Man on the land

Trevor is a third generation farmer on 10,000 acres on the western border of Vic. He farms cattle and has a growing interest in organic meat production. He has found the drought hard because of increased feed prices, even though it now means his meat gets premium prices. He is part of a landcare program which is revegetating a waterway that runs through his property. There have been regular planting days on his property. His son is studying sustainable agriculture and they are looking towards the future of farming. They are discussing options for tree plantings as carbon credits for large companies.  

Trevor: “I’m not a bloody greenie! I’m not into tying myself to trees and all that nonsense. My mates might think I’m a bit soft in the head though, ‘cause I do plant trees. I’ve planted 10,000 so far but I figure there’s a few more to go. My dad and his dad before him spent 50 years ripping them out. So now I’m the silly bugger who’s got to put them all back in.

It’s the land you see, it doesn’t do so well without the trees and the land’s how I make my living so I’ve got to look after it. There’s the young bloke following me too and he’ll need something to farm, so I guess I’m doing it for him too. That’s the thing with farming see, there’s always something needs to be done.”