‘Green everything’

Ask any farmer, ‘red or green?’ and you are guaranteed to receive a swift and definitive answer – and most likely a look of surprise you felt the need to ask the question.

For former Rainbow farmer Graeme Schilling the answer is simple: He is a John Deere man through and through.

His love of all things green is evident in his grand retirement project.

Mr Schilling, who now lives in Horsham, has created an intricate model farm in 1:64 scale complete with machinery, equipment, a house and storage. Of course, there are distinctive green and yellow machines as far as the eye can see.

Mr Schilling said the project took about three years to complete.

“It was just something to do,” he said. “I farmed for 32 years at Rainbow before I retired and I am a John Deere fanatic – everything I had was John Deere. The header was green. The seeder was green. The cultivator was green.

“I’ve also been collecting John Deere toys for about 30 years. And then I thought, why don’t I make a little farm? So I started about three years ago, off and on.”

Mr Schilling kicked off the project with ‘a visit to Clark Rubber, cheap carpet and spray paint’.

A joiner by trade, he crafted many of the pieces that adorn the diorama, including the house, shed, field bins and trucks.

He said creating the silos was the most difficult part. “It was a bit tricky because the whole thing is 1:64 scale,” he said.

“My wife Googled old silos all over western Victoria and got me plans and specifications, so I was able to do it. The toys are all 1:64, so then I made the house and sheds on the same scale.”

Mr Schilling said his project was not a replica of his Rainbow farm.

“It’s just all out of my head,” he said. “I didn’t have a particular plan in mind when I started.”

The back and sides of the project feature a panoramic photograph.

“My nephew’s wife took it across the highway from Emmetts in Horsham with a wide-angle lens,” Mr Schilling said.

“You can see the Grampians in the background and the railway down Dimboola Road.”

As a John Deere aficionado, Mr Schilling also has a long association with staff at Emmetts, the region’s John Deere dealer.

Field days

Mr Schilling’s model farm will be on display in Emmetts’ main tent at next week’s Wimmera Machinery Field Days at Longerenong.

“I’ve bought a lot of toys from Emmetts over the years,” he said.

“I told Michael Jones, who I know quite well, that he should come and look at my project. He said they had to do something with it, because it’s all John Deere, and it snowballed from there.

“I have already had it on display at the Rainbow Show and at a Horsham Primary School fair.

“The Horsham Lutheran church – I’m a member there – wanted it on display for harvest thanksgiving.

“My accountant saw it at church. He came up to me with a twinkle in his eye and said: “Overcapitalised.”

Mr Schilling said he looked forward to attending this year’s field days, at Wimmera Events Centre on March 7, 8 and 9.

“I’m a field days fanatic. I think I was born with a tractor in my hand. I love machinery. Even though I’m not in farming any more, I love walking around looking at it all,” he said. Mr Schilling said it was important to keep busy. “I’m not a bowler and I’m not computer literate, I just enjoy spending time in my shed,” he said.

So, will he continue to expand his model farm empire? “I reckon I’m finished,” he said. “I’m not sure what I’ll do next – I haven’t thought that far ahead.”