Easing the intergenerational farming transition

Julia Moyes and Angus Whittaker with son Bailey

Angus Whittaker has spent his lifetime amongst agriculture, from a childhood on the family’s Warren cotton operation, to a corporate ag career post university.

Despite this rural pedigree, the 30-year-old admits he was “thrown straight in the deep end” transition into the family farming business nine months ago, and quickly discovered that there is no such thing as a silly question.

Forging a future on the land

Angus joins his parents Glen and Narelle, and brother Matt on the family property ”Wingfield” and appreciates a fresh lens on running a modern farming business.

“I’d come home during school holidays and it was all about operating machinery and long hours, now I’m actually working on the business, not just in it – managing staff, finances, succession planning, WHS, machinery and irrigation operations, agronomy, capital development – it’s a different beast that you don’t consider when you’re a 15-year-old.”

Matt, 32, has been home for the past three years, and Angus’s tenure coincided with the farm’s long-term manager of 23 years finishing up, and he credits his father, brother, staff and solid support network of advisors for easing the transition.

“Our expectations are high, my parents have a strong cropping history that we want to maintain, and I’ve come to rely on support from dad, our agronomists, accountants and Rabobank managers, Jake McKay and Kevin Murray, who is our parents’ manager.”
 

Matt Whittaker, Rabobank’s Jake McKay, Angus Whittaker, Glen Whittaker, and Rabobank’s Sally Roche.

“Dad is happy to help us, but has a retirement plan approaching that doesn’t involve sitting on a tractor day-in-day-out,” Angus explains. “Dad knows the farm like the back of his hand, as does our agronomist who’s been with us for 25 years, and having their guidance is so important.”

“Matt and I soak up as much as we can from them – and I’m certainly not afraid to ask the dumb questions, often they can spark meaningful conversations about why we’re doing things, and whether we can do them better.”

Reflecting the industry’s regard of the operation, the Whittakers were recently named the 2025 Large Farmer of the Year at the Macquarie Cotton Grower Awards – receiving the award for the second year in a row.

Leveraging skills for a strong farm business

Angus and Matt are energized to continue expanding the family’s cropping enterprise, although he smiles that while their father might not share the same enthusiasm for growth, he's open and supportive of the direction his sons may take the business.

“Dad’s been in a growth phase his whole career so his priorities are slightly different to Matt and me, as we’re just getting started. The challenge is now how do we grow the business, whilst still supporting mum, dad and our two off-farm siblings?”

“Dad came to Warren in the mid-80s as an independent agronomist having worked for Auscott in Moree for three years,” Angus explains. “At the time people thought he was game growing cotton in Warren and said 'you're going the wrong way' – and today they're growing cotton in Victoria!”

Despite this, Glen identified the opportunity in Warren, share-farming before buying “Wingfield” in 1995 and developing it from grazing country into flood irrigation.

Reflecting this entrepreneurial spirit, each of the Whittaker siblings was encouraged to explore off-farm careers and potential futures before returning home.

Matt pursued an engineering pathway designing irrigation developments, while Angus gained valuable management skills working in corporate agriculture around the Darlington Point region.

“We have similar backgrounds, yet different strengths, and we each bring a fresh perspective to the business – collaboration across the cotton industry is one of its great attributes, and that flows to the farm gate level, all of our decision are made together and communicated openly.”
 

The future is bright, and white, at “Wingfield”, Warren.

Matt's engineering expertise ensures that the irrigation fields and system across “Wingfield” are efficient, with re-lasering of fields and upgrades to pump sites further improving water-use efficiency

Angus’s corporate background is also contributing to the business, particularly in regards to management.

“I’m very fortunate to have worked with, and learnt from, same amazing people in agriculture,” Angus reflects. “One of the greatest learnings of my career is the importance of being able to work with different personalities.”

“Relationships in ag are so important - whether it's on-farm for staff retention, or off-farm with commodity traders - having strong people skills is hugely valuable.”

Rabobank supporting the next transition

With Angus and Matt forming their own partnership, their Rabobank manager Jake McKay has been instrumental in helping facilitate a structure that affords the brothers independence, with a view to merge into the family business.

“This first year home my aim has been to just keep the business ticking along and learn the ropes, and now I’m ready to explore where the business is heading, what we want to achieve, and what does succession look like.”

“At the start of the transition, getting the operational fundamentals right was our focus – things like water management and timing of operations. Now heading into this season we're exploring opportunities to further challenge the way we do things and improve on the ‘one percenters'.”

Last year Angus participated in a Rabo Client Council Financial Skills Workshop, specifically designed to provide next generation farmers with the financial skills essential to managing a family farm.

The workshop coincided well with his return to the farm, and despite having some financial skills from the corporate sector, it gave him a good foundation as to where to focus in regards to farm finance.

“Dad has his numbers in his head, he’s good at that and does it intuitively, whereas for me, I need numbers on paper to help make data driven decisions.”

Soon, the family will attend another Rabo Client Council initiative, a Succession Planning and Business Transition workshop in Forbes, and he’s confident the insights will be just as valuable.

“Whenever Rabobank puts on an event or a workshop we always get a lot out of it, Rabo understands ag, its service is tailored to providing what we need to strengthen our farm business.”

Angus also appreciates the bank’s highly considered approach to their business.

“Our whole family works closely with the Dubbo branch, and the team took the approach of giving Matt and I a different manager to mum and dad so we could have a bit of autonomy over our loan, and develop our own relationship with an account manager.”
 

Matt and Angus Whittaker with their rural manager, Jake McKay, centre.

“Dubbo has a large team which makes this possible, and it’s this sort of attention to detail that we believe sets Rabobank apart.”

“It’s very reassuring to work with Jake – who is someone we trust, someone who knows the Warren community so well, and who we can talk to openly about our business and the best way to make our aspirations a reality.”

“I remember growing up we'd always welcome our bank manager with a cake and biscuits, it was always a very easy going and open discussion around the dining room table. I'm glad we're able to still have this friendly relationship with Jake and Kevin.”

A business to be proud of

While Angus was not always convinced his future was on the farm, today, with his partner Julia Moyes, two-year-old son Bailey and a baby due any day, he’s grateful to have the opportunity to join the family enterprise.

“Warren is an incredible community, after so many years away it’s nice to be amongst so many familiar faces, and I can now truly appreciate the diversity modern farming allows.”

“As a kid I thought of farming as sitting on a tractor for hours, and that is definitely not the case, it’s an incredible business my parents have built, it’s progressive, complex and full of opportunity and it’s something I’m really proud to be able to share in with my own young family.”