How many farmers does it take to sustain your family for just one day?
Introducing Sally Edwards. Sally and her husband Grahame live on a beef cattle operation near Coolah in NSW.
1. Summary of your family and farming enterprise: My husband Grahame and I have been married for nine years. We have two children, Brendon 4 and Jessi 3. Grahame grew up on his family’s beef cattle property, ‘The Little Manning’, near Gloucester and has always lived for working on the land and with cattle.
I too grew up in Gloucester, and was a nearby neighbour to Grahame and his family. We travelled on the school bus together and wound up together while I was still in high school. We started our life together working side by side in the hospitality industry on a luxury resort in the Barrington Tops. From there we worked and travelled throughout NSW, NT and QLD. Always finding ourselves employed directly or indirectly by one of the many agricultural industries.
We love people, we love farming and agriculture and we love being a part of such vital industries. The operation that employs Grahame today breeds and raises Angus cattle and aside from being a satisfying job for Grahame is a great lifestyle for our family for which we are very grateful.
2. For you, what is the best lifestyle factor that you enjoy as a farmer?
It would have to be the wide open spaces. Being able to walk out your door, take a deep breath of clean fresh air and look over beautiful countryside, see content grazing cattle, listen to the birds and be able to watch the weather roll in (or not!).
The other big plus for me, is that living rurally allows the opportunity to be part of a great rural community. Rural communities, such as the Coolah community here, are full of people that on any given day would drop everything to help their neighbour, so to speak.
The camaraderie amongst small towns and rural communities is something very special and something that I really do count as a blessing in my life. There are many things that are part of our everyday country life, that we just couldn’t imagine living without.
The people, working to produce food for thousands, the landscapes, the wildlife… here right at home, clean crisp air, cattle, horses, working dogs, campdrafts and cattle camps, dirt, dust and mud – every little part of our lifestyle is something that we are truly thankful for.
Did I mention the open spaces?! It is all of these things and so much more that makes our life so enjoyable and satisfying.
Read the rest of Sals post on Fleur McDonalds blog....
1. Summary of your family and farming enterprise: My husband Grahame and I have been married for nine years. We have two children, Brendon 4 and Jessi 3. Grahame grew up on his family’s beef cattle property, ‘The Little Manning’, near Gloucester and has always lived for working on the land and with cattle.
I too grew up in Gloucester, and was a nearby neighbour to Grahame and his family. We travelled on the school bus together and wound up together while I was still in high school. We started our life together working side by side in the hospitality industry on a luxury resort in the Barrington Tops. From there we worked and travelled throughout NSW, NT and QLD. Always finding ourselves employed directly or indirectly by one of the many agricultural industries.
We love people, we love farming and agriculture and we love being a part of such vital industries. The operation that employs Grahame today breeds and raises Angus cattle and aside from being a satisfying job for Grahame is a great lifestyle for our family for which we are very grateful.
2. For you, what is the best lifestyle factor that you enjoy as a farmer?
It would have to be the wide open spaces. Being able to walk out your door, take a deep breath of clean fresh air and look over beautiful countryside, see content grazing cattle, listen to the birds and be able to watch the weather roll in (or not!).
The other big plus for me, is that living rurally allows the opportunity to be part of a great rural community. Rural communities, such as the Coolah community here, are full of people that on any given day would drop everything to help their neighbour, so to speak.
The camaraderie amongst small towns and rural communities is something very special and something that I really do count as a blessing in my life. There are many things that are part of our everyday country life, that we just couldn’t imagine living without.
The people, working to produce food for thousands, the landscapes, the wildlife… here right at home, clean crisp air, cattle, horses, working dogs, campdrafts and cattle camps, dirt, dust and mud – every little part of our lifestyle is something that we are truly thankful for.
Did I mention the open spaces?! It is all of these things and so much more that makes our life so enjoyable and satisfying.
Read the rest of Sals post on Fleur McDonalds blog....