TOPPING BEEF GAME
Texas Angus wins 2018 Beef Farmer of the Year
It’s an exciting time for agriculture. — - Tom Bull
A NSW couple on a mission to produce the world’s best-tasting lamb chop have been judged Australia’s best farmers.
Tom and Phoebe Bull, from Holbrook in southern NSW, took out top honours in The Weekly Times Coles 2018 Farmer of the Year awards, announced at a gala event in Melbourne.
The Bulls, who run 6000 ewes producing genetics for clients that will this year produce a whopping 800,000 lambs combined, were recognised for their efforts in breeding sheep for marbling – a key trait when it comes to meat eating quality.
With an aim to develop “the wagyu of the lamb world”, the Bulls have conducted numerous trials in recent years to identify the best rams and ewes for marbling traits and breed from them.
They see a future where farmers are rewarded with significant premiums for
producing top-shelf lamb.
Accepting the award, Tom Bull said he had hope for the future of the industry.
“It’s an exciting time for agriculture,” he said.
“But I think we’ve got to get on the front foot. We’ve got to tell our story and tell it with passion.”
The Bulls’ hard work is paying dividends.
They have Australia’s top 100 recorded rams for marbling and plan to have branded lamb for sale in China, Japan and top-end Melbourne and Sydney markets this year.
The Weekly Times Coles Farmer of the Year awards honour the best in beef, cropping, dairy, horticulture, sheep and niche.
The Scurr family of Piñata Farms at Wamuran in Queensland was named Horticulture Farmer of the Year.
The farming family produce nine million pineapples, 130 million strawberries and 13 million mangoes.
Brothers Gavin and Stephen, from the Sunshine Coast, have grown from fairly humble beginnings more than 50 years ago to become a major player in the Australian fresh fruit market with pineapple, strawberry and mango operations in seven locations across three states.
They now grow 1010ha of fruit, supply Australia’s three biggest supermarkets – Woolworths, Coles and Aldi – year round, turn over more than $50 million a year, and employ 70 full-time staff and 300 seasonal workers.
Pinata has also joined forces with international partners to bring the world’s best-tasting fruit to Australian consumers and, in a sign of its commitment to the industry, has teamed with Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to run a pineapple breeding program, which investigates the commercial potential of up to 20,000 new varieties each year.
The future is bright for their mango too and they have undertaken a significant expansion project that will see production grow 100 per cent in the coming years.
“We have doubled the number of trees we’ve got in production in the Northern Territory in the past three years,” Gavin said.
“So we are going to see a lot more product come online in the next five years.”
NSW winners were Ben and Wendy Mayne from Texas Angus Stud at Warialda, who triumphed in the beef category, and the Kahl family from Merced Farming at Wee Waa, who were named Cropping Farmer of the Year.
Victoria was represented by dairy winners Clint Theodore and Brooke Lane, from Alvie, and Anita Watt from Glenelg River Herbs at Balmoral, who won the Farm Magazine Innovative Farmer of the Year.
Every mainland state was represented by finalists.
Each category winner received $5000 with the overall Farmer of the Year collecting a further $10,000.