Produce

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Broadacre

While we are well serviced by our core staff for most of the year in the broadacre program during the harvest period, we always have a need for a few seasonal staff.

The dryland broadacre program spans across 8,000 hectares consisting of barley, wheat, canola, lupins, vetch and hay. There is a mix of owned and leased land along with a share farm arrangement with long-term employee of Longtrail Farms and the businesses key broadacre employee David Philbey and with his wife Kat they include their farms in Parilla and Lameroo in the program.

The Southern Mallee offers a variation in soil types and like everywhere varies in climatic conditions. A rotation of crop types is important to manage the various risks that a broadacre farming business encounters. Like many farmers in Australia, Longtrail Farms made the transition to no-till farming in the early 2000’s and since has expanded the range of crops grown  and improved productivity. .

Sowing the crop in April and May and harvesting in November and December, the majority of grain is exported with the rest retained on farm or sold domestically for stock feed, seed and hay.

Livestock

While the livestock operation may not require the most amount of labour through the year, at peak times everyone has a go and helps out.

Currently running are Merino ewes with half mated to Merino rams and half to white Suffolk’s.

Angus Cows with Trade Steers through the year, which value adds some of the hay, grain and potatoes that we produce.