S4 Ep 3 - First time Farmer
Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story
It’s a big call to leave the familiar comforts of life in the city for the wide-open spaces of farm life. Even tougher to make the move in the middle of crippling drought. It was harder than Kaitie Nash thought. Much harder. And that took a toll on her mental health. Social media became a way to connect and build an online community. She’s also since improved her farm skills too! First Time Farmer, Kaitie Nash joins me to discuss: Kaitie’s favourite place on the farm. As a city girl, she shares how she ended up in country NSW. The expectations versus the harsh realities of life on the...
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S4 Ep 2 - Need for Seed
Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story
Vegetables are an essential for all of us. But it’s easy to forget that the big, bright and beautiful produce that fills our shopping bags, all starts with a tiny seed. The key to growing veggies all year round in different climates comes back to genetics. It’s the kind of science that gives cauliflowers UV protection or even turns them orange or purple. To learn more, I’m interviewing someone who doesn’t just develop seeds to suit every climate in Australia, she’s even transplanted herself from Darwin to Melbourne to pursue her career in agronomy. Plant scientist Eliza Seymour joins...
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S4 Ep 1 - The Food Scientist
Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story
We learn pretty early on in life that good food promotes health. But what’s not so simple is how many of those nutrients we actually absorb, or what impact does the way something is farmed have on the quality of the produce. Nicknamed, The Simple Scientist, my guest today has a bit of a superpower and that is being able to breakdown complex research to help consumers make better choices. And farmers are among her favourite people! Dr Anneline Padayachee joins me now to discuss: Anneline shares her favorite food fact. Dr. Anneline explains that nutrition starts on the farm and elaborates on...
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S3 Ep 26 - Country Careers
Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story
How does someone who spent their childhood in the middle of Geelong City in Victoria end up, not just working in agriculture, but literally getting her hands dirty at some of the country’s most remote cattle stations. My guest today is using her incredible story to encourage others to do the same. She is a valuable advocate for life on the land, highlighting both the romantic moments of county life but also the truth. To help others make the leap into agriculture a little easier, she’s the driving force behind online platforms Young Aussie Farmers, and more recently, Agriculture Jobs...
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S3 Ep 25 - Red Tractor Designs
Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story
Life on the land is often picturesque - picture worthy even. So, when a former visual arts teacher moves to a farm in beautiful Mudgee in NSW, you can imagine there would be a fair bit of creativity going on. It started with a few pictures on greetings cards for the local markets. Now, her artwork has gained a loyal following of art lovers around the nation. Rachael Flynn of Red Tractor Designs joins me now to discuss: Rachael lives on a gorgeous property in Mudgee New South Wales, and shares her greatest inspiration. As a visual arts teacher, Racheal has a creative side which she has used to...
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S3 Ep 24 - The Berry Dairy
Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story
Pastures are already pretty green in New Zealand, but this newly married couple wanted to find something extra special. They landed on Gippsland in Victoria where dairy farming became their main source of income, but they value added, bringing in a pick your own strawberry patch, on-farm café, petting zoo and playground. If it all sounds very family friendly, it’s because Nicole and Brendan Saunders know a thing or two about kids, having four of their own. Nicole from The Berry Dairy joins me to discuss: Moving from New Zealand to have a better life here in Australia. Nicole shares...
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S3 Ep 23 - Hillside Food Forest
Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story
No farming background? No worries. That’s the attitude one young couple from NSW is taking in their unique business. After purchasing a mountainous, overgrazed and neglected 100-acre property in Putty, just a couple of hours outside Sydney, they are on a steep learning curve. And they’re pulling it off beautifully, producing cattle, pigs and chickens with regenerative agriculture at the heart of what they do. To learn more, the owners of Hillside Food Forest, Sam Rayment and Liz Ferrone are here to discuss. Sam and Liz’s favorite place since they moved to their farm in February 2021...
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S3 Ep 22 - Lady Ba Ba
Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story
There are sheep farmers, and then, there’s Lady Ba Ba. My guest today is an incredible advocate for agriculture and the industry is lucky to have her. Through her social media platforms, she educates people about the wonders of wool and takes on some tough topics, often successfully turning critics into fans. With such a bubbly personality, it’d be a waste if we didn’t see more of her. So, thankfully you can also catch her on television. Lady Ba Ba, otherwise known as Mel McGorman joins me now to discuss: Mel has a sheep and grain farm in South Australia and shares her favourite place...
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S3 Ep 21 - Ricca Terra Wines
Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story
Buying a dead cherry patch in South Australia’s Riverland and converting it into a vineyard, may not sound like the best career move. However, for my guest today bold decisions like that have dominated his winemaking journey. The first-generation farmer has been making wine for two decades now. Ricca Terra Wines (meaning ‘rich earth’ in Italian) has found the key to success with carefully selected grape varieties, innovative low alcohol options and in a surprise, even to himself, cask wine. To learn more Ashley Ratcliff of Ricca Terra joins me now to discuss: Ashely’s favourite place...
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S3 Ep 20 - A Little Bit Agricultural
Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story
On this podcast we aim to show-off our best agricultural minds to listeners. My guests today have the same goal – but to viewers. A Little Bit Agricultural is a video series that aims to entertain and educate anyone who is a little curious about how their food and fibre is produced. Hosted by celebrity fisherman Andrew Hart and agricultural scientist Oscar Giudici. To learn more about the show – Andrew and Oscar join me now to discuss: Oscar's favorite places from his travels since launching the series and hear about some impressive farms he’s visited. Andrew, a seasoned host of...
info_outlineIn a world driven by artificial intelligence and autonomous machines – the agriculture industry is changing dramatically. But with more technology, does life become more complicated? One farming couple is striving to create better and simpler practices with farm-bots. They used their own farm in Central Queensland as the testing ground and now – these mechanical helpers are being deployed to farms across the country. To learn more Jocie and Andrew Bate join me now to discuss:
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Jocie and Andrew have different places on their farm that they enjoy spending time.
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Since the late 1970s, Andrew’s family has been working on the farm and he shares how the use of machinery has changed over the years.
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Bigger is not always better and Andrew explains the machinery trends – they are getting bigger and so much more complicated.
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In 2012, Andrew started to wonder if there was a better way and introduced robotics to the farm.
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Partnering with two universities, they opened their property up to being the testing ground and before they knew it, they had a prototype.
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The current design of the SwarmBots, what they do and, how they help farmers.
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How these robotics can use targeted weed recognition, meaning farmers are able to use 1% of their previously needed pesticides.
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Commercially, they have farmed over 3 million acres with these robotics, and counting.
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The difference between ‘farming automation’ and ‘farming with autonomous robots’.
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In 2020, the Bates brought on investors so they were able to raise funds to take this industry to the next level.
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What Jocie and Andrew love most about life on the land.
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The most common misconception around SwarmFarm Robotics
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An unexpected event to happen since starting to work the land with Robotics.
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Jocie and Andrew ‘s ultimate dream for the future
We hope to see you back on the road soon, to learn more about how Australia grows on the next episode of Australian Farmers with Angie Asimus.
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