Page Content
Graziers See True Value of Training
Dick and Donna O’Connell who manage a 70,000 hectare sheep and cattle grazing property in South West Queensland, say they would be in a “worse mental, physical and financial state” if they hadn’t undertaken Agriculture Advancing Australia (AAA) Farmbis funded training courses.
The training courses, including the Resource Consulting Service’s (RCS) Gradlink and Executivelink, follow on from the very powerful “Grazing for Profit” course, all of which helped the O’Connells manage four years of drought.
“Having experienced the benefits we are now prepared to continue investing in training,” Dick said.
“With government and community expectations placed upon agriculture to demonstrate sustainability and strategies to cope with Australia’s erratic rainfall, good training programs like FarmBis are paramount.
“Implementing strategies from this training is definitely helping us reduce our dependence on the property, manage the ongoing drought, set critical dates and take action at the right time.
“The stock we still have are healthy and productive and our drought expenditure is now contained to a manageable level,” Dick said.
What the O’Connells enjoy most about training is mixing in a positive atmosphere with proactive, optimistic producers who are constantly taking the opportunities their situations present.
“Most problems are really the absence of ideas,” Dick quotes. “Together farmers share their experiences of good innovation because there is no point wasting time reinventing the wheel.
“The innovation that becomes readily available via the training organisation, programs and networking are having an ever-increasing positive impact on agriculture.”
Inspired, Dick and Donna progressed to addressing their own specific needs by engaging a consultant to help create a Strategic Property Development Plan. Working together helped them “to plan with the end in mind” before they spent more money on new fences and water, to allow shifting of grazing methods from continuous to a rotation system.
“In the past I’ve done too much shooting from the hip.” Dick said.
Seeing an opportunity to further improve animal welfare, their stock handling skills and the quality of saleable stock, the O’Connells hosted a Low Stress Stock Handling School on their property for 30 producers.
“The feedback from attendants was exceptional and the benefit to our family and business has been enormous,” Dick said.
“Farmers and graziers feel guilty spending time and money attending courses, so many never do.
“Farmbis without doubt, helps many producers over this first hurdle. By experiencing the benefits, many farmers continue some form of training. There in lies the power of Farmbis.
“Having been slow to take up training opportunities ourselves, I now strongly encourage others not to make this mistake.
“Training is very empowering to progress and helps grow a business to its potential as well as providing tools to deal with difficult situations as they arise.”
FarmBis Contacts
The program provides financial assistance to primary producers and rural land managers to undertake business and natural resource management education and training activities. Note: Eligible activities may differ between participating States and the Northern Territory.
Email: Farmbis
Website - www.farmbis.gov.au
Phone - Freecall 1800 686 175