Q&A with Wee Waa’s Nuffield Scholarship winner, Daniel Kahl

What’s your job description?

My official role on our farm is Business Manager; so looking after all our admin, cashflow, marketing, logistics and just generally looking after the business side of things. Unofficially I'm a part time irrigator, mechanic’s apprentice, tractor operator, stockman and silo attendant.

What do you do on the farm?

Most of my time is spent around the office staying on top of things and making sure our business is running well. But a bit like my job description suggests, working on-farm means that I end up having to help with whatever is going on, on any given day. As well as doing budgets, cashflows, crop marketing and dealing with whatever departmental red tape has appeared on my desk; I might be starting siphon pipes, helping with harvest, moving stock or cleaning out silos.

How does your year usually play out?

Short summary of our year (starting in October) is plant cotton, harvest wheat, plant summer rotation crops (if possible), irrigate cotton, harvest rotation crops, ground prep for next summer’s crops, pick cotton, plant wheat, more ground prep for summer crops, plant cotton. But each year is different depending on the weather and what resources we have available to us. There are five main things you need in order to farm: people, equipment, capital, water and land. Most of our decision making and what we do each year comes down to making the most out of whichever of those we have the least of.

How is the season looking?

HOT! But apart from that it’s looking pretty good. We had good rain through winter which provided us with some pleasing winter crop yields.  It also filled Keepit Dam which provides us with irrigation water, so we have been able to plant a full production cotton crop for the first time in a number of years. Despite the scorching summer we've had it is performing well. Hopefully we get some relief from the heat and it gets the opportunity to finish well!

When did you know you wanted a life in agriculture?

Growing up on the farm the idea of staying and being a part of it is a hard thing to shake, so I think I have probably always thought of having a life and career in agriculture. I went away to uni to study commerce and was open to any opportunities that may have taken me elsewhere, but I kept finding myself on the road back to home.  After finishing uni, I spent a couple of years working for a cotton merchant before coming home to the family farm.

What would you say to other young people looking at a career in agriculture?

DO it. The great thing about agriculture is that there is seriously something in the industry for everyone and it is an industry that is continually moving, embracing change and new technologies and working on ways to do things better. A career in agriculture could see you end up in so many different roles; farmer, salesperson, research scientist, commodity merchant, agronomist, economist, logistics coordinator, advocacy and policy maker... The list and opportunities are endless.

If you had a meeting with the Prime Minister this afternoon, what would you talk to him about?

I'd remind him of one thing and ask him to pay real attention to three. I'd remind him that agriculture has always been integral to the Australian economy, that this year it was the country's second largest export industry and that when you consider the growing need to feed and clothe the world, it is Australia's biggest opportunity for further long term growth. Then I'd ask him to pay attention to three things:

1.  Water security - agriculture needs water. And while it is important that agricultural needs aren't put before the environment, town supply or anything else, it’s vital that they aren't put before agriculture either. Water security is too important to become a political bargaining tool and the political nonsense around it must be put aside so that meaningful and productive outcomes can be achieved.

2.  Red tape. Make things simpler for our farmers to do what they do best, producing some of the world's best food and fibre. Not filling out forms.

3.  Look after regional areas. They may not be where all the votes are but ensuring our regional communities are not neglected is paramount. That means the roads, infrastructure and services necessary to get things done and attract more people to rural areas, not lose them. And it certainly doesn't mean handouts.

If you could convince the entire world of one thing (farming related) what would it be?

That wherever you live, whatever you do and whatever your background is, you rely on agriculture. If there is one thing you should absolutely do the very next chance you get, it would be to get out there and see it for yourself. Take yourself to any town in regional Australia, go to the post office and ask who you should see if you wanted to see a farm. Most farmers will jump at the opportunity to show you what they do and most importantly it might give you a greater understanding of where your food and fibre comes from, how it got to the supermarket shelf and why it’s so important to support agriculture.

As if helping run the family farm wasn’t enough, Daniel has been selected to undertake a prestigious Nuffield Scholarship this year investigating the future of skilled workers in agriculture and where they will come from. More to come when he returns from his study trip.