Networking for the future of Agriculture

The Goulburn Young Farmers Network have been very successful for the past two years. They have taken 1st place in NSW and 2nd place overall at the national competition of the Australian Young Farmers Challenge which showcases high level on-farm skills.

The Goulburn Young Farmers Network have been very successful for the past two years. They have taken 1st place in NSW and 2nd place at the national competition of the Australian Young Farmers Challenge which showcases high level on-farm skills. They are locally pushing to ensure that young farmers in the region have a voice as they see that this is much needed.

The Goulburn Network is the voice of the future of Australian agriculture. They are locally pushing to ensure that young farmers in the region have a voice. They began the group with the mission to reinvigorate the local show society since its members were ageing. They have since broadened to support young farming professionals to include farmers, farm managers, station workers and young farm owners.

“We’re not only running workshops on finance and business skills; we’re providing opportunities to network in the local area. One of the big needs within the industry is to connect retiring age farmers with young farmers who might be looking to share-farm or lease property,” Matt Sheehy, farm manager and co-founder of Goulburn Young Farmers explained.

“We also want to provide a forum for knowledge sharing and new ideas.”

One of the big barriers to farming is land ownership, especially in the Goulburn region. With real estate in the area growing exponentially, the affordability of land is becoming quite a challenge. Someone who wants to purchase their first property would be looking at $3000 per acre and that is a lot to pay. It is for these reasons that Matt has been focusing on promoting options such as leasing and share-farming which can be achieved through networking and contacts.

To Matt one of the main value points of the group is their ability to get together and discuss new ideas, thinking outside the box on ways to support each other. Staying at the forefront of innovation and technology young farmers can make a positive impact on the farming industry and the bottom line.

Aidan Barton the other co-founder of the Goulburn Young Farmers Network offers empowerment through information and education.

“We’ve run the Bank Ready workshop with the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and we’re currently working on a Goulburn forum, ‘Farming Future’, in July which will focus on innovation, young people in agriculture and their futures,” Aidan said.

Aidan is a farm manager and has worked his way up from being a station hand. He is, as such, an advocate for up-skilling via training and staff development.

“Most young farmers need financial and business skill training and so we’re opening avenues for people to learn. That financial capacity will provide them with the confidence to network,” Aidan said.

Because he feels that it is very important for farms to be run like the small businesses they are, Aiden advocates that owners and managers need to invest in their staff and offer them good conditions for employment.

Aidan and Matt both agree that young people will be encouraged to take up farming if there are more government policy initiatives put in place. While they don’t expect the government to hand out money for buying farms, they want education and information to be passed on.