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30/10/2025
Lock’s Andrew Polkinghorne has spent his lifetime contributing to, and progressing, Australian agriculture.
If you’d told Andrew Polkinghorne 30 years ago that his Eyre Peninsula sandy loams were capable of growing five tonnes of wheat to the hectare, he admits he would have told you “that’s madness.”
Yet in a quest to unlock his land’s full production potential, this Lock farmer has moved in lockstep with every grain industry progression - and in many cases has been a step ahead, helping lead enormous efficiency and production gains.
Moving an industry forward
Challenging grain growing conditions across his highly calcareous, sandy soils with low fertility proved catalyst for Andrew’s dedication to research and development, the grain grower of 40 years admitting he “had to evolve to get ahead.”
“Applying new technology and continuous advancements in research and development has underpinned the grain industry’s tremendous advancements, and it’s a sector that continues to evolve.”
From the early days of direct drilling and residue resilient machinery protecting soil from wind erosion, to auto steer, variable rate application, soil amelioration and recent developments in spray rig camera technology, grain growing’s history of innovation is now widely-accepted industry best practice.
And these are all examples of industry progression that Andrew adopted early, and led.
His roles as Trustee of the South Australian Grain Industry Trust (SAGIT), board member of Agriculture Research and Innovation Eyre Peninsula (AIREP) and a director of the grain shipping company T-Ports Pty Ltd provides a glimpse of Andrew’s significant contribution to industry.
The Caroline Welsh Churchill Fellowship, awarded in 2023, afforded him further opportunity to push boundaries, particularly around the use of fluid phosphorous fertiliser.
Andrew continues to be a leader in agricultural progression.
“In our highly calcareous soils, phosphorus fixes quickly and becomes unavailable to plants,” he explains. “I’d been part of trial work at the Minnipa Agricultural Centre during the late 1990s/early 2000s researching fluid versus granular application, so the Churchill Fellowship was an extension of this research.”
During his early trials Andrew – supported by the CSIRO, University of Adelaide and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) – experimented with liquid phosphorous, row delivered with the seed, and achieved an average of 19 percent increase in yield over and above using phosphorus in granular form.
“The total yield increase range was between seven percent and 38 percent, and as a result of these trials we’ve been applying fluid phosphorus since 2003.”
“This innovation, I believe, has been the greatest technological breakthrough we’ve had that directly impacted our bottom line and enabled us to grow our business.”
During his 2023 Fellowship Andrew visited Netherlands, England, Canada, Germany, and the USA to learn more about alternative forms of fluid phosphorous, logistics, storage systems, application systems, manufacturing systems, farmer use patterns, and environmental benefits.
“An opportunity such as the Churchill Fellowship opens your eyes to a broader horizon, and exposes you to different businesses – and the beauty of this program is that you can do it at any age and not just in agriculture if you have a worthwhile case.”
Rabobank was also supportive of his Churchill Fellowship, stepping in and arranging farm visits in The Netherlands and Germany, as well as a tour of head office in Utrecht, with some of the bank’s senior leaders.
Andrew with Rabobank’s Dale Stevenson.
His Churchill Fellowship also contributed to Andrew’s most recent accolade, being named South Australian Grain Industry Awards 2025 Grain Producer of the Year.
Andrew was recognised for his forward-thinking approach to farming, global research on grain industry trends through a Churchill Fellowship, and lessons applied in succession planning processes within his family business.
Education and business growth in-step correlation
Forty years ago education wasn’t necessarily prioritised amongst the farming community, yet Andrew was already breaking status quo.
“My parents were first-generation farmers and didn’t have a formal education in agriculture, and always felt that further training would have been helpful,” he reflects. “As such, they instilled in me a great respect for education, and I completed a Diploma in Farm Management from Marcus Oldham College in the late 70’s, and later a Bachelor of Business (Agricultural Management) in 2005.”
During seasonal and market downturns during the 80s and 90s Andrew also embraced off-farm careers to support the business, and worked as a Farm Consultant, a Rural Financial Counsellor, and for three years, was the General Manager of Farm Services at the University of Adelaide's Roseworthy Campus.
And he reflects that these roles afforded far more than simply off-farm income.
“I consider all of these opportunities as part of my education process, I gained skills in managing people, communication, health and safety – all skills that are today high relevant for a modern farm business.”
Andrew is helping build a strong future for agriculture, and his grandchildren.
A collaborative approach to knowledge, and business
Andrew’s parents purchased their original holding in 1966 – 310 hectares of partly cleared and partly fenced country in the Lock district.
In 1969 they purchased an additional 780 hectares of Mallee Scrub, borrowing the full purchase price and gradually clearing the land during what were, as Andrew describes, very lean years.
Yet with risk comes reward, and this bold endeavour lay the foundations of what is today a significant 8,000 hectare operation.
“My parents stayed on the place for 20 years before my wife Jenny and I took full control, and now my son Tim and his partner Ellen are helping manage the business and together we’re hoping to continue this pattern of growth.”
Tim and Ellen look to the future of the Polkinghorne farming operation.
The Polkinghorne cropping program comprises of wheat, lentils, canola and barley, and while the operation has largely moved away from sheep, Andrew smiles that there are still “a few” on-farm, keeping the tradition alive.
Collaboration is, he believes, equally as important as education, and Andrew has a history of creating unique opportunities for farmers to flex their collective strength.
He helped to form the Eyre Peninsula Liquid Fertiliser Buying Group, consisting of 38 farm businesses joining forces to purchase fertiliser in bulk, with discounts saving growers over the period approximately $5.8 million.
“Together we purchased product to cover 120,000 hectares of crop, which at the time was the largest single liquid fertiliser purchase, and demonstrated the value of working together.”
More recently Andrew has turned his attention to Innovation within the supply chain, and has been a key contributor to the development of the Lucky Bay T-Port.
The development is South Australia’s first farmer and private equity partnership port, helping provide competition in the supply chains whilst providing a freight saving for growers in the central and parts of upper Eyre Peninsula.
“T-Ports specialises in innovative solutions for the export of commodities, partnering with customers and investors to use a flexible model that positions port infrastructure close to the product’s origin,” Andrew, a T-Ports Director, says.
“Our aim is to put competition back into the market, and lift prices for everyone, and while it’s still early days, I think there’s certainly opportunity to build further transparency into the system and fostering direct relationships between the consumer and grain grower.”
Identifying and sharing the grain provenance story is what Andrew believes will be one of the most exciting innovations for the next generation to achieve.
Making vision a reality with Rabobank
Undertaking “a rather complicated land acquisition” a number of years ago proved catalyst for the Polkinghorne family’s move to Rabobank.
“I’d had three managers in nine months with a previous bank and they just couldn’t grasp the long-term vision we required of a bank.”
“Needless to say Rabobank had the deal done quicky and smoothly, and to this day we appreciate the stability in management, and the fact that they share our vision makes doing business so much easier.”
Andrew’s relationship with his rural manager, Stephanie Arnold out of the Port Lincoln branch is one he clearly values.
“We have a great relationship with Steph, both personally and business-wise. Her background as a grain trader and her grains industry expertise has made it a very easy transition, we feel confident she genuinely understands our business and what we need from a bank.”
“Likewise we have a good working relationship with Dale Stevenson, who leads the team as Area Manager. It’s reassuring to have a number of points of contact in the bank, we’re not always having to explain ourselves, and when we need to make a move, everyone is on the same page.”
Rabobank’s Stephanie Arnold and Dale Stevenson with Andrew Polkinghorne, centre.
Having dry sown almost 7,000 hectares, he said seasons such as the one the region is currently experiencing reiterated how important it was to have a good manager and bank by your side.
“It’s important to have someone who knows your vision and your strategic plan so that you can get through the tough times, agriculture requires a long-term view, and we feel very assured having Steph and Dale supporting our business.”
Next-Gen taking a lead
With Tim and Ellen’s three young children – Andrew and Jenny’s grandchildren – all budding farmers, it’s a family business legacy that’s clearly the source of great pride.
Tim Polkinghorne.
“It’s satisfying to see the reward for so much effort, and although there will always be challenges ahead in farming, it’s heartening to see how far we’ve come and all the gains grain growers have made.”
“Hard work, good luck and a fair bit of risk has underpinned our operation, and I also feel incredibly lucky to have had the support of my wife, Jenny.”
“We’ve had our challenges, but we could see the vision and we committed, and it really feels like things have come together for our business during the past 15 years, and now we’re all excited to see how it can progress even further."
Four generations of Polkinghornes helping lead an industry.