Owners/managers
David Eckert (54) and Gwenda Eckert (49) and their two sons Matt Eckert (26), Tim Eckert (24) and daughter Alysha Eckert (21). Matt and Tim are fifth generation Eckert family farmers.
Property Name
Mentara Park
Rainfall
Annual district average: 450mm
Actual rainfall over last three years:
2015 – 345mm
2016 – 547mm
2017 – 489mm
Total farm area
Arable: 6,650ha
Non-arable: 600ha
Owned: 6,600ha
Share-farmed/leased: 650ha
Soil types
The northern half of the farm generally comprises highly alkalised rubble limestone based loams, to heavy clay loams. Soil types on the southern half of the farm vary from grey sandy loams to deep sands. The highly variable nature of the soils means there can often be five or six different soil management zones within one paddock.
Crops grown
Wheat (35 per cent), barley (35 per cent), legumes (20 per cent), hay (10 per cent).
Livestock
3000 head self-replacing Merino ewe flock and 120 Angus cows.
Employees
Two full time employees and two casual employees at peak times.
Machinery
Tractors: Case IH Quadtrack HD, New Holland 9482 versatile, New Holland T8050 FWA, Fendt 933 FWA, Deutz 6:30 FWA.
Headers: Two John Deere 9660STS and 9760STS Headers, One seeding unit, One 60ft Seedmaster and simplicity 20,000L Air cart on 12” spacings.
Sprayers: One Hardi 10,000 x 36m Boomsprayer towed by Fendt.
Other: Bredal K85 super spreader, McDon SP Windrower and mower conditioner, Finch 38T Chaser Bin, Massey 2270HD Baler, two Semis 1 Kenworth B Double tippers and drop deck trailers, Gang of 3 stone rollers.
Community involvement
The Eckert family are involved in the Malinong Community Hall and are active players in the Malinong Tennis Club. Gwenda and Alysha are involved in the Meningie Football Club and Alysha played netball for Meningie before going to university in 2015.
Q When was the farming district settled?
A The first farm in the district was settled in 1901, but more generally the district was cleared from the 1950s onwards.
Q What is the history of your farm?
A The Eckert family came to Australia in 1865 and settled at Belvidere, SA where some of them still farm today. My parents, Alan and Jeanette Eckert, came from Belvidere in 1962 and purchased 1800 hectares at Ashville. They expanded and bought the first block at Malinong in 1972, which was three quarters scrub. My brother and I helped clear this block in the early 1980s when I first left school. Gwenda and I married in 1989 and we moved to Malinong and farmed with my parents until 2001 when they retired.
Q When did your children join the business?
A After Matt finished Year 12 he went on to study mechanical engineering, then returned to the family farm in 2012. Tim began full time work within the family farm after completing Year 12. Alysha is currently studying architecture at Adelaide University and has been working at Viterra during the harvest period as a grain classifier. All three children completed their schooling education at Meningie Area School.
Q What is the key to successfully bringing the next generation into the family farming business?
A Communication, giving them more responsibility, setting clear direction in their chosen fields in farming, and letting the next generation make decisions.
Q What made you want to be a farmer?
A I worked with Mum and Dad from an early age and always loved it – I guess I didn’t know any different. I have always loved tilling the earth, watching crops grow and producing food for the world.
Q What education and training did you undertake?
A I went to Tailem Bend Primary School then Murray Bridge High School. After completing Year 10 I came straight home to the farm. Gwenda and I undertook a rural business management course together and now attend information days and seminars. We also observe trials that are being run on our own property, and on other neighbouring properties. I have a close working relationship with our agronomist who keeps us up to date with new trials and research.
Q How do you manage your cropping program?
A We generally have a three-year rotation which is either canola, wheat, barley; or beans/lupins, wheat, and barley. Sometimes hay follows barley, which stretches it out to a four-year rotation. We like to have two consecutive grass control years as brome grass is giving us the most grief at the moment. Our aim is to seed in blocks, for example, we will seed 400ha of canola in one block. This increases productivity in reducing shifting plant and equipment, especially rollers (we roll 75% of our program due to limestone). The block approach also helps with spray drift. We have trialled other crops like peas, lentils and chickpeas but the undulating limestone make these difficult to harvest.
Q Which varieties work best in your area?
A Scepter and Mace wheat work well over our limestone country. We target ASW and APW quality and target yield over high protein, which seems to be elusive to us at the moment. We grow Commander barley, targeting the malt premium market, and Spartacus, which is performing well with high yields, great seed size and test weight. The ability to control broom grass is beneficial. In canola, we have a mix of TTs and Clearfields depending on rotations.
Q Are you 100 per cent no-till, or do you employ a mix of tillage practices?
A On our continuous cropping country, we have been on 10” spacings using 16mm wide knife points minimum till for 15 years, and are now moving to 12” spacings and 12mm wide knife points with press wheels immediately behind the tyne. Our new seeder will separate seed from fertiliser. When renovating pasture country, after 10 to 15 years of grazing, we adopted full till. This begins with ploughing then working back twice with prickle chain following in rain events. This incorporates non-wetting sands and also levels paddocks from veldt grass and bull holes. We have also been trialling deep ploughing to break up the hard pan and to help bring moist soil to the surface.
Q What is your fertiliser regime?
A Canola and pulse paddocks receive 100kg/ha of SSP (potash is added on hay cuts) pre-seeding and 80kg/ha of MAP + zinc at seeding. The first pass post-seeding is sulphate of ammonia blend, with a second pass top dressing of urea post-seeding. Wheat and barley are sown with 100 kg/ha granular MAP plus copper and zinc, then two passes of urea varied, based on paddock history. After harvest we soil test a percentage of paddocks to keep up to date with what’s happening. Tissue testing is another tool we use to help determine fertiliser requirements.
Q What is your normal herbicide regime?
A This is one area we tend to leave to our agronomist, he keeps us aware of what’s available and how to use it effectively. We have done herbicide resistant testing and our aim is to rotate chemical groups to keep the herbicides effective for as long as possible.
Crop rotations and variety selection play a big part in this, along with paddock histories.
We record all crop rotation and paddock history information on the Agworld program.
Our approach to chemicals is always to spray at recommended rates, with higher water volumes, correct additives and proper spray nozzle selection, as well as recommended pressures and paddock speed. Compared to 10 years ago we are applying a lot more fungicides in wheat, especially late fungicides.
Q What is your harvesting routine?
A Our harvest routine starts with canola, barley, and legumes, finishing with wheat.
We cart most of our grain to our local silo complex at Tailem Bend 50km away, with one B Double, our small semi and the help of a neighbour. The 38t chaser bin helps keep things rolling and often aids in quick turnarounds in loading trucks to Tailem Bend, getting seven loads a day. We have enough on-farm storage for approximately 25 per cent to 30 per cent of our harvest, which often helps ingrain flow at night. Beans are stored on-farm and taken straight to the port after harvest to save on freight costs as our local silo doesn’t receive these. The remainder of the on-farm storage is filled with ASW wheat or feed barley depending on current market pricing and sold into local industry markets.
Q How do you sell/market your crop?
A Grain marketing can start out as much as 18 months before harvest on multigrade contracts if benchmark pricing is achieved. A small portion is sold and increases if pricing remains attractive and the season permits. We target sales of 25 per cent to 30 per cent before harvest. Malt grades are sold at harvest as it is too risky to sell beforehand (and this is generally when the premium seems to be). A small amount is retained in on-farm storage, which is sold throughout the year when demand and pricing align. It’s the one area of farming that can torment you, but we set price benchmarks and once a decision is made its easier to move forward. It’s a nice feeling once all the grain is sold.
Q Who do you rely on for grain marketing advice?
A We don’t have just one grain marketing advisor, but gather information via phone, the computer and media marketers.
Q From your experiences in hosting Japanese buyers on your farm, what have you learned?
A We were amazed at their keen interest in what we are doing, their politeness and humbleness. They are looking to be reassured on the “paddock to plate” concept and want to know that we are growing grain professionally and in a sustainable manner.
It was good to build relationships between grower, exporter and end user.
Q What are the three biggest challenges/risks to your farm business?
A
- Weed resistance and managing chemicalsso they remain effective.
- Rainfall – this plays a huge part of the outcome at harvest.
- Grain marketing and ensuring adequate cash flow.
Q How do you try to manage those challenges/risks?
A
- Surrounding your business with good advisors, such as an agronomist.
- As far as rainfall goes, the aim is to retain as much as possible through summer spraying, good straw cover, and building organic matter to keep soil loose and friable.
- Our accountant, bank managers and grain marketing people all help.
Q Do you have future expansion plans?
A If the past is any indication of the future I guess we are always willing to expand, especially when a neighbouring property becomes available. Most farms sold in our district have been bought by neighbours in a tightly held community. I think the nature of our land – having a lot of limestone – tends to turn outsiders off of purchasing.
Q Would you shift to another district for cheaper land, or if rainfall becomes a problem due to climate change?
A We live in a fairly assured rainfall district close to coastal climate, so I don’t see us moving as we know this country and it has been good to us. We are now achieving yields we only ever dreamt of. It would be nice to try another area though, just to see what it is like to farm without stones and snails.
Q Do you have a business diversification strategy?
A We run a 3000-head self-replacing Merino ewe flock on the southern portion of our property, which has lighter sands. We run 120 Angus cows, on mostly lucerne and veltgrass pastures. We also reap lucerne seed and bale lucerne hay when the season permits. All of this helps us with cash flow during the second half of the year when the cropping program has drained its funds.
Q Do you think food production has a good future in Australia?
A Yes, now more than ever before, as developing countries are shifting to middle class and have more money to buy better quality food, which we have a great reputation of producing. As more countries introduce better farming techniques, the over-supply may keep the lid on increased pricing of food.
Q Will you encourage your children to return to the farm?
A Our boys already farm with us, and if we are blessed with grandchildren we will certainly encourage them – but you do need to have a passion for farming.
Q What is your retirement/succession plan?
A When we took over the farm from my parents we realised we would only have it for a short time, as we believe in passing on the farm rather than selling it to the next generation. The idea is to try to make the asset work for us while we own it. This is what prompted us to start a self-managed super fund 10 years ago and we are driving this as hard as we can through various means so that when I turn 60 we can start the process of handing over on-farm assets so we can live without being a financial drain on the farm. It’s one of the harder things to approach in family business, but we talk about this regularly with our accountant in quarterly meetings.
