GrainGrowers Blog

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.

G’day, I’m Angus Combe. I farm with my parents, Anthony and Gabby, just south of Crystal Brook in South Australia’s Mid North, on 1,800 hectares of red-brown clay loam soils right on Goyder’s Line. Crystal Brook is also known as the southern gateway to the Flinders Ranges, so we get a mix of landscapes and weather.

Back in the 90s, Australian agriculture wasn’t exactly losing sleep over greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That changed in the early 2000s with CSIRO's Farm Forestry Toolbox, a desktop ready reckoner for estimating carbon sequestration in trees. Since then, the carbon calculator game has had its hits and misses, but in Australia, one tool has emerged as the clear leader: the Greenhouse Accounting Framework (GAF).

Hi, I’m Brendon Swaffer, and I farm with my family 35km Northeast of Clermont in Central Queensland. Our family farm, Bungarra Station, was purchased by my parents in the early 1980s after we relocated to Queensland from South Australia. I’m the fourth or fifth generation in my family to continue the tradition of farming, with my two sons looking to return home and follow in my footsteps.

Hi everyone, my name is Chloe Blight, and I farm alongside my parents in Highbury, Western Australia. We crop on approximately 850 hectares, including contracting, where we grow canola, lupins, oats and barely. The average rainfall in our region is around 300mm, however, last year we had a dryer season with around 310mm of rainfall. We already have a better outlook this year compared to last year, mainly due to the uplift in the sheep market and experiencing 30mm of rain over the past few weeks.

My name is Chelsea, and along with my husband Clayton and our seven-month-old daughter, I’m proud to be part of a farming family in Carina, just west of Murrayville, Victoria. Our farm, which we recently took over from my in-laws, Desmond and Cynthia Sporn, is approximately 3,000ha, where we grow wheat, barley, lentils, vetch, and oats for milling. We also run a small flock of Merino ewes and some cattle, farming across a mix of sandy and clay soils.

GrainGrowers attended the Farm Writers’ Association of NSW February lunch in Sydney, featuring guest speaker Dennis Voznesenski, Agricultural Economist – CBA, and author of War and wheat: navigating markets during global conflict. Throughout the event, Dennis provided great insight into how global conflicts and economic policies can impact Australian grain growers, traders and markets

Hi there, I’m Tom Simson and I farm with my wife and two children on the Liverpool Plains in New South Wales. Our family farm “The Plantation” is located near Premer and Bundella, where we run a mixed farming enterprise. The breakdown of our 5,700ha property consists of 3,900ha of dryland farming, 315ha of overhead irrigation and 1,480ha of grazing country.

Hi everyone, I’m Hannah and I farm with my fiancé and his family in the Lower Mid North region of South Australia and the Upper Great Southern region of Western Australia.

Hi there, I’m Chris Cooper and I farm with my wife Emily and parents Deb and Wayne in Western Flat, South Australia. Western Flat is nestled in the southeast of the state’s high producing Limestone Coast region and here we focus on growing high quality grain to feed our 500 superfine Merino ewes, and Hampshire Down Stud.

The US President Donald Trump signed executive orders implementing a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China. GrainGrowers Annabel Mactier explores the impact, explains the Act around these and delves in what happens next.

GrainGrowers Chair Rhys Turton shares his thoughts on the year that was and his hopes for a great 2025.

Hi, I’m Alisha Campbell, and together with my husband, Matt, we farm across three properties in the Toobeah and Thallon regions of Queensland. Our farm spans approximately 14,800 hectares where the majority is cropping, both broadacre dryland and irrigation where we grow a mix of cotton, wheat, barley, chickpeas, and sorghum. We also have a grazing country running a breeding herd of Santa Gertrudis cattle on one of our Thallon properties. 

Hi everyone, I’m Chelsea, from Colinroobie, New South Wales, 36km north of Narrandera. I farm alongside my parents Tracey and Glen, and my brother Luke. Our grandparents Keith and Viki are also still working on farm too. We have a total of 3240 hectares of which 2470 hectares is cropping country. We run 1200 merino ewes and 25 Border Leicester Rams producing first x cross lambs.

Hi everyone, my name is Asha, I recently did a profile for National Ag Day for GrainGrowers and now have the opportunity to give an on-farm update. Our family farm is situated 220km east of Perth in the small town of Doodlakine. We manage a mixed operation across 2,000 hectares, focusing on both cropping and livestock. Our crop rotation usually includes wheat, barley, lupins, and peas, alongside running Merino sheep.