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.
The land we are currently farming consists mainly of red and black soil types, with some clay, making it some relatively prime cropping country. However, as in most areas of South Australia, the biggest issue over the past few years has been the lack of rainfall. While the average annual rainfall in our area is around 475mm, this year we have received only 247.5mm, leaving soil moisture below ideal levels. And this follows a year that could best be described as a write off! That said, we have peas, lentils, barley, and wheat planted, and we are getting close to harvest, so we will soon see what our yields this year are like.
People often talk about how good it is in this area in terms of production, but aside from the challenges of the weather, our input costs – fertiliser, fuel and chemicals – are through the roof, having doubled or tripled over the past five or six years. Last year we cut back on the fertiliser because the rain wasn't there, so it's the constant challenge of agriculture of planning and then balancing things out as best you can.
As young growers, we make do with what we can afford in terms of our farming approach and the technology available to us. Last year, we decided to invest in a header because contracting prices were hurting us a fair bit. It's not the most modern machine, but it gets the job done, and importantly, it's what we can afford.
While the farm is a priority, both Dale and I work off-farm. Dale splits his time between building sheds and running the farming side of things, as it is not quite stable enough for him to go full-time yet. I work full-time with AGT as a Technical Officer, help out on the farm, plus chase after the children, so between the two of us, we have our hands full.
In my job, I am currently involved in trials at Roseworthy, driving a small header for trial plots, and helping with seeding and quality testing of barley. It helps me because it's very much what I do at home, but on a smaller scale. So instead of a bigger header, we have smaller headers, and instead of big air seeders, we have small tow-behind seeders. As a bonus, I also get to see the varieties tested by AGT, which then feeds into the decision-making process for our farming operations for the coming year.
I have always held an interest in the land, with agriculture in the blood on my mother's side of the family. My brother had a farm near Kimba, and I liked getting involved and getting my hands dirty. After school, I completed a Bachelor of Ag Science and later did an honours degree while working with SARDI as a research officer.
Our approach to farming is to plan carefully and to do the best we can with the available resources. When Dale first purchased the 60 acres, he did some soil testing because it was pretty run-down. Over time, we have planted trees and done our best to limit compaction in the way we farm. In a few paddocks, we have needed to till to break up compacted soil, rehabilitate what we have to get the soils up to a certain performance level, and then maintain them.
Automation would be great, but as first-generation farmers, we do without things we can't yet afford. We buy older technology from more established growers, and while it makes things more difficult at times, it is rewarding to know that good things do come in time. In our planning, we look at what can work for us. We have been fortunate to lease a neighbouring farm and farm some odd-sized paddocks that are too small for larger operators. It is a matter of identifying opportunities to grow our operations and scale up how we farm. It would be lovely to build our farm so we can hand it down to the next generation.
Something else I am excited about is getting immersed in the next cohort of the Australian Grains Leaders program. It will be great to connect with other members and hear and discuss ideas that I can take back to the farm. It is a very supportive industry, and I could not picture myself growing up away from the farm. It's hard work, but it's very rewarding. All we need now is some decent rain at the right time. Perhaps next year!