PRIDE AND PEDIGREE
Inspiring young achiever follows the footsteps of industry greats by Robyn Devine
Ryan Soper, a young grower from Marian, always knew he would be a harvester. From an early age he was involved and helping on the family farms, and with two stalwarts of the industry as his grandfathers, he gained a world of experience and knowledge that have made him wiser than his years.
“I started driving harvesters when I was still in my teens, with my granddad Ted Bussey. It was something I always pushed with him, and he started to let me drive around the headlands when we were shifting from farm to farm or paddock to paddock and as I got older it was like ‘you’re driving the harvester now’,” Ryan said.
mentors. Fred Soper and Ted Bussey both spent many years in local and state grower representative roles on CANEGROWERS boards.
“I love harvesting, it suits me to the ground. I don’t really know why, but to me there is just something special about cutting cane that’s fun.”
But to Ryan they were just Granddad Soper and Granddad Bussey. He enjoyed helping them on their farms and now he leases his own land not far from the original family farms. His early years of experience within the industry have provided Ryan with a wealth of valuable knowledge and put him in good stead for his harvesting business.
With a solid family tradition in the industry, it’s no surprise that Ryan started his own harvesting business at the young age of 22. Both his grandfathers were industry leaders and
“When I was young, if we were watering the cane, Granddad Soper’s first stop was to pick me up and I remember my job was to hit the green button on the pumps when I was about four or five years old.
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"In the mornings I hit the red buttons and in the afternoon, I’d hit the green ones. “Every weekend during the harvest if Granddad Bussey was cutting cane, I’d be there begging him to let me in the harvester.” Recently Ryan was awarded the Young Achiever of the Year Award at the Mackay Productivity Awards ceremony. He said it was a great feeling to be recognised for the effort put into the industry and he would encourage growers to come back to farming, but only if they are committed. “The way I look at farming - it is what you make of it. If you put a half effort in then you are only going to get a half return on
