Ben is a fifth generation farmer from Maitland, South Australia.
Married to Belinda with two kids, Ben produces barley, wheat, lentils and some canola across his 6000 hectare property spread over a 60km radius.
Like most growers coping with the current dry season, Ben says that it’s all being in the same boat and sharing the good and the bad that makes having mates in grain so important.
Ben loves giving back to his community and has established a State-wide rural health initiative called The Fat Farmers, designed to encourage farmers to promote a healthy lifestyle within their communities.
What is one thing you’re continually striving towards as a grain grower?
“We’re big on sustainable grain production, particularly in the face of highly variable climate conditions. We’re striving to make our system as viable as we can just by retaining all our crop residues and really to produce as much grain as we can. We certainly have a strong focus on generating food grain produce, we’re a long way from the world markets and we leave the feed grain production to a lot of the developing countries.”
What is one thing you love the most about your job or lifestyle in grain?
“I enjoy our industry, and one thing I find particularly rewarding is sharing our knowledge and experience in farming with other farmers; I think that’s what’s unique to our industry.”
What is one thing you rely on your mates in grain for?
“I think particularly at the moment we’re all experiencing the highs and lows, and sharing that with mates in the industry is what gets us through.”
