Quiet achievers surround us: farmers who go about their business in the most understated way but who are setting new benchmarks in sustainable food production. Once a year the general public may get to read about them, but otherwise they are unseen, unnoticed.
By their nature, farmers do not go about spouting their virtues. Rather, they work in their own landscape and those who observe that landscape with a knowing eye understand the transformation that is taking place.
The Australian Year of the Farmer has served to throw the spotlight on some of those who are making a great difference and we have been featuring some of those profiles in Tasmanian Country.
Not surprisingly, some of our Tasmanian achievers have come into the national focus and last week we saw two winners in the Australian Farmer of the Year Awards in Melbourne. Grant Archer was named Dairy Farmer of the Year and Bernard Brain Diversification Farmer of the Year. They are both extraordinary people.
Bernard farms at Rotherwood, Ouse, a 1000 ha property that has been transformed by irrigation to the degree that his production now includes lambs, beef cattle, fennel, poppies, cabbage seed, malting barley, dry peas and grapes.
Bernard has a 3800-megalitre water licence from the Ouse River that has allowed him to expand his irrigation to 350 ha over the past seven years with a capital investment of $1.1 million.
There are two extraordinary aspects to what Bernard, his brothers and father have achieved at Rotherwood. Ever since they installed their first irrigation in 1988 they have always had an eye to future expansion and installed excess capacity in terms of pipe diameters, pump pads, etc. That paid dividends in the later expansion. The other aspect is that their irrigation pumping system has elevated water from the Ouse River 190 metres. To put that in perspective Ouse itself is 150 metres above sea level.
Grant Archer needs little introduction. He and wife Kim own a farm near Smithton but also share farm at Cressy and Symmons Plains The farms run a total of 2800 cows.
The partnership with Rob and Jo Bradley at Rosemount has been mutually rewarding. Rosemount has been named the Australian Dairy Business of the Year (with the Archers share-farmers of the year) after producing an 18.4 per cent return on capital from an operating profit margin of 41.7 per cent.
The Archers now have a similar share-farm arrangement at Oakdene with Bill and Jill Chilvers. It has made more sense for them to share-farm than to continue to acquire land and, providing they can find the right staff, it may be the way they will continue.
Grant’s award as Australian Dairy Farmer of the Year recognises his stock-management techniques and efficient use of a new milking system across the three dairies.
These two awards are just recognition of the incredible, research-based professionalism of modern Tasmanian farming. Grant and Bernard are role models for our industry. We are very proud of them.
