The property we're on now, we're only the second owners of it because we bought it off the original selectors. We've been here approximately 30 odd years.

When we bought it, it was predominately a sheep property, been flogged to death. The management in my opinion was of the old style – don't worry about the land, the land will worry about you. Well it doesn't work that way.

We've gone about probably massive changes in this property insofar as we don't graze the hill country in the summer time, we keep all our stock off, we've turned into a beef enterprise, which we believe is not as hard on the country.

It probably sounds like Dracula in the blood bank but I've been an earth mover and I'm still an earth moving contractor. I've been involved in clearing hundreds of acres of country, but I've planted thousands of trees on this property.

Because the fact is you've got to have protection, you've got to have shade and the most important thing you've got to have to raise good livestock is good water.

Listen to Alan's story (MP3 file 625kb)
Duration: 1 minute, 19 seconds

> Return to the farming families