It’s no accident that we live in one of the most respected farming communities! One of the things we love is being surrounded by highly motivated people who are not only keen to progress the way they do things, but they’re just as driven by seeing those around them thrive.
Buckleboo local, Graeme Baldock is the third generation on his family farm, having proudly worked the land for close to 66 years now. He is also one of the founding members of local farming research group, The Big Fig — initially a small group who has made a big impact on farming on the Eyre Peninsula.
“Back in the day, most of South Australia had agricultural bureau groups. The idea was to learn from fellow farmers, research groups and industry contacts and stay in touch with what was happening. The bureaus had a bit of a stigma associated with them that wasn’t appealing to a lot of younger farmers. They were a bit set in their ways and over the years their relevance dwindled and numbers dropped off,” Graeme begins.
“When the last two bureau groups packed up in the late nineties, we realised we were very isolated without any form of collaboration. A few of us decided we need to reinvent the concept, so we put our heads together. The result was the Buckleboo Farm Improvement Group — aka, the Big Fig and in 1997, we kicked off our first group meeting with about a dozen people.
“It began in just the Buckleboo area and grew quickly. Today, it encompasses the whole Kimba district, with hundreds of members and the committee is still going strong. The group meets a couple of times a year to share best farming techniques and to do trial work — testing things like new ways of sowing, different combinations of fertilisers, strategic placement, deep ripping and more to eliminate soil problems, as well as having a focus on livestock for the large number of producers in the group. Whatever the current challenges are, the group is united in trying to problem solve and learn from one another in order to improve farming in the district in general,” Graeme says.
“Originally, the group was only ever funded by state government and subscription, but we steered it towards a sponsorship set-up which has attracted other grants and monies and it’s continued to steadily grow in membership and credibility amongst the wider industry.
“We’ve had a lot of memorable times over the years, as well as few that still make me laugh,” Graeme chuckles.
“One that still makes me smile was at an EP field day at Buckleboo a few years back. We were looking at auto steering and the different devices available. As you do at field days, we wrapped up with a barbecue tea and a few frothies, while discussing different ways of using a foam marker to map out your last task in the field. One of our group had had a foam marker there on display and at the end of the night, he happily drove home, blissfully unaware that is was still going. He left a perfectly mapped out trail of bright pink dots, all the way from the grounds to his house,” Graeme laughs. “But apart from some fond memories, I’m really proud to have been part of setting the group — and I’ve seen how much has been achieved by community members coming together.
“These days, I’ve stepped back from the committee. We initially set up the group to restrict the term of committee executives to keep things vibrant and relevant. To evolve, innovation requires new ideas and different perspectives. It’s incredible to see people working together in this way and makes me even prouder to be part of our local industry.”
