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01/09/2026
The Poulsen family, Brenda, John, Mark and Greg made a strategic shift from Queensland to King Island, Tasmania.
Extreme times call for extreme measures, and fed up with Queensland’s incessant droughts, the Poulsen family made a bold play – moving three generations to one of the farthest, yet seasonally consistent, corners of Australia.
John and Brenda Poulsen, together with their sons Greg and Mark, ran a significant cattle operation in Queensland’s St George region, yet were drought weary after ‘copping a caning’ 2013 to 2015, John explains.
“We started looking for additional land within a day’s drive of St George, yet nothing was quite right.”
“We began looking further afield and realised nowhere on the mainland is drought resistant, and so we figured if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it properly.”
After much consideration, the family settled on King Island, Tasmania – a highly productive oasis affording an opportunity for scale, rainfall, and fertile soils.
While the isolation and logistics of life on a remote island may deter some, the whole Poulsen family was on board, including Greg and Mark’s wives, Susan and Anita, and their young children.
John smiles that it would have been easier to keep some property and one of his sons in Queensland, which was his preference, yet everyone wanted ‘in’ on the new adventure.
Brenda and John Poulsen - from Gympie, to St George, and now King Island.
The plan was set in motion with the family’s first purchase on King Island in 2016, yet despite the best laid plans, the process was anything but seamless.
“It was very hard work lining up the sale of our St George land, and the purchase of our King Island property – it was like you couldn’t even give land in St George away at the time.”
Regardless, the family continued expanding on King Island, and are grateful to Rabobank, and their then manager, Shaun Brennan out of the Goondiwindi branch.
“Rabo supported us through the transition, despite the lag in selling our St George holding – they knew we were committed, and they committed to us, without which we never could have pulled the plan off.”
Today the Poulsens’ farmland spans 3,000 hectares, and they’ve continued to expand on the Island, and into Tasmania, running a Poll Hereford and Angus commercial operation and a small stud enterprise.
Despite a personal mantra to ‘look forward, not back’, John reflects on the success of the move, although chuckles that they still keep an eye on the St George seasons, and that “when it’s good, we think, ok, we would have done alright, and when it’s not so flash, we feel particularly positive about the move!”
A commitment to move to King Island, research to validate their decision, and sticking to their plan underpinned a transition that has paid dividends.
“If you want to make a move it is hard, but it can be done, and in our case, it’s been a very worthwhile endeavour.”
No hiding from drought
One of the main learnings from the move is that nowhere is truly drought-proof in Australia, exemplified by the severe drought that impacted King Island in 2024/25.
And whilst challenging, the family felt well-equipped to face the familiar foe.
“Thanks to our time in Queensland we had the tools to help manage through the dry time – we got our cattle out and into feedlots early and stored feed, however the logistical and biosecurity issues getting feed to the island, or cattle off the island to sell was tricky, but we survived it.”
Rabobank's Dee Commins with Greg, Brenda, John, Max, Mark and Anita Poulsen.
The remoteness of the island is a unique point of difference the whole family embrace.
“I love the quietness of it, there are no traffic lights, you don’t have to lock your car – it really is a lovely way to live, and quite rare these days – and at the end of the day we’re still only a half hour flight to Melbourne.”
Brenda, a self-described ‘home body’, agrees, and says she’s happy wherever John and the family are.
Last year, the eldest of their five grandchildren will return to the farm, and John chuckles that it’s just in the nick of time.
“I’ve been telling the family for a while that I’m wearing out,” he smiles, and confirms his growth aspirations have well and truly been met thanks to the move to King Island.
“I’m 70 now and very happy with the business we’ve grown, each of the boys will have a land parcel big enough to continue running with their own children, and it’s exciting that we’ve all been united in our path forward on King Island to get to this point.”
“I feel like I can relax a bit now, there’s still debt, but the cattle market is good, the boys can go their own way, and Brenda and I can enjoy life.”
Rabobank support from one end of Australia to another
As long-term Rabobank clients, the Poulsen family – who initially ran cattle in the Gympie region, before purchasing in St George to gain scale for their growing family – credit Rabobank as being instrumental to their growth.
John, Mark, Brenda, Max, Anita, and Greg Poulsen with their Rabobank manager, Dee Commins.
“We bought five properties through Rabobank in the 20 years we were in St George, and the process was always really positive,” John reflects.
“The transition to King Island, and our growth here, has also been well supported by Rabobank, to the point there was a farm acquisition with settlement delayed for six months due to the vendor, and in that six months cattle prices fell significantly, and drought set in – yet Rabobank looked after us.”
With only having had four managers in the 26 years they’ve been with Rabobank, John says it’s consistency they value highly, and are grateful for their rural manager, Dee Commins.
“Dee is fantastic, her knowledge of our industry, and banking, is outstanding, and she’s a person who loves to learn – she asks questions and genuinely wants to know all about our business and how she can best support us, and we really appreciate that.”
John also credits Rabobank’s All In One account for facilitating the family’s impressive business growth.
“I don’t think we could have done what we’ve done if we’d had principal pressure, the All In One is so flexible that in the tough years you only need to worry about interest, and you can pay down principal in the good years, which we diligently do.”
“For me, this is the only way to go, pay when you can, not when you have to thanks to the All In One account.”
While it was a bold move, the Poulsen family’s ability to pivot and be agile has paid dividends – and while it hasn’t always been easy, as he sits and watches seals bounce through the ocean from his kitchen window, John reflects that it was a move the whole family is grateful for.