Where there’s a Will, there’s a way

Will, Michelle and Wal Hickman on their South Australian property.

Balancing decades of experience with youthful enthusiasm is a delicate challenge for many cross-generational farm business, yet South Australian father and son farming duo Wal and Will Hickman believe there’s no greater privilege.

With 18-year-old Will returning home in 2025, the pair is still easing into the new dynamic on the family’s Yorke Peninsula cropping operation.

“Not everyone gets the privilege to work side-by-side with their son in the paddock, it’s a unique and very cool opportunity we have in family farming, and I’m certainly open to his fresh ideas and suggestions for the business,” Wal smiles.

“You can’t shut the next generation out – when there’s an idea Will has that I think won’t work I have to let him have a go or he’ll simply never learn otherwise, and he may just prove me wrong, I don’t know everything, and the day I think I do is the day I should walk away.”

And although Wal jokes that wife Michelle may be called on to defuse a few arguments, the family is excited for a future with Will in the business.

This season, almost half the Hickman’s 1,600ha Curramulka property will be sown to lentils – which grow particularly well on the Yorke Peninsula – with barley and wheat rounding out the rest of the winter program.

“Each region has its strength, and ours seems to be lentils,” he explains. “The market’s been strong for the past 10 years and it’s been a very good cash crop for our business.”

With Wal’s great-grandfather – a windmill borer by trade – establishing the property, Will represents the fifth generation on the farm.

And with the family’s current focus on gaining efficiencies and improving poor soils, the business well-placed for an equally prosperous future.
 

RaboResearch analyst, Vitor Pistoia, with Will and Wal Hickman and Rabobank manager, Mark Northcott.

With their paddocks following a 12 metre semi-controlled traffic system, and having recently upgraded their sprayer to a 48 metre self-propelled implement, the time and fuel efficiency gained has already proven valuable.

Land prices in the region continue to soar – averaging around $10,000 to $14,000 per acre, and as such, improving their poorer sandier soils makes financial sense.

“My brother and I bought a clay spreader in 2006 and as a result much of our deep, non-wetting sandy pasture land has now been brought into production,” Wal explains.

"Our non-wetting soils are frustrating, but that’s the soil we have, so improving its productivity gains us instant hectares without having to increase debt purchasing additional land."

The Hickmans have also gained productivity gains thanks to pH mapping.

“We were able to use data to identify that our sandy soils are low in pH, and we’ve spread 2,000 tonnes of lime over the past two years to try and lift pH up to acceptable levels.”

A recent focus has also been integrated weed management, Harvest Weed Seed Control, and for the past three years Wal has been running a Seed Terminator - a combine harvester attachment that terminates weed seeds during harvest.

Wal believes the reduction in weed numbers is now measurable, and it’s a promising innovation for tackling weeds, particularly herbicide-resistant weeds.

 Admitting that they “still have a bit of work ahead of us” improving efficiencies, Wal is also conscious not to miss an opportunity.

“There’s certainly enough work for the three of us, but you have to keep your eyes open all the time – farming is a lifestyle, but it’s also a business and we want to continue growing and evolving to take advantage of scale, and the efficiency that affords.”

Demonstrating this mindset, the family recently purchased a block adjoining their home block, and also owns property south of Minlaton, plus manage Michelle’s family farm in the Sandilands region.

Rabobank insights help strengthen farm business

With unique first-hand access to some of Western Australia’s most progressive farms, coupled with precious one-on-one insights from RaboResearch analyst, Vitor Pistoia, Wal credits initiatives such as Rabobank’s Grains Knowledge Tour to Western Australia as invaluable learning opportunities.
 

Rabobank’s ‘East Meets West’ grain knowledge tour participants.

“Vitor spent a week on the bus with us from Perth to Geraldton, which was an incredible opportunity to pick his brain and really drill down on some of the global influences that underpin our Australian industry.”

More timely was a recent farm visit from Vitor, with the Hickman family’s Rabobank rural manager, Mark Northcott, taking the senior RaboReseach expert for a tour around the region.

“Given the conflict in the Middle East playing out, it was quite surreal to have Vitor sitting at our kitchen table and having that incredible opportunity to quiz him about the dynamics, and how that will impact us at the farm gate.”

Wal’s main take-away to limit exposure to global instability is to “control the things you can manage, because there’s plenty at the moment that we can’t control.”

“To have a personal visit from Vitor at this point in time felt very fortunate, and that’s the beauty of Rabobank – it’s no surprise that they bring their global specialists on-farm in the middle of the Yorke Peninsula, they know what farmers value and they deliver that directly to the door.”

“As a bank focussed only on agricultural clients, farming is Rabobank's core focus, so from their monthly market updates to our rural manager’s expertise, everything is specialised for ag.”
 

Wal gained first-hand insights from RaboResearch analyst, Vitor Pistoia during the Rabobank Grains Knowledge Tour to Western Australia.

The Hickman family’s Rabobank manager is Mark Northcott out of the Kadina branch, and Wal admits with a smile that “We can’t speak highly enough of him”.

“Mark has been instrumental in putting our business on the right path, setting up structures, and suggesting opportunities for us to strengthen our business.”

Wal reflects that it’s the attention to detail that makes Mark such a good manager.

“He’s extremely thoughtful, just one example is that for the past few years he has organised our annual review for when Will is home – he sees the future of our business and that really impressed me.”

“I read a long time ago that you can’t be good at everything, so surround yourself with good people who have the knowledge – we’re conscious to align ourselves with the best in the business so we’re always progressing and challenging ourselves.”

“We’ve had the same agronomist for 15 years, Mark for seven years, our accountant and grain marketer are also long-term, our philosophy is to surround ourselves with the right people for business success.”

With Will now home, Wal and Michelle smile that it’s difficult not to feel encouraged by the farm’s, and their family’s, future.

“We have an 18-year-old home and rearing to go, he’s as passionate about the industry as we are – how can you not be enthusiastic!”