Jake's break from the office job turns into career
29/1/2018
“I thought I’d have a few months up here as a break. Then Black Saturday came through and I haven’t gone back yet – that was 10 years ago nearly.”
What started as a couple of months on the family farm to get away from the office has turned into a new career for Jake Howman.
In fact the 31 year old now runs the Angus Stud which has been in his family since 1923. Jake is also one of 13 young farmers to receive a Victorian State Government study scholarship.
Jake was no stranger to the farm life, having spent a lot of time on the weekends on the property growing up. But he would go through a commerce degree and a couple of years working as an accounts analyst at Ernst and Young before he accepted his calling.
“I thought I’d have a few months up here as a break.”
“Then Black Saturday came through and I haven’t gone back yet – that was 10 years ago nearly.”
The fire would burn through half the 1000 acre property, destroying 18km of fencing as it passed.
Jake would stay and rebuild, and take the oportunity to take the business in a new direction establishing an Angus Stud.
The new cattle business “Pinnacle Angus” runs 70 stud Angus and 30 stud Wagyu as well as around 600 commercial Angus cows.
“We’re pretty new at breeding the F1 Wagyu, so it’s trying to fine-tune that operation and really maximise their weaning.”
The $5000 grant will go towards livestock scales and a subsidised animal nutrition course aimed to help Jake implement new grain feeding techniques to accelerate weaning.
Fellow recipient Merryn Bryne is also taking advantage of subsidised training to learn farm management and grazing before deciding how to invest the $5000.
“I realised if you’re passionate enough to pursue it, there’s a lot of organisations out there that want younger generations to succeed in agriculture.”
“I’d really encourage any young person that has a dream to have a career in agriculture to have a go.”
The latest recipients of the Young Farmers Scholarship Awards join 25 young people across regional Victoria who have already received funding.
