The Muster
l THE TWO OF US
Three decades of the Edsons A 30-year partnership between a third-generation farmer and a nurse from Sydney has forged a profitable sheep and cattle grazing operation on a ‘small’ 32,000-hectare farm near Ivanhoe. Words MICHAEL BURT Photography RACHAEL LENEHAN
IAN EDSON’S STORY
Ian Edson has been connected to the outback soils of the Ivanhoe district since he was born. His grandfather and World War I veteran, Charlie, was granted a 11,000-hectare Returned Soldiers Block west of Ivanhoe and called it Stirling Vale Station. Ian grew up on nearby Orana Station with parents Charles and Neta, and inherited Stirling Vale at the young age of 12, after the passing of his grandfather. “The inheritance came with all the bills and probate that still needed to be paid, so it was not an easy start,” Ian says. “My father was made guardian to help guide me through things until I was 21. That was 1978 and I went deep into the red to purchase my brother’s and sister’s share of the property. By this stage, Ian’s grandfather and his father had already started cutting the property up into two-mile by two-mile paddocks. “They constructed ground tanks so the sheep had less travel to get to water, and we could have smaller flocks,” he explains. “Some of the neighbours thought they were crazy putting in the ground tanks, but the idea was to reduce the dust load in the wool. It helps to preserve natural ground cover when you reduce the distance sheep walk to water.” Ian explains that the location of the ground tanks, which are 8,000 to 9,000 cubic metres in size, were carefully selected based on topography and
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THE FARMER
surface water movement. Each tank has a smaller ‘catch tank’, which captures the surface water first. Stirling Vale now has 22 ground water tanks to capture the maximum amount of water from an annual rainfall of 220mm. Solar pumps, which have replaced most of the farm’s windmills, pump water into rainwater tanks for gravity feeding into 22 water troughs for the farm’s 6,000 Merino sheep and 300 cattle. “I prefer to stay on the ground these days and the solar pumps have proven ideal for moving water out here,” Ian says. “We can pump the water for miles now, and we couldn’t have done any of it without the old yellow Cats.” Ian is referring to his father’s progression to Caterpillar D6 and D8 dozers to construct all of the tanks, one of which he still operates to this day – a 1962 Caterpillar D8 that has notched up 25,000 hours. “In my grandfather’s day it used to take six months to do a ground tank. It takes about 222 hours on a D6 and 54 hours with a D8. They also enable you to clean out and desilt the dams on a regular basis,” he explains. “My grandfather started out contracting using horse drawn scoops and Dad continued the contracting business for most of our younger lives with the Cats. At the time, the farm was too small to make a living off, so Dad got into big earthmoving equipment.”
MAR - APR 2022
Ian says the drought proofing strategy started by his grandfather has worked. “Stirling Vale has only been out of water twice, 1944 and 1968. We do have one bore, but that has only been used twice in 30 years.” Ian adds that the ground tanks also have environmental benefits. “They attract a huge array of birdlife, including ducks and sometimes swans. It saves them flying to the river, which is 100 miles away. The wildlife just moves around from tank to tank.” Ian has enhanced drought resilience through rotational grazing, which enables paddocks to rest and revitalises the natural pastures that drive the farm’s Merino wool and beef production. “We’ve used water to grow the farm business, and what was 27,000 acres is now 79,000. I have not had to do any contracting for 15 years because we can now make a good consistent living off the property,” Ian says with pride. TRUDY EDSON’S STORY
Ian’s wife Trudy – who has inspired much of Ian’s business and personal growth over the last 30 years – has a vastly different background from her husband’s outback upbringing. Trudy grew up in the southern suburbs of Sydney and trained to be a nurse, eventually working in a number of hospitals in Sydney and surrounds.
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