GrainGrowers Blog

Hi. I am Roger Blanch, and with my wife Nadine and our kids Dakota, Montana and Indiana, we farm on the eastern central downs in Queensland, spread between the area around Clifton and Pittsworth.

Australia’s grain industry is typically viewed through a domestic lens as the source of everyday pantry staples like bread and breakfast cereal. However, this perspective overlooks one of the most strategically important aspects of Australian grain, its role in feeding the region.

My name is Danielle Hamlyn, and together with my husband, Dale, and young sons, Albert and Harvey, we are based in Freeling, some 60km north of Adelaide in the mid-north region of South Australia. As first-generation farmers, our operations are small, but success is more than just size. Our home block of just 60 acres was purchased by Dale when he was just 20, and over the past decade, he has added a tractor, a wife, two children, and an additional 800 acres, including shared-farming and leased land.

Hi, I’m Tom Curry, and I farm in southern New South Wales, in the triangle between Cootamundra, Junee and Temora. Our mixed farming operation spans around 3,700 acres, combining cropping and livestock. The land is varied, consisting mainly of loamy red soils with some clay. We also have lighter, not quite gravelly country out in the hills that we don’t crop, which is better suited to pasture.

The climate policy landscape in Australia has been rapidly evolving, with the government grappling with a complex and fast-moving set of challenges and considerations. Over the past year, several new sector-specific strategies, including the Agriculture and Land Sector Plan, have been developed to support the country's legislated emissions reduction targets.

My name is Ash Stewart, and together with my wife Felicity, son Travis, and daughter-in-law Isabel, we run a family cropping operation 60 kilometres northeast of Esperance, in Western Australia. My parents had a farm closer to Esperance, but in 1975, we moved to our current location.

Hi, I’m Russell Heard and I farm with my wife Leoni and our small team across two properties south and southwest of Horsham in Wonwondah, Victoria. We crop around 1800 hectares and run a small terminal lamb enterprise that complements our cropping program. We grow wheat and canola as our main crops, with faba beans grown speculatively depending on the season.

Hi, I’m Megan Baker, and I farm with my husband Mark, a third-generation farmer, about halfway between Springsure and Rolleston in the Central Queensland Highlands. Our farm covers around 8,600 hectares, where we grow everything from chickpeas to wheat.

Ahead of harvest, the National Policy Group (NPG) have come together amid a backdrop of rising trade volatility, fluctuating grain prices, and the lingering impact of seasonal challenges, particularly for those in the south.

Hi. I’m Oli Harding, a farmer from Williams in Western Australia, roughly 140km south-east of Perth. Our farm has been family-run since 1959, initially as a livestock operation, but we have now diversified into the production of hay and grain. In 2023, I moved back to the farm, working on the farm with my parents, Simon and Bronny. More recently, my partner, Soph, moved to the farm, so I am excited to see what the future holds.

G’day, my name is Sam May a GrainGrowers member and 5th generation farmer. Together with my fiancé Sophie and parents Stephen and Anne, we farm 4,300 hectares of dry land broadacre, 20km south of Loxton in South Australia.

Hi, my name is Chris Groves, and together with my family, we farm between Cowra and Canowindra in the Central West of NSW. We run a mixed farming operation with livestock, prime lamb production, and a range of cereal and pulse crops. We’ve got around 800 hectares under crop this season, and it’s been a race to get it all in.

Hello. I am Scott Crosby, and I farm 8,500 hectares in Nyabing in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. On a farm of this size, we grow several crops including wheat, canola (both GM and non-GM), barley, oats, lentils and lupins. The legumes are part of the rotation, and we also grow a bit of vetch.

Hi, I’m Emily Coggan and I’m part of the team at Coggan Farms, a vertically integrated generational family farm based near Inglestone in Southwest Queensland. Inglestone is an hour and a half north of Goondiwindi. We farm 22,000 hectares and our primary focus is our cropping program, both dryland and irrigated.

My name is Paul Monigatti, and along with my wife Katrina, brother Bryan and his wife Bev, we run Rich River Chaff and Grain across two properties, one at Strathallan in northern Victoria and a second at Pretty Pine near Deniliquin.

The second National Policy Group (NPG) meeting for 2025 was held in Canberra this week to discuss a range of policy issues impacting growers and their communities.

My name is Bruce Watson, and along with my wife Karina, sister and brother in law (Treen & Mark Swift) and my parents, we farm at Tichborne and Gunningbland in Central West NSW. Our dryland cropping operations currently grow a mixture of winter cereals (wheat, barley, triticale), canola, pulses (faba beans, lentils and chickpeas).

Hi, I’m John Carmody, and along with my wife Rhiannon and our two daughters Felicity and Elaina, we farm at Cascade near Esperance in Western Australia. Our farm covers around 4,500ha, with wheat, barley and canola grown on soil types ranging from deep sand to sandy gravels, with stiff clays found in some areas.