‘Cautiously optimistic’, it’s an overused phrase, but for many farmers cropping in Central Queensland (CQ), it captures current emotions perfectly.
Widespread rain in July topped up water stores and has set some farmers up for potentially their best winter crop in a decade. Combine the moisture profile with low interest rates and strong commodity prices and it’s no wonder so many producers have a bit of a spring in their step.
One of these cautiously optimistic CQ farmers is Robert Ingram (37) who, together with his wife Danni (31) and son Max (2), farms Avondale... Read more
The Gallagher family,
Mission beach
The path that Pat Gallagher took to become patriarch of one of the biggest family-owned banana operations in Australia is not your traditional one. While agriculture in Australia is often a story of generational growth and inheritance, Pat single-mindedly pursued his ambition to farm bananas in North Queensland by first spending 14 years working in mining in Mt Isa.
The Gallagher family have now been farming bananas for almost 50 years but it was ANZAC day in 1967 that Pat was finally able to finish at the mine and, together with his wife Patricia, take his young family east in search of a block to... Read more
The Sorace Family,
Yarra Valley
Meeting the growing demands of consumers is not only a challenge, it’s a must for any business to succeed. Vince Sorace, a strawberry producer from the Yarra Valley in Victoria, knows this all too well.
Vince’s parents started growing strawberries on the farm in 1972 and he says things have changed a lot in that time. For a start, today’s consumers have very high expectations. The strawberries can’t simply taste good, they need to look good and be well priced.
“It used to be farm, farm, farm and get the best money you could for the product,” says Vince. “There’s now a much bigger focus on business, having a ... Read more
Armitage Family,
Cecil Plains
Stuart Armitage is a man who is passionate about Australia’s cotton industry. For the past 40 years Stuart’s family has farmed ‘Wamara’, a 600 hectare irrigated cropping property near Cecil Plains in South East Queensland.
The property is now run by Stuart and his wife Maxine along with their son Tyson, daughters Dimitie and Felicity are also farming in the area with their families. Stuart says while a recent hail storm led to them planting some alternative crops, for him cotton is still where it’s at. “We suffered a big hail storm on the 23rd of December last year and it took out most of our cotton,” he said. “We ended up growing some soybeans, sorghum and mung beans to fill the gap ... Read more
