Farm in Focus: Robyn Gulline, Longerenong, Vic
- By: "Farm Tender" News
- US & World News
- Jun 06, 2018
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Combining lateral thinking with a community focus has enabled this Longerenong mixed farmer to embrace new opportunities and adapt to a changing agricultural environment.
Farm Business Name: Gulline Farms Pty Ltd
Location: Longerenong
Enterprises, including crop or livestock type:
Wheat, barley, oat, canola, lentil, faba beans and an Australian white/dorper flock.
How is your sowing program going?
We started Monday 23 April and plan to finish by the June long weekend. Sowing is progressing quite smoothly so far. All our lentil paddocks are sown, half the wheat is done, with barley left to go.
How much rain have you received so far and has this altered your cropping plans?
We’ve had 32mm Jan-Apr and 25mm so far in May. We start planning in November with a final review in Feb/March. Our cropping program is determined by paddock history, weed pressures, plant back restrictions and a balanced commodity mix.
What is your biggest challenge at this time of year and how are you managing it?
Finding suitable spray windows because it is so windy here. We try to have the boom filled with water ready to add chemical when a window appears and a lot of our spraying occurs at night.
We are seeing more mouse activity since the last rain.
What are your expectations for the year ahead?
I’ve seen twenty four Wimmera cropping seasons and no two have been the same. Time will reveal what challenges we face in 2018, but I’d be happy with this scenario:
* Winter – average rain every month and minimal disease/mice/snails/bugs/grubs/pests.
* Spring – at least 25mm of rain each month, mild nights and average daily temperatures. A dry week or two for hay in Sept/Oct and minimal disease/mice/snails/bugs/grubs/pests.
* Summer – a dry harvest with good grain quality and decile 8 prices, maybe 1-2 mm every couple of weeks to give everyone an enforced night off.
What opportunities do you see in agriculture?
There is value for farmers in keeping records and I see a lot of potential in data management. We have implemented eID tags (electronic identification for sheep) across the farm as a flock management tool. The technology is efficient and easy, but like many programs, it’s only as good as the information you put into the system.
Managing large amounts of data (yield, soil, weather, livestock etc.) also offers big opportunities for improved decision making, but it must be governed correctly. We may see new technology, software and skills developed to manage it.
Having farmers work alongside industry is also a great chance to ensure research is applied and practical. We have four separate industry trials on our farm this year.
I’ve had many leadership opportunities in agriculture and combined with my education background I’m able to use my skills in a range of ways.
My community involvement includes:
* Partners in Ag, board member and chair
* Regional Development Australia – Grampians, business representative
* Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership, community representative
* Wimmera Victorian Farmers Federation branch, Vice President
* Wimmera Machinery Field Days, committee member
* Wimmera Development Association, community representative
I am a trained primary/preschool school teacher and have previously taught at Longerenong College and Ballarat University.
What is your vision for the region?
The Wimmera lifestyle is very desirable and there is so much to enjoy living in here. Part of my motivation for sitting on the regional development committees is to ensure locals live their best life possible, challenge the trend and grow our population, encourage more visitation and ensure an economically viable region. There’s more to life than sitting in traffic!
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