Math in modern cropping, with Paul Tognetti

Paul Tognetti is a farmer in Myee, near Grenfell. His farm consists mostly of wheat, canola, and faba cropping operations alongside a few sheep across a 26 hundred acre area.  In this episode, Paul walks us through his farm and the numbers that go in and out of his operation. He expresses his pass…

Crop Calculus: This farmer’s mathematical approach to cropping

Paul Tognetti is a farmer in Myee, near Grenfell. His farm consists mostly of wheat, canola, and faba cropping operations alongside a few sheep across a 26 hundred acre area.  In this episode, Paul talks to us about his farm, its size, and its makeup. He explains the operations in depth, from thei…

Fodder Growers: How this farm supplements its grazing enterprises with irrigation

Chris Francis is a Farmer in ‘Gobothery’, southwest of Forbes. Alongside his brother and their families, Chris has been taking on grain farming, fodder growing, and short-horn cattle, following 3 generations of family history. In this episode, Chris discusses the landscape his extensive operation …

Finding your place on farm: How to navigate family relationships and fit into the farm business

Katja Williams is a Farmer at Polldale, a shorthorn cattle stud north of Dubbo, alongside her husband, Ned. In addition to working on the stud, Katja also runs around as a mother, podcaster, and rural women’s advocate online as The Ultimate Farm Wife.  In this episode, Katja discusses the challeng…

Fine tuning: How to manage crops, pastures and soil to get the best out of your livestock

Nic Baker is a Farmer and Contractor, and he runs a 3,600-acre cropping, cattle, and contracting operation with his wife and parents just outside Coonabarabran. In this episode, Nic discusses how his farm’s breeding operation shifted from Angus to Wagyu and how dual-purpose cropping helps to fill …

Rubies-in-the-rough: How Lachlan Merinos refined their seed stock through selective breeding

Mitch Rubie and his father run the 1,400 mixed farming operation that forms the basis of Lachlan Merinos. Mitch describes it as a grass-growing business, with the Rubies growing irrigated fodder crops, grazing canola, cereals, and lucerne-based pastures alongside their Merino seed stock. In this e…

It’s never too early to start succession planning

Tim Flynn is the Principal Solicitor at Land Law Co and also owns and runs his family’s farm, ‘Strathallyn’, north of Mudgee. ‘Strathallyn’ is a 50/50 fine wool and cattle operation that is in the process of transitioning to a straight cattle trading operation. In this episode, Tim discusses the i…

Gonna need a bigger goat: Breeding goats for higher meat qualities and environmental resilience

Ian Manwaring and his family run a mixed farming operation alongside his brother Doug and his family across 65,000 acres at Malleevale near Condobolin. In addition to a successful cropping enterprise, Ian and his wife have a goat breeding operation, crossbreeding rangelands and imported U.S. bloodl…

Maximising groundcover and minimising input costs: The strip and disc system

Stephen and Melanie Cooper run a self-replacing merino operation and winter crop on their 4,200-hectare property at Caragabal, west of Grenfell. In this episode, Stephen and Melanie discuss the strip and disc seeding system they use on their farm. They get candid about how drought and rising input…

Grassland Poultry: Growing healthy, ethical food the old-fashioned way

Kim Kiss owns and operates Grassland Poultry alongside her husband Brian, just outside Wellington. Grassland Poultry is a free-range chicken farm where they breed, hatch, raise, and process the chickens completely on-farm. In this episode, Kim explains why she and Brian chose to pivot from cattle …