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21/05/2026
Peter and Donna Sexton have built a business, and family legacy, to be proud of.
Some career turning points are subtle, some more intentional – yet when Peter and Donna Sexton made the bold decision to exit dairy and try their hand at broadacre cropping, all signs indicated it was meant to be.
“The first property we looked at was at Terrappee, which is not far from where Donna grew up, and close to where her family lives,” Peter explains.
“The property ticked all the boxes, but I wasn’t holding my breath – then, only a couple of weeks later I walked in the back door after an afternoon milking cows, it was my birthday, and the phone was ringing.”
“I picked up and all my agent said was “you’ve got it” – we secured the property and it was an incredible birthday, I still remember it like it was just 10 minutes ago.”
While the Sextons initiation into cropping was swift, it wasn’t without a highly considered approach, and their ability to pivot quickly and realise opportunity has been their key to success.
Today the Sexton family, including son Billy, farm 3,000 hectares, owned and leased, and their highly efficient, and productive operation belies the humble beginnings of these first-generation farmers.
“I started as a Fitter and Turner in Bendigo,” Peter explains. “I always wanted to be a farmer, but it felt impossible without a family farm.”
First generation farmers, Peter and Donna Sexton built their business from scratch.
His luck changed after he was approached by his uncle who had a dairy, where the ambitious youngster share-farmed 110 cows.
“In my first year share-farming we bought a motorbike and a ute, in our second year we bought 110 cows,” Peter reflects. “After three years we moved to a bigger share-farm where we owned 250 cows – of which we sold 150 to purchase our first 40 hectares of underdeveloped land at Dingee in 1995.”
“There really is nothing better than buying your own land, knowing you’re in charge of your own destiny, and as first-generation farmers we weren’t accountable to our parents, we had full control over every decision – although that also meant there was no safety net if things went wrong.”
And at 19 per cent interest rates, the stakes were high.
Yet fortune favours the brave, and the young couple, just 26 and 25 at the time, built the business, gradually purchasing more land for scale and income, and at their peak milked 350 cows.
It was 2016 when Peter and Donna transitioned into cropping, with the demise of the Murray-Goulburn dairy company the catalyst, coupled with 27 years of milking cows.
“We were pretty worn out, and our kids were looking at coming home and we said to them, if you’re not passionate about milking cows it’s not for you – if you don’t love it, it’s not going to work.”
With Billy working as a contract harvester, broadacre farming was where his heart lay, and thus Peter’s ambitious plan to go cropping became a reality on that fateful birthday.
Billy Sexton is excited for his farming future.
Business growth a team effort
Their initial cropping property “Avondale” was well-developed, boasting good soils, efficient paddock lay outs, water piped from the Grampians, and decent infrastructure, yet the shift into a new enterprise was daunting.
Surrounding themselves with “good people” underpinned a successful transition.
“We have a great agronomist, financial consultants, and of course our Rabobank managers Leon Fennell and Jack McPherson.”
With the sale of their Dingee farms slightly stalled during the process, Peter admits it was a nervous time, eased enormously thanks to the support of Rabobank.
“The timelines we had on paper to sell Dingee and purchase at Terrappee didn’t quite match up realistically, and we gathered Leon and our accountant around the table, and despite things not going to plan, everyone agreed that we would push forward regardless.”
“Rabobank provided bridging finance to purchase at Terrappee, they understood our clear goal and commitment and it really demonstrated the bank’s engagement and understanding of our business – communication and understanding was key.”
The family regularly meet with their financial consultants, ORM, and believe having their Rabobank manager included in the meetings is crucial.
“We want Jack to be totally across our business, our KPIs, our input costs, labour costs – that way we all know where we sit and there are no surprises.”
The couple also appreciate the fact Jack is always enthusiastic to visit them on-farm.
Peter and Donna with Rabobank’s Jack McPherson from the Bendigo branch.
“It’s a nice, personal touch that Jack is so keen to jump on the tractor with me or come for a farm tour – he’s genuinely interested and knows our business inside and out – so when we need something he’s onto it, and we’ve found other banks have struggled in this regard.”
A bold move pays dividends
Enjoying a run of good seasons off the back of their fateful shift into cropping, Peter smiles that the move has proved a “very good decision.”
The family has invested in on-farm infrastructure, with a the addition of an on-farm weigh bridge a huge benefit – and a new machinery shed/workshop, new offices, ‘smoko room’ and toilet facilities all provide a professional look and feel, reflective of modern farming.
“Whether we’re trying to attract staff, or we’re hosting contractors or shearers, we want our infrastructure to appeal,” Peter says. “We’ve updated our tractor, air-seeder, header and trucks, and the place is set up now to run efficiently.”
And whilst future-ready, the farm is anchored by a 100-year-old homestead, which the family has renovated – a nod to the property’s rich history, and a commitment to its future.
In the ten years since their transition, the Sextons have expanded their operation, purchasing and leasing nearby blocks to improve efficiencies and facilitate succession.
With Billy, 32, and his fiancé Lily, now part of the business’s future, the Sextons have also established a sheep feedlot, comprising 2,000 lambs, for daughter Tessa and son-in-law Zak.
Tessa and Zak, with their young family, see their future in the sheep industry.
They’ve also made provisions for daughter Rebecca who works in ag consulting in Bendigo.
And while Peter and Donna are rightly proud of the business they’ve built from scratch, they acknowledge that it wasn’t without hardship.
“Building our business has taken a lot of hard work, and there have been plenty of challenges along the way.”
“From the high interest rates of the 90s, to the turbulence of Murray Goulburn Dairy, water prices, drought and milk price crash in the 2000s, milking cows got us to where we are today, but I’m not sure Donna and I would still be together if we were still in dairy,” Peter chuckles.
However, he smiles that he does pinch himself reflecting on the life he and Donna have built for their family.
“Sometimes I can’t believe that this is what I’ve always wanted to do, and here I am doing it – it’s taken passion, time, business vision, and a bit of luck along the way.”
Learning with Rabobank
Still considering themselves relatively new to an industry as complex as grains, the Sextons take every opportunity to upskill, with Rabobank’s 2025 Canadian Grains Tour a unique opportunity to gain global and local insights.
“The tour group included farmers from Geraldton to Dalby, and hearing how other people run their farms, and seeing first-hand some incredible operations certainly shows you what is possible, and refreshes your enthusiasm,” Peter reflects.
“With inputs and costs through the roof, there’s a lot of risk involved – there are big numbers involved and lots of moving parts, so you really have to be on the money in a cropping operation, and this tour certainly gave us an insight into some extremely well-run and profitable farm businesses.”
From little things, big things grow, and Peter Sexton has built a business, and lifestyle, now enjoyed by three generations.