Page 40 - The Cultivator Edition 7 | Autumn 2020

TEN MINUTES WITH
canola farmer Tom Mac Smith
Can you you share with The Cultivator a a a a a a bit about your background?
I’m fortunate to have had a a a a a a a a a great childhood on
the the the family farm near Cudal NSW I’d spend hours with Dad on
the the the the machinery – whether he he he he he he was harvesting seeding or in in in in in in the the the yards of our mixed operation in in in in in sheep cattle and and cropping There was always that desire to come back and and and nally – after travel study and and working in in in other states in in in di erent roles – I’m home on
the the family farm I’m also very fortunate to have a a a a a a lovely family My two younger brothers are are both pursuing their own careers but we’ve all made a a a a a a a a a a massive e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e ort to to get back and have an an involvement either on
on
the the the farm itself or even just over the the the phone to to to talk about di di erent directions we need to take You’ve crammed a a a lot into the decade since nishing school?
I was in in Canada for a a a a a a a a a a a a a a bit of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a gap year having a a a a a a a a a a a a a a look around and after Charles Sturt University I worked on
on
on
a a a a a a a a a a a Western Australian farm for two years in in in the the cropping region of Esperance with a a a a a a a a a a a wonderful family There I got the the the chance to see farming on
on
on
a a a a a a a a a a really large scale and and work with some of the the newest technologies in in cropping and and livestock How crucial was that experience in WA?
The timing was pretty ironic given I went from a a a a a a a a a marginal rainfall area of of WA to a a a a a a a a a a a a a a severe drought period in in in in in central NSW and and a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a lot of of the east coast and and from a a a a a a a a a a a really heavy focus focus on
cropping into livestock – which is probably the main focus focus of our family farm We’re seeing the benefits in in in our pastures holding on
where we’ve been able to really get away a a a a a a a a decent amount of of fodder cropping which takes the pressure off our pastures It also ensures we have a a a a a a a bit of of of of of feed ahead of of of of of us us to to to keep keep us us turning off livestock and of of of of course to to to to keep keep the ground cover to to to capture any moisture that ( ngers crossed) we might get over over summer months What is your favourite aspect of farming?
There’s an array of opportunities each day where I’m able to assess goals or or or tasks we’ve set ourselves each week or or month Obviously things come up day-to-day as they do and and it’s just about prioritising and and ticking those those off methodically in in in in working toward those those objectives View of golden luscious canola elds growing in in central west NSW // PHOTO: MANILDRA GROUP
40 THE CULTIVATOR // // AUTUMN 2020 MANILDRA MANILDRA COM AU AU // // @MANILDRA