. The basis of her process begins at her freezer where the fruit is stored until there is a batch large enough for juicing. Everything is weighed and recorded in detail. Bec’s family is roped in to assist with the wine making. Her two eldest children, Ashley aged 15 and Luke aged 13, take on juicing responsibilities, whilst her youngest son, Brendan aged 10, is the gofer and head dish washer!

The fruit is loaded into a large juicer with a 60kg capacity. A bladder on the inside of the juicer slowly fills with water and pressurises the fruit placed inside the container until the fruit juice

begins to flow. The juice is collected and then mixed with a water and sugar solution. This is where fruit wine differs from grape wine. The water is required to reduce the acidity of the fruit. However, this means the natural sugar content of the fruit is diluted, hindering your ability to get alcohol after the fermentation process. So Bec adds extra sugar to her mixture to ensure the alcohol content is just right.

Whilst this is happening, Bec busily prepares the yeast, plus a few secret ingredients to improve the clarity of the final product. She checks the acidity levels are right where they should be and lets the fermentation process begin. The wine is left in the barrel for the next twelve months. During this time the barrels are racked, this is when the wine is transferred to a fresh barrel to clear out any sediment that has settled at the bottom.

Once the wine is ready to be bottled, it is put through a vigorous filtering process. Again, a few helping hands from the family are required. The wine is filtered five times, with filters ranging from course to medium all the way down to 0.2 of a micron and a final clarifying filter. Bentonite is also used to refine the wine. Bec found that the traditional fish products or gelatin products used by grape wine producers just didn’t quite hit the spot with her fruit wine, hence the bentonite clay.

Then comes the fun part! The wine is bottled and labelled. 250ml samples of each batch are sent to a testing lab in South Australia so Bec can accurately label its alcohol content. And voilà, the wine ready for drinking!

Bec has never stopped her experimentation with fruit wine flavours. Her most popular being a star fruit or mango wine, which flies off the shelf and is perfect if you prefer a sweeter wine. She makes a chilli wine which uses a bush lemon juice base, this softens the chilli to provide a slow after-burn. An unexpected favourite is proving to be her new basil wine. Again, this wine utilises a fruit juice base which is then infused with basil to provide a crisp flavour, a great lunchtime wine that is on the drier side. Most importantly, fruit wine is best when paired with just the right foods. It’s not uncommon for Bec to test out her latest wines with family and friends after cooking up something delicious in the kitchen.

Always experimenting, Bec has recently been battling to get her watermelon wine just right. With watermelon season being in the summer in Sarina, this created a unique problem for Bec, her watermelon juice would go off before fermentation could take place. This led her to process her wine at 2am! And even then the product was hit and miss. Just as she was about to give up and pour away her latest batch, Bec noted that one of the lids from a singular barrel had popped open and the contents had been exposed to oxygen, leading it to turn into vinegar. Once she had gotten over the initial shock upon tasting this batch, she thought to herself, this isn’t too bad! She took the watermelon vinegar to her kitchen and reduced it down to a watermelon balsamic glaze. From there she tinkered away to create a pairing with strawberry wine jelly, mascarpone, her watermelon balsamic glaze, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. Fit for the MasterChef kitchen!

If there is one thing we learned from our time with Bec, it is don't ever tell her she can’t do something. She is a force to be reckoned with from her tireless veterinary work, her love for photography to her wine making, a hobby she freely admits may have gotten a little out of hand. So, when someone questioned her on what she was going to do with all this bottled fruit wine which couldn’t be sold, she took that as a challenge. This only encouraged her to push forward with her wine making and before long she was attending local markets with her produce on a regular basis. That was before the COVID-19 pandemic. What to do now?

Not one to be deterred Bec took on yet another project and in 2021 she took over the local pub, the Grand Central Sarina, an old imposing building which had stood empty for many years. Rather that losing it’s grandeur to time, Bec and her husband set about restoring it to its former glory, with plans to transform it into a market space for local creatives to showcase their work alongside a satellite cellar door for The Farm Fruit Wines. Many hours of hard work have been put into restoring the building which today runs as a café for the local community, a market coop, and a cellar door for Bec to host wine tasting events. In the near future Bec has plans to transform the upstairs of the building, adding to the space available for events.

Perhaps the only way to describe Bec is superwoman. Her passion for her community and agriculture is clear. She pushes through her professional life with the same tenacity that has seen her create an amazing space for her community and a product that tackles the fruit wastage issue all too common in the fruit production industry. Seeing this wastage Bec acted upon her urge to help and has come up with an interesting and engaging solution, one her entire community can enjoy. She didn’t just stop there; she saw a beautiful space in the Grand Central Sarina going to waste and ploughed her own time and energy into making it a usable space once more. If we take one thing away from Bec’s story it should be, never take no for an answer.

If you would like to support Bec or purchase any of her fruit wine, you can find her on social media @TheFarmFruitWines.

REDUCE WEED SEED SET THIS HARVEST.

Nufarm CRUCIAL – efficacy meets versatility.

From reducing harvest weed seed set, through to your solution for hard-to-kill Summer weeds, Australia’s most widely registered herbicide is here to help.

Nufarm CRUCIAL is Australia’s most widely registered and efficient gram for gram formulation. Tailor-made for our unique local conditions, Nufarm CRUCIAL, with triple salt, robust surfactant package and 600 load is the solution you cannot do without. Make Nufarm CRUCIAL your No.1 this harvest.

nufarm.com.au/crucial

For more information, contact your

KNOCKDOWN PRE-HARVEST OVER -THE-TOP FALLOW

Crop Stages

BELLEVUE PASTORAL CO.

Pushing the boundaries of broadacre cropping across New South Wales

Article by Jessica Rea

Photography by Jessica Rea and Tom Eather

For six generations the Eather family have developed their farming practices on their property, Bellevue, located near Narrabri, New South Wales. Their story is one of innovation, aspiration and hard work.

Thomas Eather travelled from England to Australia aboard the second fleet . Doing things his own way from the outset, it is thought the family originally bore the surname Heather, dropping the H to become Eather upon Thomas’ arrival in Australia. It was Thomas’ son Michael who first crossed the Murrurundi Gap, droving his cattle over the range to Tamworth, then across the plains, eventually settling at Henriendi (Baan Baa NSW). Once again, it seemed Michael had to do things his own way, with some accounts of his travels stating he took his cattle in the opposite direction to most others crossing the Murrurundi Gap. Nonetheless, the family made their home at Henriendi.

It was the fourth generation of Eathers who established what would become the Bellevue property we find today. Sid Eather, the youngest of his brothers, was gifted a small parcel of land on the Namoi River, which he named Bellevue in honour of his new wife Isobel. There he built a

modest home and woolshed to support a small flock of sheep, establishing Bellevue Pastoral Company in 1938. When his elder brother decided to sell and move to Moree, Sid took the opportunity to increase his land holding and bought his brother’s share, making Bellevue 800 acres in total. In no time at all, he once again added to his property portfolio with the purchase of neighbouring land at Amaroo.

In 1956 Sid’s only son, Warren, left school and began working the property which remained a sheep grazing operation. However, large floods impacted the Narrabri region throughout the 1970s on an unprecedented scale, and it soon become clear that the sheep grazing operation was limited by Bellevue’s proximity to the river, sheep being less productive in wetter localities and more prone to blowfly strike. A shift to cattle production proved a more favorable endeavour for the Eather family, with the fertile river soils having the ability to fatten just about anything. The family maintained a few sheep but shifted their farming practices to push their cattle production forward, growing crops to feed more cattle and soon setting up a small feedlot to boost production even more.

Left to right: Leanne Eather, Darren Eather, Tom Eather

Darren Eather recalls fond memories of working with his father, Warren, in the early years, sheering sheep during his school holidays. But as a young man, leaving Gatton college in the early 1990’s, it was clear to Darren that the land at Bellevue could be doing much more. With easy access to river water on the 800 acres at Bellevue and a further 1000 acres down the road at Amaroo, Darren developed a business case for an irrigation farm.

Upon his grandmother’s passing in 1993, Darren bought into Bellevue Pastoral Company aged just 20. His aspiration for growth in the company was clear. He identified a weakness in their beef production, limited by the number of cattle produced by their breeding herd each year, and already pushing their feedlot about as far as it could go. Darren was intrigued by the emergence and growing popularity of cotton cropping in the Narrabri region. Darren’s father, Warren, was just as ambitious and supported his son’s plans wholeheartedly. So, in the spring of 1995, their

first cotton crop at Bellevue was planted.

With much of the farm’s budget being ploughed into their new cotton crop, and money needed to keep their livestock operations afloat, that did not leave much in the purse for new machinery. So, Darren and his father got to work assembling their own machinery to grow and pick their cotton, whilst also adding to their feedlot and growing fodder crops for the cattle. The 1990’s were a particularly busy time for the Eather’s at Bellevue, and an early glimpse of their enterprising spirit.

In 1996 Darren met country music queen of Tamworth, Leanne. Shortly after, Leanne moved to Narrabri and quickly become the powerhouse of operations at Bellevue, with Darren assuming the helm as ideas man, and Warren still working on the farm. The dream team came together, a team that would drive Bellevue pastoral company forward at an amazing rate over the coming years.

Evolving Innovation in a Field of Potential.

There are few fields as dynamic as cotton, with Syngenta herbicide solutions evolving to meet new needs. For fallow weeds GRAMOXONE® 360 Pro herbicide is now registered for optical spray application. DUAL GOLD® herbicide has also evolved, with over-the-top use now on the label. For further information talk to your local Syngenta representative or visit Syngenta.com.au

Before long, Darren and Leanne were adding to their property portfolio in the local area and establishing a development pattern that would set them up for future success. But this was not an easy path, it was one that required hard work and tenacity from the Eathers on all fronts. With each new property purchase, Darren and Leanne would pack up their two children, Julia and Tom, and move onto the new property themselves. This way they got to know the land, got to know the ins and outs of working that property and the cropping operations that would best suit the typography of the land. Then, they would put the best group of people possible on that property, from farm workers to managers and their families. It was all about building a strong working family that reflected their own family values on each property they invested in. Good people attract good people.

It would be a trip to the Riverina in 2013 that would extend the Bellevue Pastoral Company property portfolio further than ever before. It just so happened that at the same time as their trip to the region, a property close to Carrathool was advertised in The Land newspaper. That property was Quindalup, a rundown farm located on a flat, open plain and with a rather extensive Bathurst Burr problem. Darren was able to see potential, particularly in the scale that the property offered by the relatively cheap price per acre compared to land around their home at Bellevue. An offer was placed and quickly accepted. Then the real adventure began.

The first challenge was that Quindalup was located a long eight hours drive from Bellevue. In the early days, Darren and Leanne would bundle Julia and Tom, aged ten and eight respectively at the time, into the car and drive between the two properties at all hours of the day or night as operations of the two properties allowed. This, of course, was no long-term solution, but it was one that Darren and Leanne persisted with for

eight months. A conversation with a neighbour sparked yet another idea with Darren, who by this point had driven the sixteen-hour round trip more times than he cared to count. Perhaps flying was an option. All the neighbouring property owners could fly. So it sounded to Darren like buying a plane would be a good idea. He soon learned how to operate his newest purchase, ferrying the family back and forwards between Bellevue and Quindalup in record time. In time more planes were bought, and more pilot licences were acquired for staff and family alike.

The Riverina property was fortunate enough to have access to an abundance of water, something Darren and Leanne pinpointed as a valuable resource early on. With the development of an irrigation property underway, it was time for Darren and Leanne to hand over the dayto-day running of the property to a more than capable manager, found in Narrabri and taken to the Riverina to manage Quindalup. This left an opening for yet another project for the dynamic duo to take on, and it was not long before a prime opportunity came along in the form of Blackwood Park, a property located near Conargo, NSW.

Blackwood Park was purchased as a rather worn-out rice farm, and once again Darren and Leanne packed up the kids and set about their usual practice of getting to know the ins and the outs of the property. It is this intimate knowledge of each of their farms that gives Darren and Leanne a unique advantage in the management of their business. Typically a wool producing area, Darren and Leanne set about establishing a broadacre cropping operation at Blackwood Park, using all their knowledge and experience to do so. Today, Blackwood Park is considered 90% developed with more opportunity to come. It is managed by an experienced team, overseeing day to day operations on behalf of the Eather family.

With the ball at Blackwood Park well and truly rolling, Darren turned his imagination back to Quindalup, where an opportunity for growth had been brewing. Sat around the boardroom table at their offices at Bellevue, the team began to explore the process of producing almonds. As with anything the Eather family turned their hand, they had to be quick learners.

At the advent of 2020, the planting of the almond trees commenced. Just as they did with their early cotton plant, the Eather’s developed their own machinery to plant their almond trees at Quindalup. The first plant saw 70,000 trees established at the property. That is a lot of holes to drill and tape to roll out! A sophisticated irrigation system was developed, making use of the water at the property, and laid out around each almond tree to nurture them individually. Pump stations were built, and money was invested into water infrastructure to support the new venture.

The Eather family continued to add to their workforce at Quindalup, in some rather imaginative ways. They found that good pollination of the almond trees had a direct correlation with higher yields at harvest. So, a bee broker was engaged to source the best bees possible, adding to the Bellevue Pastoral Company workforce. The movement of bees from farm to farm is the largest movement of

livestock in the country, and Darren and Leanne knew they had to invest in good quality bees. Pollinating almond trees is hard work for the small but mighty workforce, and they have just a two-week window to ‘bee the trees up’. So, a total of three boxes per planted acre of almond trees were brought in to pollinate the new crop and proved to be an investment into higher yields.

The harvest itself was yet another learning curve for the Eather family and their team at Quindalup. First they shake each tree, allowing the almonds to drop to the ground where they will stay for the next four to five days, drying out in the warm January sunshine. Next, they are collected from the ground and sorted into their varieties for processing. The Nonpareil almonds are highly sought after overseas and often sent to India for consumption. Any almonds with imperfections or any pollinated varieties are processed in a number of ways, into meals, slivers, for confectionery use or ground into almond milk. Just 25-28% of almonds produced in Australia are consumed domestically. Looking back after their first harvest, Darren and Leanne were more than pleased with their efforts and far surpassed their expectations for their new venture.

First harvest in action at Quindalup

Not being ones to rest on their laurels, development by the Eather family at the Quindalup property continues with plans to make the almond production as sustainable and successful as it can be. The initial 200-acre plot of land allocated to the almond project didn’t quite suffice and the team have since added a further 400 acres of almond trees to their operation. Darren has plans to install solar panels, making the pumping stations and the irrigation systems they service fully automated. This will increase the efficiency of water used on farm delivering water to each tree as the temperature of the day demands.

Once managed for three years, the almond trees at Quindalup will require relatively little maintenance. This business model has got Darren thinking once more, particularly considering the long-term implications of the most recent drought, and the inevitability of drier periods to come. The Eather family continue to research and invest into sustainable irrigation practices, heralding water as their most valuable asset on-farm. Their investment into permanents further diversifies their operations, supporting their business in drier times when broadacre cropping options are limited.

It is clear from their hard work and dedication to each of their properties that the Eather family are just as enthusiastic about agriculture as ever. They offer the use of their Bellevue property to schools and university groups, facilitating on-farm tours and talks to encourage the next generation of farmers. And their encouragement of the next generation begins at home. Bellevue Pastoral Company remains a family business despite

their rapid growth in recent times. Darren and Leanne have encouraged their children to take an active role in the business from a young age and today their daughter Julia, having completed her education at Marcus Oldham College, is responsible for managing grain and produce marketing as well as contracts across the many properties in the family portfolio. And their son, Tom is about to embark on his further education at Marcus Oldham also, taking a few years of experience working at Bellevue and assisting in the office with him. Darren and Leanne believe that keeping the Bellevue Pastoral Company in the family is one of their greatest achievements, with multi-generational farms becoming harder to keep a hold of as the landscape of agriculture in Australia changes. They believe that they are custodians of the land at Bellevue and they work tirelessly to grow and improve their farming operations, enabling them to pass the company on to the next generation of Eathers.

From a relatively short conversation with Darren and Leanne, their enthusiasm and determination is almost infectious. They speak about their entire staff at Bellevue Pastoral Company as if each were an important family member, and this feeling permeates through the bones of what they have established in their company, a true family business. They share photos of each property and management team with parental pride whilst recalling the time they spent at that property and how they got it up and running. Their passion for agriculture and sustainability is plain to see and something that continues to drive the Bellevue Pastoral Company forward with each new project they embark upon.

Responsiveness

is simple to us, it is doing everything in our power for the people we care about.

It’s now been 22 years since Conquest started and although we have grown in size, we’ve always stayed true to our roots. Focusing on our strengths while always putting people at the forefront of everything we do. This has earned us a strong reputation for delivering high-quality products and exceptional customer service, as we know it’s the little things that make the big difference. We define and measure our success as:

• Serving Independent Retailers: Committed to supporting independent retailers and their growers in the everchanging agricultural landscape. We are proud to partner with Pursehouse Rural to deliver grower-focused solutions and profitability.

• Innovative Research & Development: With 165 product registrations we offer a range of solutions tailored to Australia’s diverse cropping needs. Our focus is on creativity and innovation to enhance the effectiveness, stability, handling and compatibility of our products.

• Dedicated Product Support: We are committed to supporting our retailers, Pursehouse Rural and their growers to ensure the products meet expectations. This customer first culture resulted in us being surveyed as the best in the business.

• Supply Chain Resilience: Managing through the disruptions that occur within the supply chain between factory to farm. Always ensuring accurate and on time supply at the committed price, even during the disruptions of the pandemic. Striving to always provide up-to date and relevant market information to resellers.

• Agile & Flexible Mindset: We excel at making prompt decisions in everything we do. This agility has enabled us to address challenges and adapt to changing circumstances.

Ultimately for us, trust is the foundation that our combined success is built on. We understand the importance of providing a consistent supply, enabling retailers and growers to maximise crop production.

We look foward to growing our partnership

on Far M autoM ation t H e

WaY oF t H e F uture?

Swarm Farm robotics leading the charge in on-farm automation technology across Australia and seen in action on the Liverpool Plains.

Article and photography by Jessica Rea

The rate of advances in technology in our society is the fastest it has ever been. We see these advances in action every day on-farm and in the paddock, in Weed-It cameras and spray drones, farm mapping on a smartphone and in Swarm Farm robotics.

The journey for Swarm Farm began in 2012 with a clear vision, to create better farming systems and drive forward autonomous agriculture. Using their own farming operation in Central Queensland, they partnered with two universities to develop early prototypes. In 2014, the first Swarm Bot came to be, then a three wheeled, single drive machine weighing around 300kg.

Today, Swarm Farm technology is readily available and operational on farms across the country. Proving particularly useful in the current labour shortage crisis facing many farms, we spoke to Liverpool Plains growers to see how the Swarm Farm robot is assisting in their farming operations.

An early adopter of the technology on the Liverpool Plains of New South Wales was Ian Carter on his property, Connamara, located near Pine Ridge.

Here, Ian and his employees work 6000 acres of country growing a crop rotation of wheat, barley, sorghum and cotton. After keeping a close eye on the emergence of the Swarm Farm technology in self-propelled sprayers, Ian thought 2023 was his year to invest.

Early on in the adoption of this new technology, getting it up and running was a task that had to be adopted diligently and methodically. The entire farm had to be mapped and geo-fenced, giving the Swarm Farm robot accurate data for its daily operations. Mapping included field boundaries, run lines, farm roads, obstacles and docking points. With no physical controls on board, accessible only via a connection to a smartphone app, the accuracy of the farm mapping was paramount. A nudge bar at the front of the robot acts as the final line of defence in collision avoidance. The Swarm Farm robot delivered to Connamara was fitted with height sensors in the middle of the boom to assist when traversing uneven terrain. Each Swarm Farm robot delivered on farm can be custom fitted to suit individual farming operations, building upon the standard fit out of the robot.

Ian Carter and his Swarm Farm robot at Connamara

Initial investment into this technology for Ian came about when his existing self propelled sprayer was already in need of an upgrade. Added to this was the impact of a growing labour shortage issue in the agricultural sector, meaning seasonal workers were harder to source. The Swarm Farm robot, fitted out with Weed-it cameras can spot spray day and night. An on board weather station feeds data about impending weather to the robot which will make a decision regarding operations within pre-set perimeters. If weather is deemed outside of these perimeters, the robot will park itself at a pre-assigned spot.

Providing the robot has the chemical and water capacity to continue in its operations, it will run along a pre-set list of paddocks to spray out. The ability to fully automate this time consuming task

on farm has freed up Ian’s team at Connamara to complete other pressing tasks across the farm.

The Swarm Farm robot has now been operational at Connamara for a few months, completing a fallow spray in that time. Operating at slower speeds than earlier machines means that the Weed-it camera on board has been able to detect much smaller weeds in its spot spray.

The on board water capacity of the unit is 1500L, meaning the set up is more suited for spot spraying. The entire unit is much lighter than traditional self propelled units, which typically weigh around 15 tons. The Swarm Farm robot and sprayer at Connamara comes in at just 4.5 tonnes, fully loaded. From this, Ian and his team saw less damage to paddocks in the form of wheel tracks.

The ability to run the Swarm Farm unit autonomously in the paddock has led to a changing agronomic approach from Ben Leys, the Pursehouse Rural Agronomist at Connamara. Bringing years of experience to the paddock, Ben has also been closely following the advances in spray technology brought forward by the availability of the Swarm Farm robot. Taking a proactive approach to weed control, the unit has the ability to run day and night, docking and refilling on its own. Weeds are eradicated early due to the readily available spray unit.

Ben, along with the entire agronomy team at Pursehouse Rural, have utilised their years of experience to work closely with farmers who

are adopting new technologies in the paddock. When it comes to Ian and the Swarm Farm robot at Connamara, Ben has worked closely with the Carters to tailor their agronomic program to their changing operations on farm. Dabbling in new chemistry and beginning to become less reliant on glyphosate for weed control are just two small ways in which Ian, alongside Ben, are starting to change their approach to fallow spray.

The advent of any new technology in the agricultural industry is an exciting time for everyone involved. The accessible nature of the Swarm Farm robotics is driving change on farms across the Liverpool Plains, moving towards greater autonomy in spraying applications.

tailoring tHe tankMix For Hard to Manage target Weeds

Two of the keys to slowing the development of herbicide resistance are reducing escapes and avoiding unnecessary chemical use.

Ideally, everyone should aim to target specific weeds with the most effective modes of action efficiently applied – in rotation, of course – at the lowest label rate that will achieve excellent control.

Group 27 chemistry is commonly included in many post-emergence spray programs in cereal crops, but usually as part of a co-formulation that includes either MCPA (e.g. Precept*) or bromoxynil (e.g. Velocity* and Talinor*). Obviously those coformulations lock in a fixed ratio between the Group 27 active and its partner chemical – one that may not be the most effective blend to control particular weeds in specific scenarios.

Frequency® from BASF offers growers a more flexible alternative that can be tailored for optimum control of whichever weeds emerge. Frequency has a unique Group 27 HPPD inhibitor active – topramezone – that can be tank-mixed with either LVE MCPA or bromoxynil at appropriate rates.

As a next-generation HPPD inhibitor, topramezone has the same mode of action as the older products but works far more efficiently. Whereas Frequency’s single approved application rate – 200 mL/ha – delivers just 12 g/ha of topramezone, Velocity’s highest label rate – 1 L/ ha – delivers over three times as much pyrasulfotole (37.5 g/ha). The added advantage is that Frequency’s tank-mix partners can be used at their lowest effective label rates for the applicable weed stages and species to make sure there is no superfluous chemical use.

“This is a relatively low-key innovation compared to some of the more ground-breaking products like Luximax® and Voraxor® that we’ve introduced in the last few seasons,” says Roger States, BASF’s Cereal Portfolio Manager. “But Frequency will help growers manage both weed control and the threat of herbicide resistance very efficiently and cost-effectively.

“Trial work has shown that Frequency, with the right tank-mix partner, provides excellent control of hard to manage broadleaf weeds like fleabane, sowthistle, buckwheat, wireweed, wild radish, bifora and capeweed. The same work has also shown the value of that ability to tailor the tank-mix to the target weed species. If bifora’s a major issue, you’d definitely want to add bromoxynil rather than MCPA. But if fumitory’s the main problem weed, you’d have to go the other way and use MCPA. Capeweed and wild radish are also more susceptible to the Frequency and bromoxynil tank-mix.”

As well as the opportunity to switch mix partners, Roger says growers will appreciate being able to adjust the rates to suit the weed control challenge. “Frequency is registered for most weeds up to the 6-leaf stage. If you’re spraying weeds that are up around that 4 to 6-leaf mark or from the really hard to manage species, you can ‘dial up’ the bromoxynil or MCPA rate to get the best result. We can provide growers and advisers with detailed advice about the preferred mixes and rates for a whole range of weed infestations. Within those general parameters of course they’ll soon find out exactly what works best for each weed challenge in their particular paddocks.”

The primary benefit of Frequency’s flexibility when it comes to managing resistance is that all the tankmixes growers apply can be tailored to work with maximum efficiency. There should be less active ingredient applied to smaller weeds and the more potent mixes applied to larger weeds will limit the possibility of escapes.

A further benefit is that a full dose of both Frequency and the mix partner can be applied to weeds with a high resistance risk, applying WeedSmart principles to maximum effect.

Like the other Group 27 herbicides, Frequency will mainly be used against broadleaf weeds. However it has a surprising ‘bonus’ registration for suppression of Avena sterilis seed-set in northern NSW and QLD.

“Many growers in the south and west may not realise that there’s a second species of wild oats in Australia,” Roger says. “Avena fatua is the dominant species in most areas, but Avena sterilis is much more common in northern cropping regions. Frequency’s activity on it is one of those quirks –like Voraxor’s additive impact on annual ryegrass – which remind us that even within the same chemical group every herbicide can have some surprising characteristics that set it apart.”

For more information on Frequency contact the BASF customer service team on 1800 558 399 or visit crop-solutions.basf.com.au.

Purse House r ural agronoM ists: n ext g eneration

Article and photography by Jessica Rea

Image: Pittsworth Agronomist Jack Hyem

Pursehouse Rural are nurturing the next generation of agronomists, growing together within an experienced agronomy team for a successful career. Based at branch locations across Northern New South Wales and Queensland, Pursehouse Rural is home to a number of employees embarking on their agronomic careers.

The culture across the next generation of agronomists within the Pursehouse Rural branch network is strong. Graduates from multiple higher education institutions find their way to full time roles within the Pursehouse Rural business. Some are the recipients of the Pursehouse Rural scholarship from the University New England, awarded to students from regional or remote locations, studying a degree in Agribusiness, Agriculture or Rural Sciences. Recipients of this scholarship have gone on to complete work experience with the Pursehouse Rural Group, or gone on to fill a full time position within the agronomy team at Pursehouse Rural.

A graduate commencing their career at Pursehouse

Rural will be paired with an experienced member of the Pursehouse Rural agronomy team, working with them on a daily basis and gaining hands-on, practical experience in the paddock. Being based within a Pursehouse Rural branch also means they have access to a stream of Pursehouse Rural customers with agronomic inquiries and have the chance to learn about a host of agricultural inputs and their practical uses on farm. All agronomists working within the Pursehouse Rural group have the support of a solid agronomic team around them, bringing a wealth of knowledge to the table in all areas of agronomy including broadacre agronomy, cotton and pasture.

The best way to learn is by getting your hands dirty. Practical skills and knowledge is the basis of training for any young agronomist working within the Pursehouse Rural team. Building upon the fundamental knowledge gained through their university degree, a graduate Pursehouse Rural agronomist will hone their skills in the paddock, developing an in-depth understanding of the needs of farmers in their region.

Gunnedah Graduate Agronomist Charlie Oates

Pursehouse Rural graduate agronomists shadow experienced members of the Pursehouse Rural agronomy team for an average of one year, whilst honing their skills and knowledge in the paddock. From there they are given the opportunity to build their own client relationships and work independently, whilst still having the support of the entire Pursehouse Rural agronomy team. The ability to discuss issues effecting farmers in their area and explore a variety of solutions to these issues is integral to how a Pursehouse Rural agronomist operates on a day to day basis.

Opportunity for growth within the Pursehouse Rural agronomy team is available around every corner, with agronomists in 2023 being put forward for the Rural Achievers Award, presented at this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show. Jed McEovy, from Pursehouse Rural Coonabarabran, impressed judges in his selection interview for the award, through his obvious passion for agriculture and his determination to support young professionals in regional locations. He touched on how important it is to keep opportunities open for young people in rural and remote areas and therefore keeping the towns alive. A belief shared by the Pursehouse

Rural Group.

Pursehouse Rural and their partners offer young professionals travel opportunities to expand their personal and professional experiences. This year Coolah agronomist, Paige Tilse, was chosen to take part in a six week AgLink trip to Canada. Whilst overseas, Paige will visit farming operations across Canada as well as Agribusinesses, comparing their operations to her experiences here in Australia and expanding her professional skills in the Agricultural industry. She will also have the opportunity to experience some of the best that Canadian rural culture has to offer such as the Calgary Stampede.

Also embarking on an overseas trip to Canada, is Pittsworth agronomist, Jack Hyem, who joins Bayer for their upcoming tour. Jack was presented with the opportunity to tour regional centres in Canada as part of a group of professionals from across the agricultural sector. From this trip, Jack hopes to build on his existing knowledge of agricultural practices and technology, bringing new ideas back to his day to day operations in Australia.

Coonabarabran Agronomist Jed McEvoy

Branc H ProF ile : WarW ick Qld

Article by Bella Pursehouse

Situated in the heart of the Darling Downs, Pursehouse Rural has been supplying the Warwick community since 2010. The region is home to the Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Camp Draft; a seven-day event which draws crowds of up to eight thousand a day each October. Prolifically planted rose beds are scattered throughout Warwick's Central Business District and these, coupled with their annual Rodeo, earn Warwick the title of ‘Rose and Rodeo Capital’ of Queensland.

In addition to the famous Rodeo and Camp Draft, the Warwick social and sporting calendar include the Warwick Show, Polocrosse Nationals and Eventing at the world-class Morgan Park facility. As well as various horse clubs throughout the district hosting local events most weekends.

Situated a short two-hour drive west of Brisbane and with a population of 25 000, Warwick is the perfect destination for those looking for a lifestyle change, simultaneously maintaining big-city convenience and that “small town” feel where everyone knows your name. This increased desire for a ‘tree change’ as a result of Covid-19 pandemic, resulted in a shift in demand and customer base for Pursehouse Rural Warwick. Today they work to cater to peri-urban properties alongside their pre-existing large scale farming customers. The

branch continues to service and provide for their customers’ primary agricultural interests in cattle, equine and cropping.

Service is made simple at Pursehouse Rural Warwick via their large double lane drive through system for rapid response service, and versatile merchandise showroom. Branch Manager Lauren Henderson asserts that Pursehouse Rural Warwick is,

“A one point of contact for all your rural requirements.” “We try to cater for everyone’s needs, and what we don’t have on hand we will go above and beyond to source and deliver for you.”

The team at Pursehouse Rural Warwick pride themselves on their commitment to serving the Warwick community not only at work, but also in their personal lives, participating in local Camp Drafts, sending their children to one of the many schools in town, or volunteering on committees. They are revered for their knowledge, experience in the rural industry, and overall personability.

Going forward, Pursehouse Rural Warwick’s goals are to continue to provide first class service to all of their customers and expand their customer base.

We have great relationships with our customers, we help them out when they are in need and are invested in seeing them succeed. We are surrounded by a great community here in Warwick and we try to give back wherever possible. It might be providing sponsorship or lending a hand. We believe in supporting those who support us.

~ Lauren Henderson, Branch Manager

From left to right, Kate Skinner (Customer Service Representative), Mick Unwin (Sales Manager), Lauren Henderson (Branch Manager)

GET IT RIGHT WITH CROP PACKAGING SOLUTIONS

TWINES TO SUIT ANY BALER IN AUSTRALIA FOR ANY CROP

• High knot strength for UHD Big Square balers

• UV stabilized for harsh Australian conditions

• Fully recyclable

EXCEPTIONALLY STRONG 5 & 7 LAYER SILAGE FILMS

• 750mm x 1500m, or ask about our extra length rolls up to 1800m

• Excellent puncture and tear resistance

• High puncture and tear resistance

• Guaranteed 12 month UV stability

• All varieties of silage pit covers also available

TOTALCOVER NETWRAP PERFECT BALES EVERYTIME

• 1.23 & 1.30m widths for full bale coverage

• Gold net for exceptional savings + range of strengths for various crop types

• Extra long rolls for more bales and less downtime

• UV resistance against Australian conditions for 12 months

137 McEvoy Street 07 4667 8800

7 Caloola Road 02 6743 4303 Coolah 4 Martin Street 02 6378 5800 Coonabarabran 24 Gardener Street 02 6849 2330

54 Mullaley Road 02 6748 4500 Moonbi 1977 New England Highway 02 5776 6000 Mullaley Oxley Highway 02 6743 7810

Muswellbrook 131-133 Sydney Street 02 6542 8900 Narrabri 2 Caroline Way 02 6792 9500

48 Dampier Street 02 6764 1100 Uralla 176 Bridge Street 02 6778 6500

Cnr Lennox and Loder Streets 02 6741 2500