A finger in every Pye: Drought, Dorpers, and drying silos

This episode is part two of our two-part chat with Harry Pye. In the last episode, Harry discussed the ag labour shortage and how his family has turned to robotics and automation for their mixed farming operation near Walgett.  In this episode, Harry sheds some light on his sheep enterprise and ho…

Waiting for an auto-mate: Using robotics and automation to mitigate labour shortage stress

Harry Pye is the Owner of Gingie Pastoral near Walgett. Harry's 26,000-hectare property is split between arable cropping country and grazing for Dorper ewes and wagyu cattle. Due to the skilled labour shortage, Harry and his family have embraced automation and robotics in their operation. In this …

No longer under wraps: Getting to the heart of producing good silage and improving your spray application

Stan Noonan is a Crop Protection Specialist and Farmer at ‘Retford Park’, a small property along the Macquarie River near Dubbo. With the help of his family, Stan focuses on buying calves and growing them out with introduced pastures and grazing crops. In this episode, Stan explains how he achieve…

The Limousin lineup: The benefits of crossbreeding

Sherrie Whitty, alongside her husband Luke, runs Mount Pleasant Limousins, a robust herd of 100 stud cows on a sprawling 2,000-acre property near the Jemalong Range, near Forbes. Their commitment to quality and animal welfare shines through in their operation, which stands as a beacon of excellence…

The sweet life: Farming on the Lachlan and irrigated sweet corn

Peter Grant and his wife Samantha own and operate “Nerreman”, a 530-hectare property on the Lachlan River, west of Forbes. They run a mixed farming enterprise, which includes irrigation, crops, and cattle.  In this episode, Peter shares his passion for growing different crops, especially his favou…

From silo to holiday stay: The challenges of building an agritourism business

Kylie Matthews and her husband Adrian own “Kooyong”, just off the highway between Forbes and West Wyalong. Kylie manages their cattle and chicken meat operation and keeps the wheels turning while Adrian works full-time away from the farm. In this episode, Kylie explains how they built up their far…

Worry-wort: Managing St John’s wort on your property

Trent Frazer is a Producer on his family farm “Warree”, southwest of Stuart Town. Trent and his family run a predominantly sheep and cattle operation with a little bit of cropping. In this episode, Trent lets the cat out of the bag about his passion for wool and the challenges and rewards of being…

Summer Series: Lessons from the drought you can apply in your day-to-day

Summer’s not quite over yet and we’re revisiting more farmers who’ve lived through drought and the lessons they’ve learnt along the way. In this episode, these farmers will explain how you can “minimise your geographic risk” to your herds by spreading them across properties, how tagging can be use…

Summer Series: Why flexibility is key during drought conditions

With another hot, dry summer on the cards for Australia, we’re continuing to look back at our early episodes to glean the best knowledge from farmers who lived through the last drought. In this episode, these farmers will emphasise the importance of flexibility on the farm and adapting their busin…

Summer Series: Lessons from the last drought ahead of a dry 2024

We’re doing something a little bit different this summer! With another hot, dry outlook for Australia in 2024, we’re revisiting some of our early podcast episodes to hear how farmers fared through the last drought. In this episode, these farmers are opening up about how they managed their propert…