Farmer and Young Farmer of the Year 2009
Media release
Farmer of the Year 2009 Finalist Biographies
Michael O’Brien, Walgett NSW
Michael O’Brien operates two properties south of Walgett in North West NSW, where he lives with his wife Diane and runs a mixed dryland cropping, Angus cattle and Dohne sheep livestock enterprise.
The highly variable rainfall environment in which Michael runs ‘Kincora’ and ‘The Brigalows’, totalling almost 40,000 hectares, is the primary challenge facing his business, and he continues to overcome this by utilising improvements in technology and empowering his farm team with the skills and energy required to manage variable conditions.
Michael aims to remove drought from the farming equation as much as possible through the employment of a number of measures, including on-farm grain storage. He strives to offset the effects of drought by boosting production in grain and stock enterprises when seasons allow, and maintaining core breeding cattle and sheep and production in drought seasons.
Innovation is key to Michael’s farming strategy, having adopted no-till farming practices in 1995. Michael is particularly focused on the triple bottom line of his business - the economic, environmental and social impact. Productivity and sustainability are paramount, but so too is Michael’s role as an active community and industry member and mentor. Michael is passionate about the future of agriculture and encouraging future generations of farmers onto the land.
Andrew and Megan Mosely, Cobar NSW
Andrew and Megan Mosely are passionate about farming in the western division of NSW. They run ‘Etiwanda’ and ‘Manuka’ Stations which span some 26,500 hectares near Cobar. Both Stations support a diverse livestock enterprise mix, including a white dorper sheep stud, Santa Gertrudis/shorthorn cross cattle and boer cross does.
Andrew and Megan’s business philosophy is firmly grounded in the commercial reality of feeding the world. They are striving to achieve an environmentally regenerative, low input, red-meat production enterprise. They take a holistic farm business management approach to ensure the business balances social, environmental and economic outcomes.
Andrew and Megan are particularly focused on the challenge of climate change. They believe that increasing soil carbon is the key to overcoming this challenge and prospering in dry times. Andrew and Megan have placed their focus on increasing soil carbon by creating the right environment in which to grow native perennial grasses.
They adopt innovative pasture management strategies aimed at increasing ground cover percentages each year, and use white dorpers and goats to control woody weeds and re-invigorate the perennial grasses. Their journey towards regeneration in one of the State’s toughest regions is inspiring - and one they share through field day and farm tour events.
Bede and Narelle Burke, Tamworth NSW
Bede and Narelle Burke are egg producers, running their family-owned operation of 53,000 laying hens and 27,000 pullets west of Tamworth in North West NSW. In addition to egg production, Bede and Narelle also produce winter and summer crops, beef cattle, prime lambs and conduct some opportunity feedlotting.
Their success is not limited to eggs, having won four first placings in local crop competitions for wheat and sorghum over the past 11 years.
Bede and Narelle are among only two egg producers who have continued in caged egg production in the region by installing a state-of-the-art cage egg production system. They also have an integrated feed milling system and pullet replacement enterprise.
Their substantial re-investment in the egg production industry has changed their farm enormously, improving all parameters of production, in particular egg and bird numbers, feed conversion and shell quality, and as a result, profitability. Bede and Narelle have found a unique balance between environmental and sustainable practices, without comprising profitability.
Innovation is key to Bede and Narelle’s success. By linking their feed mill directly into the cage house, they have become the first egg producers in Australia to eliminate feed freight and increase feed efficiency. The continued success of the Australian egg industry is a goal they believe in and are working hard to help achieve.
Young Farmer of the Year 2009 Finalist Biographies
Stephen and Amity Chase, Trangie NSW
Stephen and Amity Chase operate ‘Waitara’, a 5,200 hectare mixed cropping property near Trangie in Central West NSW, where they run a commercial Angus herd, stud Angus operation and 2,000 hectares of winter cropping.
Waitara Angus Stud is Stephen’s passion, which he started in 1995 from his love of cattle. Balancing grazing to maximise profit without overgrazing or damaging the environment is a constant challenge for Stephen and Amity.
Their care for combining profitability with environment sustainability spearheads the work that Stephen and Amity achieve in natural resource management, including fencing off the river and its forested wetland and planting native tree blocks.
Technology is also key at ‘Waitara’, with Stephen and Amity taking full advantage of technology such as NLIS in making strategic business decisions. The internet is also an important tool in the marketing of their business, and Amity designs and manages the Waitara Angus website.
Stephen and Amity believe that it is important to have a healthy balance between work, life and family, and give something back to the local community. Stephen has been heavily involved in Angus Youth for many years, and both he and Amity are regularly involved in cattle shows with youth and school groups, field days, and volunteering with local organisations.
David Gibson, Dorrigo NSW
David Gibson is the manager of both ‘Kelvin Park’ and ‘Rainbow Valley’ near Dorrigo on the NSW North Coast, where he runs a mixed-farming operation of breeding and backgrounding stud Angus cattle, forward fodder production and a fodder conservation business.
David’s foray into farming came at age 22, when an opportunity arose for him to purchase a hay-baling contracting business. Under his management, the business grew by 80 per cent in five years, and in 2008 he was able to purchase ‘Kelvin Park.’
David is eager to learn, and over the past 10 years has taken various study trips around the world to source ideas and techniques for his own business, particularly in cattle genetics, fodder crops and conservation.
David’s research and travel have also been vital in enabling the business to be a leader in its local area. Ultimately, David’s goal is to have an economically and environmentally sustainable business well into the future. Natural resource management is of particular interest to David, and he has undertaken extensive tree planting and river bank restoration projects, as well as extensive weed-removal on his properties. Carbon sequestration is next on his list.
David is particularly passionate about his industry and community, and as such is a very active member of both.