Nic Baker is a Farmer and Contractor, and he runs a 3,600-acre cropping, cattle, and contracting operation with his wife and parents just outside Coonabarabran.

In this episode, Nic discusses how his farm’s breeding operation shifted from Angus to Wagyu and how dual-purpose cropping helps to fill the winter feed gap for his breeding stock while also improving his cash flow. He also outlines his journey from purely haymaking to incorporating silage into their fodder program and how they were able to reduce the cost of upgrading by utilising as much existing machinery as possible.

Local Land Services Cropping Officer, Tim Bartimote, caught up with Nic for this chat on his property overlooking the Warrumbungles on a beautiful sunny day.

 

Nominate a Mate:

• If you'd like to nominate a mate (or yourself) as a potential future guest on the podcast, you can do so here: Nominate a Mate for 'Seeds for Success'.

 

Connect:

• Central West LLS website
• Central West LLS on Facebook
• Central West LLS on X
• Central West LLS on YouTube

 

The views contained in this podcast series are not necessarily endorsed by Central West Local Land Services. Listeners are advised to contact their local office to discuss their individual situation.

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Mitch Rubie and his father run the 1,400 mixed farming operation that forms the basis of Lachlan Merinos. Mitch describes it as a grass-growing business, with the Rubies growing irrigated fodder crops, grazing canola, cereals, and lucerne-based pastures alongside their Merino seed stock.

In this episode, Mitch explains how they select the best Merinos for breeding, the importance of good breeding values and genetics, and how better benchmarking has led to better genetic decisions in their seed stock.

Local Land Services Mixed Farming Advisor, Rohan Leach, sat down for this chat with Mitch at his kitchen table overlooking the Lachlan River.

This episode of the Seeds for Success podcast is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.

 

Resources and links:

• Lachlan Merinos website

 

Nominate a Mate:

• If you'd like to nominate a mate (or yourself) as a potential future guest on the podcast, you can do so here: Nominate a Mate for 'Seeds for Success'.

 

Connect:

• Central West LLS website
• Central West LLS on Facebook
• Central West LLS on X
• Central West LLS on YouTube

 

The views contained in this podcast series are not necessarily endorsed by Central West Local Land Services. Listeners are advised to contact their local office to discuss their individual situation.

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Tim Flynn is the Principal Solicitor at Land Law Co and also owns and runs his family’s farm, ‘Strathallyn’, north of Mudgee. ‘Strathallyn’ is a 50/50 fine wool and cattle operation that is in the process of transitioning to a straight cattle trading operation.

In this episode, Tim discusses the importance of succession planning, how his legal background helped him navigate his family's succession process fairly, and the lessons he has learned through these experiences. He also discusses the challenges of an off-farm business and a working farm, the role of agritourism, and the rise of renewable energy companies pitching "alternative income streams" to farmers, with the reminder to any farmers considering a renewables proposal to seek professional advice before signing anything.

Local Land Services Senior Ag Advisor, Lauren Roberts, caught up with Tim at his office in Mudgee for this chat.

 

Resources and links:

• Land Law Co website
• Young Farmer Business Program website

 

Nominate a Mate:

• If you'd like to nominate a mate (or yourself) as a potential future guest on the podcast, you can do so here: Nominate a Mate for 'Seeds for Success'.

 

Connect:

• Central West LLS website
• Central West LLS on Facebook
• Central West LLS on X
• Central West LLS on YouTube

 

The views contained in this podcast series are not necessarily endorsed by Central West Local Land Services. Listeners are advised to contact their local office to discuss their individual situation.

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Ian Manwaring and his family run a mixed farming operation alongside his brother Doug and his family across 65,000 acres at Malleevale near Condobolin. In addition to a successful cropping enterprise, Ian and his wife have a goat breeding operation, crossbreeding rangelands and imported U.S. bloodlines. 

In this episode, Ian explains the origins of their goat breeding business and how they’ve bred the Contender goat line to produce animals tough enough for the environment but with good muscling and meat.

Local Land Services Senior Natural Resource Officer, Jasmine Wells, caught up with Ian at home in Malleevale.

 

Resources and links:

• Contender Meat Goats on Facebook

 

Nominate a Mate:

• If you'd like to nominate a mate (or yourself) as a potential future guest on the podcast, you can do so here: Nominate a Mate for 'Seeds for Success'.

 

Connect:

• Central West LLS website
• Central West LLS on Facebook
• Central West LLS on X
• Central West LLS on YouTube

 

The views contained in this podcast series are not necessarily endorsed by Central West Local Land Services. Listeners are advised to contact their local office to discuss their individual situation.

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Stephen and Melanie Cooper run a self-replacing merino operation and winter crop on their 4,200-hectare property at Caragabal, west of Grenfell.

In this episode, Stephen and Melanie discuss the strip and disc seeding system they use on their farm. They get candid about how drought and rising input costs influenced their decision to adopt the strip and disc method, and the benefits they’ve already seen in soil health and ground cover. Melanie also shares her love of working with Weddin Landcare to bring farmers together to learn from each other.

Local Land Services Mixed Farming Advisor, Rohan Leach, settled in for this chat with Stephen and Melanie on-farm after some much appreciated rain.

 

Resources and links:

• Weddin Landcare website

 

Nominate a Mate:

• If you'd like to nominate a mate (or yourself) as a potential future guest on the podcast, you can do so here: Nominate a Mate for 'Seeds for Success'.

 

Connect:

• Central West LLS website
• Central West LLS on Facebook
• Central West LLS on X
• Central West LLS on YouTube

 

The views contained in this podcast series are not necessarily endorsed by Central West Local Land Services. Listeners are advised to contact their local office to discuss their individual situation.

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Kim Kiss owns and operates Grassland Poultry alongside her husband Brian, just outside Wellington. Grassland Poultry is a free-range chicken farm where they breed, hatch, raise, and process the chickens completely on-farm.

In this episode, Kim explains why she and Brian chose to pivot from cattle to chickens, how their free-range chicken farm runs a little differently than most, and why the Sommerlad breed is perfect for Australian conditions.  

Local Land Service Mixed Farming Advisor, Claudia Hinrichsen, sat down with Kim for a cup of tea and a chat about chooks.

 

Resources and links:

• Grassland Poultry website

 

Nominate a Mate:

• If you'd like to nominate a mate (or yourself) as a potential future guest on the podcast, you can do so here: Nominate a Mate for 'Seeds for Success'.

 

Connect:

• Central West LLS website
• Central West LLS on Facebook
• Central West LLS on X
• Central West LLS on YouTube

 

The views contained in this podcast series are not necessarily endorsed by Central West Local Land Services. Listeners are advised to contact their local office to discuss their individual situation.

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Camilla Herbig is a Farmer alongside her husband on their property at Collie, a Rural Mental Health Advocate with RAMHP, and the mind behind Tractor Snacks, which provides recipe inspiration for the busy farm and household. 

In this episode, Camilla describes advocates for greater support services for farmers and rural areas. She also shares the inspiration for Tractor Snacks and how more nutritious food in the field helps to reduce farmer fatigue and on-farm accidents with a tasty treat. 

Local Land Services Team Leader, Neroli Brennan, caught up with Camilla in the Dubbo LLS office for this chat.

 

Mental health support:

If this episode has raised any concerns or feelings for you, please reach out to:

• Lifeline on 13 11 14
• The Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511

 

Resources and links:

• Norco National Farmer Wellbeing Report
• ‘Let’s Talk About Rural Adversity’ factsheet from RAMHP
• RAMHP website
• Tractor Snacks website
• Tractor Snacks on Instagram

 

Nominate a Mate:

• If you'd like to nominate a mate (or yourself) as a potential future guest on the podcast, you can do so here: Nominate a Mate for 'Seeds for Success'.

 

Connect:

• Central West LLS website
• Central West LLS on Facebook
• Central West LLS on X
• Central West LLS on YouTube

 

The views contained in this podcast series are not necessarily endorsed by Central West Local Land Services. Listeners are advised to contact their local office to discuss their individual situation.

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Laura Harris is the owner of Beau River Beef, a cattle breeding operation utilising agistment properties across NSW from Griffith to Orange. Laura also works for Local Land Services as part of the Invasive Species team. 

In this episode, Laura discusses the humble origins of her Santa Gertrudis x Angus crossbred herd and how she uses agistment for her breeding operation until she can purchase her own property. She explains why she thinks agistment is an underutilised resource, how to find it, how to value it, and how to plan for droughts when you don’t have your own land.

Local Land Services Mixed Farming Advisor, Rohan Leach, caught up with Laura in the Forbes LLS Office for this chat.

 

Resources and links:

• Beau River Beef on Facebook

 

Nominate a Mate:

• If you'd like to nominate a mate (or yourself) as a potential future guest on the podcast, you can do so here: Nominate a Mate for 'Seeds for Success'.

 

Connect:

• Central West LLS website
• Central West LLS on Facebook
• Central West LLS on X
• Central West LLS on YouTube

 

The views contained in this podcast series are not necessarily endorsed by Central West Local Land Services. Listeners are advised to contact their local office to discuss their individual situation.

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

This episode is part two of our two-part chat with Annie Scott. In the last episode, Annie discussed how she and her team use extensive data collection to consistently improve their Angus livestock.

In this episode, Annie shares her personal journey as an Angus breeder, starting as a Youth Ambassador in the 1990s and culminating in hosting the recent World Angus Forum, where she was given an industry award for over 20 years of dedication to the Angus breed. She also dives into how to bridge the city-country divide and the importance of mentoring the younger generation.

This episode of Seeds For Success is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate Smart Agriculture Program.

 

Resources and links:

• Karoo Angus website

 

Nominate a Mate:

• If you'd like to nominate a mate (or yourself) as a potential future guest on the podcast, you can do so here: Nominate a Mate for 'Seeds for Success'.

 

Connect:

• Central West LLS website
• Central West LLS on Facebook
• Central West LLS on X
• Central West LLS on YouTube

 

The views contained in this podcast series are not necessarily endorsed by Central West Local Land Services. Listeners are advised to contact their local office to discuss their individual situation.

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.

Annie Scott is an Angus Breeder and Advocate at ‘Karoo’, a 2,300-hectare farm and Angus stud between Bathurst and Lithgow, which Annie took over from her parents in 2008, with a later partnership with her father in 2018.

In this episode, Annie explains how extensive data collection combined with an improvement philosophy has allowed Karoo Angus to produce high-quality animals. She also discusses the importance of pasture management and why shifting their calving period to later in the season has contributed to their success.

Local Land Service Senior Ag Advisor, Lauren Costin, sat down with Annie at ‘Karoo’ for this far-reaching chat.

This episode is part one of our two-part chat with Annie.

This episode of Seeds For Success is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate Smart Agriculture Program.

 

Resources and links:

• Karoo Angus website

 

Nominate a Mate:

• If you'd like to nominate a mate (or yourself) as a potential future guest on the podcast, you can do so here: Nominate a Mate for 'Seeds for Success'.

 

Connect:

• Central West LLS website
• Central West LLS on Facebook
• Central West LLS on X
• Central West LLS on YouTube

 

The views contained in this podcast series are not necessarily endorsed by Central West Local Land Services. Listeners are advised to contact their local office to discuss their individual situation.

This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.