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An online bidding war between studs from Victoria, NSW and Western Australia resulted in a new record top price of $10,600 for a White Suffolk ram at the Pepperton Farms Poll Dorset and White Suffolk stud sale.
Hosted by the Trewick family on-property at Elmore on October 16, the ram sale and stage one ewe dispersal drew 65 registered buyers in the sale barn and was interfaced with AuctionsPlus.
A total of 43 Poll Dorset rams sold from the 50 offered to a top of $3600 and average of $1386 while 28 from 50 White Suffolk rams sold to a top of $10,600 and average of $1093.
In the ewe dispersal, 110 Poll Dorset ewes sold to a top price of $4600 with an average of $654 while 44 White Suffolk ewes sold to a top price of $3200 and an average of $489.
A syndicate of Craig Mitchell, Gemini Prime Lamb stud, Wenerth, Victoria, Andrew Heinrich, Ellamatta Pastoral, Kangaroo Island, and the Funke family, Bundara Downs, Bordertown, South Australia, purchased the record priced ram, Lot 51, which ranked in the top one per cent of the breed for muscling, LEQ (lamb eating quality) and TCP (terminal carcase production).
These traits combined with low birthweight, positive fat, lean meat yield and high growth.
Sired by Felix 211239, the ram had already been used in the Pepperton stud with lambs on the ground.
Mr Mitchell said the mix of superior data and ram’s carcase quality and muscle impressed the syndicate.
“The ram will go into an AI centre for semen collection and then to Bundara Downs,” he said.
In the stage one ewe dispersal, Lot 109, a Poll Dorset ewe ranking in the top one per cent for post eye weaning muscle depth and terminal carcase production sold for the top price of $4600 to Lachie Kelly, Ivadene and LSK studs, Hexham, Victoria.
Mr Kelly runs 1200 ewes of three breeds across two studs and has had good success using semen from Pepperton 303/20. He also paid the second top price of $3000 in the Poll Dorset ewe offering.
“I didn’t want to miss a good opportunity,” he said.
Repeat client Linda Fawns, from Saber Poll Dorset in Deniliquin, paid the top price in the Poll Dorset ram offering
of $3600 for Lot 4, which ranked in the top one per cent of the breed for post weaning weight and terminal carcase production.
The spring 2023 drop ram also ranked in the top five per cent of all Poll Dorset’s in the country for muscle and this combined with a low to moderate birthweight.
“This ram has exceptional weaning and post weaning weight and really good eye muscle,’ Linda said.
“We have bought Pepperton rams before and they have performed well.
“We also use a lot of Pepperton semen in our AI program so this was a great opportunity.
“The Trewicks have contributed a lot to the Meat Elite Group, so it is a sad day to see (the ewe dispersal) but I understand it is time for the next phase of their life.”
The sale was officially opened by Meat Elite president Dale Price who paid tribute to the Trewick family for their 25 years of progeny testing of young rams, participating in taste trials, and their on farm raw data collection contributing to the standards for Australian Sheep Breeding Values.
In 2024, Roger Trewick is marking 30 years of breeding Poll Dorsets, 20 years of White Suffolks and 60 years of breeding stud sheep. The second stage of the Pepperton ewe dispersal will be held in March 2025 and the final sale of rams and 2024 drop ewes in October 2025.
Pepperton stud co-principal Dianne Trewick was pleased with the sale result, saying purchasers included many new and repeat clients.
“It was good to see the tops of the White Suffolk rams going to well-known studs,” Mrs Trewick said.
“It has been a challenging year season wise in the districts where our clients come from so it was a pleasing result given the current market.
“Sucker lamb producers were chasing growth and muscle for high weaning weights. There was also some interest in the LEQ which we have been concentrating on and have many high figures in.
“The ewe top price of $4600 was above expectations with new clients buying. Dale Price, Majardah stud, South Australia, bought the top price White Suffolk ewe at $3200.”
Greg Dean from Stawell, and Simon Dean from Camperdown purchased three White Suffolk rams to a top of $2000 for their prime lamb enterprise at Landsborough. Long-time clients of Pepperton, they were looking for high growth, muscling, moderate birthweight, and fat above -0.5. The family runs 1200 CentrePlus Merino ewes and join to Pepperton White Suffolks rams to turn off trade lambs.
“This year we ran out of lucerne so turned the mixed sex lambs off at three to four months of age averaging 37kg liveweight on AuctionsPlus to return $133,” Simon said.
“We selected rams today on good post weaning weights, eye muscle and a bit more negative on fat.
“It was tremendous value buying here today with the quality of the stock.”
Andrew Gillett from Wunnamurra Poll Dorset stud in Jerilderie outlaid $3000 for a Poll Dorset ram ranking in the top one per cent for LEQ and top five per cent for TCP.
Among the volume buyers were Wagga Regional Livestock with seven Poll Dorset rams to a top of $2200
and Jonathon Nield of Moama with three Poll Dorset rams to $1400. Selling agents were Ray White GTSM and Elders with James Brown, Michael Glasser and Ryan Bajada auctioneering.
Auctioneer Michael Glasser said buyers responded to the better end of the ewes while commercial producers underpinned the rams seeking weaning weights, growth, muscle, fat cover and eating quality.
AuctionsPlus drew 157 logins, 21 active bidders, 83 lots were sold online, and there were 2818 catalogue views.
Pepperton also has rams available for private treaty and visit www.pepperton.com.au for more details.
The Finley PCP (Passionate Community Participants) is thrilled to announce that it has received a significant funding boost support the installation of automated irrigation procedures on their farming property, Mandalay.
It will help to free up volunteer time and enhance operational efficiency.
The grant was received from Nutrien Ag Solutions, through their Community Grants Program administered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR).
The program is designed to empower rural and regional communities by supporting projects that promote sustainability, innovation, and community development.
The grant awarded to Finley PCP will aid in futureforward agricultural practices aimed at optimising water management through automated irrigation systems on their property.
Finley PCP board member Chris Kelly said the automated irrigation system will substantially reduce the time and effort volunteers currently spend manually managing irrigation.
With this system in place, precise and timely watering will be ensured, allowing for more efficient resource use.
Volunteers will then be able to focus on other important cropping and farming activities.
Additionally, the new system will improve the property’s resilience to droughts, which are a frequent challenge in the region.
“We are incredibly grateful to Nutrien Ag Solutions and FRRR for supporting our vision,” Mr Kelly said.
“The installation of an automated irrigation system will not only improve our ability to manage water efficiently, but it will also enable our volunteers to devote their valuable time to other essential aspects of our farming operations.
“This project perfectly aligns with our goals of promoting sustainability and enhancing community wellbeing through smart, efficient practices.”
FRRR has long been a champion of community-driven initiatives that support rural and regional Australia.
By administering Nutrien Ag Solutions’ Community Grants Program, it ensures that funding is channelled to projects with long-term benefits.
Mr Kelly said the automated irrigation system at ‘Mandalay’ exemplifies this focus, addressing both environmental sustainability and volunteer engagement— two pillars critical to the long-term resilience of rural communities.
Fellow board member Sue Escott said the Finley PCP board is optimistic about the future, with the new funding enabling the organisation to modernize and improve operational efficiency.
She said the grant highlights Finley PCP’s commitment to adopting new technologies that can benefit both the organisation and the broader community it serves.
“Finley PCP would like to extend its sincere thanks to Nutrien Ag Solutions, FRRR, and the dedicated
volunteers who form the backbone of the organisation’s operations,” she said.
“With this project underway, Finley PCP looks forward to a more sustainable, efficient, and community-focused future.”
Finley PCP’s main goal is to hold and manage incomegenerating rural land, with all profits being reinvested into the local community.
Their efforts will help fund community projects, facilities, and initiatives beyond the reach of other local organisations.
The focus of the organisation is to expand its agricultural operations, including crop farming and share farming, with the ultimate goal of supporting the town of Finley through financial assistance.
Recently, Finley PCP identified an innovative revenue stream that has further enhanced its ability to generate income for the community.
The group has been baling and on-selling remaining straw from their winter crops to feedlots.
Finley PCP member Warren Lang said this creative approach has provided a significant boost to the
organisation’s income, resulting in over $100,000 in additional revenue.
The straw, left after harvesting crops such as barley and wheat, is baled and sold as animal feed to various local feedlots, further diversifying the group’s income base.
“This new revenue stream from the sale of straw has provided a much-needed financial boost for our organisation,“ Mr Lang said.
“The support we’ve received from local farmers and businesses, who generously lent us the necessary machinery for baling, has been incredible.
“It’s this kind of community cooperation that allows us to continue investing in Finley’s future.”
The proceeds from straw sales will be used not only to reduce the organisation’s financial commitments, but also to explore new opportunities for improving community facilities, supporting local organisations, and ensuring that Finley continues to thrive.
For more information about Finley PCP and its projects, or how you can support its efforts, email info@finleypcp. com.au or go to www.finleypcp.com.au
“The installation of an automated irrigation system will not only improve our ability to manage water efficiently, but it will also enable our volunteers to devote their valuable time to other essential aspects of our farming operations..”
CHRIS KELLY
Murray Local Land Services recently had eight soil moisture probes and weather station sites go live on the Farming Forecaster website.
Farming Forecaster is free to access, and is a decision support platform available for stakeholders across the region.
It can provide information relating to:
• Rainfall
• Soil moisture percentage
• Pasture modelling relative to historic data (modelled for four months in advance)
• Enterprise information the model is based on
• Soil characterisation for the site
• Weather station information (some sites)
The ‘green herbage growth’ model is available on both physical probe sites and virtual sites for the region, and models are based on pasture type for that site and enterprise management information.
The model utilises 30 years of historical data to show GREEN pasture growth patterns, as well as an ‘actual’ tracking line and seasonal information from the nearest 5km gridded SILO weather station to indicate where pasture growth is tracking relative to historic variation. Bear in mind when looking, this model does not account for dry/ dead standing pasture in the paddock. Producers can utilise this information to:
• Identify alternative areas where pasture growth is high and seasonal conditions are favourable for potential agistment availability
• Identify where seasonal conditions are projecting relative to historical data for early decision making
• Assist in determining whether likely pasture modelled is sufficient to support stock on hand.
The soil moisture probes are measuring percentage moisture at specific measurements down the profile, coupled with soil characteristics information for the site, landholders are able to locate information within geographic proximity to their farm and also scan alternative locations with similar soil types to theirs to compare response to rainfall.
This information can be used at various times including:
• Sowing decisions
• Yield estimates
• Fertiliser applications relative to available soil moisture
• Irrigation applications
All landholders are able to access Farming Forecaster via www.farmingforecaster.com.au, and following through the site to relevant locations or learning tools.
Farming Forecaster currently hosts sites in regions across NSW, Tasmania, Western Australia and ACT with additional sites likely to be added over time.
For further information regarding Murray region sites, contact me at rebecca.stacey@lls.nsw.gov.au.
Contributed by Rebecca Stacey (pictured), senior local lands officer - mixed farming with Murray Local Land Services.
TAFE NSW Hay has helped a former florist raised in suburban Bathurst make an unlikely career pivot to wool classing, as the spring shearing season hits full swing.
Rebecca Owen, 35, was trained at TAFE NSW as a florist and an aged care assistant-innursing in her 20s, before falling in love with the wool industry and moving to Hay.
After taking a job as a roustabout in local sheds five years ago, Ms Owen this year turned to TAFE NSW Hay to take her career to the next level, enrolling in a Certificate IV in Wool Classing.
It comes as demand surges for wool classers nationally as the shearing and lamb marking season ramps up.
Hay is at the centre of what is regarded as one of the best Merino wool-growing regions in Australia, with 26 studs found on the Riverine Plains.
“From the moment I stepped inside a wool shed, I’ve loved the idea of a career in wool,” Ms Owen said.
“The energy, drive, ambition and physical side of the job is just addictive.”
Ms Owen is currently working as a wool handler for Willshear in Hay and hopes to use the practical skills and experience learned in her wool classing course to progress her career.
“I want to eventually work as a wool classer, but the course is giving me better skills and a deeper understanding of my current role as a wool handler,” she said.
“My TAFE New South Wales wool classing teacher, Kayla, is a wonderful teacher and I truly believe if you learn from the best, you become the best.”
Ms Owen is one of a growing number of “townies” – people from a non-rural background – turning to TAFE NSW to help them retrain to a career in ag.
NSW Farmers workplace relations chair Chris Stillard said new data showing more students from non-farming backgrounds were studying agriculture at TAFE NSW was a positive for the industry.
“TAFE New South Wales will play an important role in helping the industry have a skilled pipeline of workers into the future,” he said.
Certificate IV in Wool Classing graduates can register with the Australian Wool Exchange to receive an Australian classer registration, allowing them to work as registered classes in shearing sheds across Australia.
TAFE NSW Hay wool classing teacher Kayla Garner, who was crowned Australian National Wool Handling Champion in 2013 and has nearly 20 years’ experience as a wool classer, said TAFE NSW graduates in the industry were in high demand.
“The overwhelming majority of our wool graduates walk straight into jobs and the industry offers a great lifestyle and opportunity to earn good money,” Ms Garner said.
Ms Garner said graduates typically found work as wool classers or wool brokers, assessing the quality of fleece or estimating its value and on-selling it.
Milking 2000 cows across two, soon to be three, dairies near Finley means Ruth and Neville Kydd are heavily reliant on external labour.
Working alongside their sons Daniel and Steven, the Kydd’s business has a philosophy of employing on attitude rather than just experience.
That approach has worked out well for them over the years, especially considering a large part of their external workforce is now made up of people from overseas.
“It is important we have people working on our farm who fit into our (business) culture, and we always try our best to accommodate our individual workers’ needs and ambition,” Ruth explains.
“If someone wants to work 38 hours or only 10 hours a week, we work around that – and if someone wants to upskill, we make that happen as well.”
The Kydds are milking at two dairies at Myrtle Park, and construction of their third will be finished soon.
Working alongside the family are eight employed staff. That number may increase once the third dairy is operational.
The family also take on season workers as required when work ramps up, usually around calving time in June and July.
Milking is one skill that is simply not negotiable, and the family has found buddying up new employees with experienced staff members really helps with building skills and competency.
As English is often a second language for many of their employees, Ruth says she is conscious not to bombard team members with a lot of verbal instruction.
Proper and adequate training is essential for upskilling people, and the Kydds’ team members are regular attendees at Dairy Australia courses, including milking and mastitis management, chemical handling and first aid.
The Kydds’ found however that some of their people aren’t comfortable learning in a classroom environment.
“We have found the Dairy Australia online education platform, called Enlight, where they can watch videos online over and over again, has worked really well and takes some of the pressure off,” Ruth explains.
Ruth says when it comes to a dairy farm business, it is very hard to find an employment approach that will work for everyone.
“I only know what works well for us and our staff,” she says.
The Kydd family always remain conscious of the individual roles they play in the training of their team.
“I always try to turn things around and look at it from the employees’ point of view,” says Ruth.
“If they make a mistake, I ask myself: ‘have we done something wrong? Has that person been trained well enough, or do we need to revisit their instruction?’”
Luckily staff turnover isn’t a major issue for the Kydds, with most permanent staff well into their second or third year of employment.
“What we do here seems to work,” Ruth reflects.
Supporting people training and development has also helped the Kydd’s farm build a strong reputation as an excellent place to work.
“Often we have friends of our current staff come looking for a job, which is where employing on attitude rather than skill helps our business – we will give anyone a go if they have the right attitude.”
Ruth and Neville have been farming in the Myrtle Park area since 1985, and previously share farmed in Gippsland.
With their continued growth, the family now produces an average of 10 million litres of milk each year, which is supplied to Saputo in Cobram.
To find out more about how Dairy Australia provides support with employing and managing people, and building skills for successful careers in dairy farming, contact your regional team today or visit www. dairyaustralia.com.au/people.
Shearing Contractor HAY NSW
• Available 2 x 5 stand shearing and CRS Trailer
• Generators
• Wool presses
• Pression in wool classers on hand
• Rams shearing module
• References available Over 40 years experience
Contact Lionel Garner on 0427 696 346
Hay NSW 2711
The New South Wales Government is about to steal private land and they don’t want you to know about it. If you live in the suburbs of Sydney, imagine if the government suddenly decided that it wanted to send water from one side of your property to the other and the only way to do this is to flood your backyard. Now imagine they wanted to do this every singe year but they only want to pay you compensation once. Now imagine that if you don’t agree to sell your backyard at whatever price the government dictates, they will just take it anyway.
Would you be angry? Would you be outraged? Would you fight back?
Well this is what’s happening to thousands of rural farms and properties in NSW and the State Government doesn’t want anyone to talk about it. It’s happening because the NSW Government is trying to send massive amounts of water to NSW wetlands. The only way to get the water to these wetlands is to flood massive amounts of private property. The NSW Government calls it the “Reconnecting Rivers”. I call it a load of rubbish and we can’t ever let it happen. The NSW government cannot be allowed to drown properties in Rural NSW. It’s time for us all to fight these Government Floods.
Spring is the time we start to look out for flystrike and think about flystrike prevention. Flies can cause significant impact in our sheep flocks, causing mortality and loss of production, particularly with breech strike and body strike.
The Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina, causes more than 90 per cent of all flystrike in Australian flocks.
Maggots that dropped into the soil during autumn have been in the pre-pupa stage in the soil over winter.
They have pupated and emerged as immature flies in the first few weeks of spring as the soil temperature increases above 15 degrees celsius.
By now these flies will have likely matured to adult flies and will have potentially started laying eggs on susceptible sheep, continuing the lifecycle and increasing fly numbers.
Susceptibility of sheep to flystrike is determined primarily by fleece moisture. Moist wool can develop fleece rot and/or lumpy wool which attracts blowflies.
Urine or faecal stained wool, skin wounds, tissue damage such as footrot, weeping eyes and sweat around the base of the horns of rams also can cause moisture, making sheep susceptible to flystrike.
What should you do if you find a struck sheep?
Any sheep showing pulled or discoloured wool should be examined.
Once identified, the struck area should be clipped with wide margins, allowing the skin to dry out and expose maggot trails.
The wool and maggots should then be placed in a black plastic bag and left in the sun to ensure the maggots are killed.
The struck area should be dressed thoroughly with an appropriate registered chemical, preventing the area from being restruck as the wound heals.
What can you do to prevent flystrike in your flock?
There are a range of insecticides available which you can use for the prevention and treatment of flystrike in your flock.
Rotation of the use of chemicals is important in reducing resistance in the sheep blowfly.
To date, there has been some to high resistance reported in the sheep blowfly reported in products containing dicyclanil, cyromazine and diazinon. NOTE: there is a 12 month phase out of all products containing diazinon which will result in the product being unavailable to use from September 2025.
To reduce the risk of resistance developing, you should not reapply the same chemical class for flystrike dressings, flystrike prevention as well as lice treatments within a single wool cycle.
While chemical application is an important tool in the management of flystrike in your flock, it is important to use it strategically in conjunction with breeding and other management tools such as shearing, crutching and/or breech modification to further reduce the risk of flystrike in your flock.
Flystrike can be highly repeatable, meaning that a sheep that becomes struck will likely be struck again in the future.
If you have ongoing issues with flystrike, you should consider culling for strike, high wrinkle and/or fleece rot scores as part of a wider genetic selection strategy for long term prevention of flystrike in your flock.
Shearing or crutching is also a valuable tool in the management of flystrike prevention as it can provide up to six weeks protection for strike.
As daggy sheep attract flies, it is also important to incorporate good worm control into management strategies to minimise dags and reduce the risk of flystrike.
When implementing shearing/crutching or chemical prevention strategies it is important to note that you should ideally undertake these strategies before soil temperatures increase and the first fly wave occurs.
This will help keep fly numbers down for the rest of the season.
FlyBoss.com.au is a useful resource for all things flies and your flock. They have developed some specific tools https://flyboss.com.au/tools which you can use to assess the effectiveness of a particular chemical application in reducing the risk within your flock.
You can also use it to compare different management scenarios to optimise chemical treatments and it provides you with information on breeding to reduce the susceptibility of your flock. It is a valuable resource to have when developing your long-term strategic fly management plan for your property.
For more information regarding flystrike in your flock, you can also contact your district vet by calling 1300 795 299 or drop into a nearby Local Land Services office.
Murray Irrigation will be hosting its 2024 Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 27 November at the Deniliquin RSL.
The meeting will start at 10.00am, with registrations opening at 9.30am.
Similar to last year, this will be a hybrid meeting which will enable shareholders to attend either in-person or virtually.
More details, including notice of meeting, agenda, resolutions and voting/proxy form, will be distributed to shareholders at the beginning of November and will be made available on the company website.
murrayirrigation.com.au 1300 138 265
Contact us to see how we can help your family with business, succession, estate, aged care, and family wealth planning. (03) 5877 7011 results@peppinfamilyconsulting.com.au Now at 286 George St, Deniliquin
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Poultry processing commenced at the longawaited micro abattoir in Barham in October, as Murray Plains Meat Co-Operative appoints its inaugural operations manager.
SteveWilkie, from Swan Hill, will bring with him more than 20 years of experience in abattoirs across Australia.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, and it is something I have been wanting to do for a long time,” Mr Wilkie said.
“I’ve worked in abattoirs all over Australia and that has given me a lot of experience in seeing the different ways processing facilities can be run.
“It is the second multi-species facility I will have worked in, the first being in Bunbury, Western Australia, where we processed beef, lambs, pigs, deer, buffalo, yacks, rabbits – they did everything.”
Growing up on a dairy and beef farm, Wilkie said the sale of the family farm saw his career aspirations take an unexpected turn. But he has loved working in the industry.
“I love what I do and enjoy working with farmers.
“Over the years, I have built a great reputation for quality, and that’s what we will offer here.
“Our aim is to help producers have somewhere to have their animals processed and know they are getting a quality job.
“It will give them better access to consumers and provide local employment.”
Far from the 12,000 lambs or 1000 cattle a day of the large facilities Wilkie has worked in, the micro abattoir will run with just Wilkie and two other slaughtermen on the processing floor.
Wilkie will undertake his meat inspector certification in the near future.
Murray Plains Meat Co-Op has contracted Kate Redfearn to assist with the administration and formulation of internal business structures and processes until administration staff can be recruited.
Val Azzopardi had also been employed to undertake maintenance at the facility.
The recent approval of a poultry processing licence from the Department of Primary Industries saw the facility start processing chooks in mid-October.
A red meat licensing audit was scheduled to take place by November 3.
Producers are urged to book in their Processing Capacity Entitlements (PCE) to safeguard their processing requirements.
The PCEs will guarantee the facility’s minimum income based on PCE fees with the purchase of a PCE securing slaughter floor space in perpetuity for the owner.
PCEs can be sold or transferred to other members or non-members if the owner no longer needs them, with the limitation on ownership and quantities to be determined to ensure compliance with co-operative rules and equitable allocation.
“I’ve worked in abattoirs all over Australia and that has given me a lot of experience in seeing the different ways processing facilities can be run.”
STEVE WILKIE
This story of Italian immigrants Robert, Louciano and Sergio Rorato, who settled in Jerilderie in the mid-1960s, celebrates the rich history of family far ming in our region and the lasting legacies that continue to shape new generations of farmers.
Jerilderie is a district steeped in Merino history. The pioneers were drawn to the region by its vast fertile plains, so idyllic for stock and grazing. The advent of irrigation in the mid-20th century opened the way for cropping, and today the area produces an abundance of food staples for both domestic and international markets.
But when Italian brothers, Robert, Louciano and Sergio Rorato arrived in Jerilderie in 1967, the flat open country was still predominantly utilised for livestock production. They had a different vision. Born in the small northern Italy town of Cessalto, the brothers immigrated to Australia in the early 1960s. Robert and Louciano were the first to make the month-long voyage, arriving in Melbourne with a combined 10 Lira in their pockets. From there, they made their way to Griffith. Sergio soon followed.
“He had work lined up through some sort of company that organised employment and accommodation,” son Glenn explains.
“But when he got to Melbourne, there was no-one there to meet him.
“So he just rang up Robert and Lou and said, ‘You better come pick me up’, and he headed off to Griffith.
“When he got to there, his brothers asked him if he wanted to become partners with them in a share farming agreement. And that’s how everything got started.”
‘Rorato Bros’ was officially born.
Griffith is also where Sergio met his wife to be, Sylvia. He spoke no English, and she didn’t speak Italian. But over the course of their 55-year marriage, they managed to make things work!
The enterprising siblings spent four years share farming in Griffith. Through hard work and toil, they managed to accumulate enough money to put a deposit on ‘Yaccamunda’, a 600-hectare farm situated east of Jerilderie on the banks of the Billabong Creek. The name, in the local Aboriginal language, means ‘reedy place’. They were determined to succeed, indeed thrive, in this new place they called home. Much to the bemusement of their neighbours, they began ploughing deep into the clay soil, painstakingly preparing it for cultivation.
“Everyone thought they were mad,” Glenn said.
“This is all sheep country, and here they were ripping it up to grow crops.
“People were saying, ‘What are these guys doing?’”
Brimming with gusto, the trio set about growing all manner of fruit and vegetables; grapes, onions, pumpkins, carrots and rockmelons. Winter cereals and summer grown cotton, corn and tomatoes crops - the latter which spawned the family’s renowned tomato processing business, Billabong Produce - would come later, as the operation slowly but surely expanded. Robert, Louciano and Sergio worked tirelessly planting and tending their crops; all the while testing new varieties and farming techniques in their never-ending quest to yield the very
best from the soil. Once harvest time came around, they would pack the produce into the back of their Commer Knocker truck and drive it to the Melbourne and Sydney markets. After selling their goods, they would travel back to the farm, reload the truck and go again. It is a cycle they would replicate for days at a time during the hectic harvest period, when time was of the essence and sleep was the ultimate luxury. Pick, pack, freight, sell - repeat...
“They’d take it in turns driving - one behind the wheel the other two asleep under the tarp,” Glenn said.
“Dad said sometimes he wouldn’t sleep for three days, by the time they picked, drove to the market, spent the day there, drove back to Jerilderie, reload and headed off again.”
It was during these early years that Louciano decided to leave the partnership to pursue a career in engineering. He founded East End Welding in Jerilderie, which still operates today. More recently, he has made a return to farming with the establishment of local olive growing enterprise, Olive Oil of Australia. While their brother chose a different pathway, Robert and Sergio remained committed to shaping a future through farming. Fast forward to 2024, and the legacy of their hard work, resolve and foresight stands tall. The original 600-hectare farm where sheep once roamed has grown more than tenfold, and now spans 8,500 hectares across various local holdings. Around 6,500 hectares are dedicated to winter cereals, while summer crops account for the remaining
2,000 hectares. More than 60 per cent is irrigation, watered through a mix of spray, flood, sub surface and pontoon (siphonless) irrigation.
The farming operation, which today goes by the name ‘Rorato Nominees’, employs 15 staff across its office, farming, transport arms and is run by three of Sergio’s children, Glenn, Allan and Sandra. In a true family affair, Sandra’s two children Jenna and Marcus, and daughterin-law Gemma, also work within the business. Nonna Sylvia, whose pasta sauce recipe was famously behind the most popular of Billabong Produce’s successful line of tomato-based products, too remains involved. Sadly, the family lost Robert from cancer in 1992, and Sergio passed away in 2020. Sylvia said Sergio was passionate about farming right up to his final days.
“Just two days before he passed away, Serge still wanted to go farming,” Sylvia said.
“He was so determined, to the very last.
“Throughout his life, he was so courageous.
“Nothing stopped him. Nothing deterred him.”
With sons Glenn, Allan and daughter Sandra at the helm, Sylvia knows the future of Rorato Nominees rests in capable hands. Her other daughter, Carla, has built a life in Queensland and is happy to love the farm from afar!
“My lot, I have to say, they all get along,” Sylvia said.
“I have to be proud of that.”
With 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren (plus another on the way), only time will tell if members of the third Rorato generation will be keen to take up the family mantle.
“It would be nice, but you never know,” Glenn said.
“We’re not pushing them either way.
“Whatever they want to do when they finish school it will be their choice. We’ll see what happens.”
Meanwhile, there are fresh farming opportunities to be explored, following the family’s recent decision to bring an end to their tomato production.
It means the factory - the beating heart of Billabong Produce - which has been manufacturing rich Italian pasta sauces and purees for supermarkets around Australia for more than three decades, will stand strangely quiet when the summer harvest arrives.
Sergio had initially established the processing plant in a bid to curb what he saw as the senseless wastage from over-contracted fruit.
Over time, the venture expanded to become a main part of the business, processing around 10,000 tonnes of tomatoes each year. While this latest business restructure has been undertaken for strategic purposes, it’s been an emotional decision for the family nevertheless.
“We seemed to be spending a lot of time running the manufacturing side of the business,” Glenn said.
“We all thought that we’ve either got to back off on the farming - and we really like farming - or back off on the manufacturing; so that’s what we’ve decided to do.”
With agriculture so deeply entrenched in the family psyche, few could argue.
“There are so many challenges with farming,” Glenn said
“It’s always evolving and changing; there’s good times and bad.
“But if you can adapt and make the most of it in the good seasons, you can get through those harder seasons alright.”
Truer words could not be spoken by the son and nephew of three plucky young men who, more than six decades earlier, travelled to the other side of the globe filled with dreams of success.
Join Peppa and her family as they drive all over Australia on a road trip! Peppa and her family are visiting Kylie Kangaroo in Australia. They plan to have a lovely, relaxing holiday but Kylie has lost Keith her cuddly toy Koala! Join them as they travel all over Australia to find him. Meet quokkas in Perth, waddle like a penguin on Phillip Island and even spot a real koala in the outback! Peppa loves Australian road trips. EVERYONE loves Australian road trips!.
$16.99
The 2024 ginning season at the Australian Food and Fibre (AFF) gin south of Hay came to an in October.
An interactive lift-the-flap farm book for inquisitive young readers with more than 80 flaps to lift! Lift the flaps to experience the fun of the farm through the seasons. Take a tour of the farm and discover what a fun-packed year on a farm looks like. Watch the farmer care for adorable baby animals, plant seeds to grow crops, make hay bales, and take delicious harvested goods to market. Lift more than 80 flaps to discover exciting surprises like fluffy little lambs and other farm animals exploring the farm, colourful vegetables growing in the fields, combine harvesters harvesting the crops, tasty fruit being picked in the orchard, and produce being packed, displayed, and sold at the busy farmers’ market. Fun and educational text teaches children about the people, plants, and animals that live on the farm. In addition, simple, age-appropriate questions invite young readers to recall information, or to explore the scenes for clues before lifting the flaps to reveal the answers. This book is perfect for any little animal, tractor, or farm lover. Get your wellies on and get farming!
Kat Macleod
The ginning season ran for five months, with 45,000 round modules processed into 199,000 finished bales, making 2024 one of the Hay gin’s biggest runs.
“Growers are happy, especially compared to last year” AFF gin manager Harley Hey said.
“Prices are down a little, but yields are well up.”
The gin employs 18 local full-time retained employees, who were supported by an additional 28 seasonal workers during ginning.
Processed modules are transported by road from Hay to port in Melbourne, before being shipped to customers in south east Asia, Vietnam, Turkey and India.
The next step for the team is to set up a mini-warehousing system, for the first time.
“We will be packing containers here on-site, for the first time,” Mr Hey said.
$27.99
Join the Tiny Gardeners as they grow fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs for the upcoming Summer Market. See the long and bumpy beans! Taste the fresh and juicy strawberries! Feel the spikey rosemary sprigs! Smell the sweetly scented honeysuckle! Everything is almost ready to pick, but it’s a hot, humid day and the garden is looking dry and thirsty ... just a moment ... can you hear that? Continuing the Tiny Professions series (The Tiny Explorers and The Tiny Tailors), Kat Macleod’s newest picture book, The Tiny Gardeners, navigates the process of preparing, growing and harvesting a productive garden through the five senses: sight, taste, touch, smell and sound. This imaginative and charmingly illustrated story uses a range of verbs and adjectives to describe the process of preparing a garden bed through to harvesting. Young readers are invited to join in with the Tiny Gardeners and explore their senses as they learn how fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs are grown. With mentions of pollination, bees, pests and the importance of water in a garden, The Tiny Gardeners will inspire a new generation of gardeners and nature enthusiasts. $26.99
To mark GWR’s 70th birthday, we’re throwing a party, starting off with a feast of retro features in the opening chapter that look back over our last seven decades. Of course, we’re also highlighting the very best of record breaking from the past 12 months! This new edition - fully revised and updated with 1,000-plus images - salutes our milestone while continuing the annual tradition of serving up thousands of awesome facts and feats for the whole family to enjoy. GWR are celebrating our landmark year by bestowing platinum grade ICON status on a select group of record breakers - including Taylor Swift and LeBron James - who epitomize what it means to be a Guinness World Records title holder. Poster-style Flashback features within each chapter explore the history of one key record category. We also speculate about the ultimate limits of recordbreaking - for instance, will we ever see a sub-3-second Rubik’s Cube solve? Look out for our Dear GWR... features throughout the book. We’ve delved into our archives to find some never-before-seen record applications that didn’t quite make the cut. It’s our affectionate tribute to human inventiveness - and the evergreen fascination with securing a hallowed GWR certificate! $46.99
These great titles and more available instore. We post direct to you, contact us today to discuss getting your copies posted* *Postage and Handling fees apply.
FARMtalk welcomes community contributions from farmers, experts and professionals who make their living and life on the land. If you would like to contribute, there are several ways to do so.
• Get in touch and give us a tip of a great story idea.
• Contribute an article: If you are an expert in your field then contributing once off, or regularly, is a great way to get started in our FARMtalk magazine. Contact Zoe McMaugh at farmtalk@denipt.com.au or 03 5881 2322.
• Become an author: FARMtalk is open to occasional contributors who are experts in their field or authorities on a subject or area. Once you have contributed an article, and the editorial team have approved you, we can set you up with a regular column to contribute. We would love to hear from you. Contact Zoe McMaugh at farmtalk@denipt.com.au or 03 5881 2322.
249 Cressy Street, Deniliquin. Phone 03 5881 2080. info@deninews.com.au
• Have a fascinating farm in mind for us to showcase? Tell us! We would love to hear from you. Contact Zoe McMaugh at farmtalk@denipt.com.au or 03 5881 2322.
