Published since 1986
MAY, 2021
www.farmernews.com.au
A YEAR IN REVIEW
Quail Island pigs eradicated
THE Mansfield Farm Project follows life on the Mannings’ property Davilak, for a year. Photographed by Sandra Lording from Sandra Lee Photography, the project is as much about understanding country life as it is about documenting a year on a farm, raising Angus cattle. Rodda Manning, pictured with his dad Rod, took over farm management of Davilak in 2013, embracing the task and adding to his father’s legacy. Turn to pages 2 and 3 for the story.
PAGE 7
End of era at Bacchus Marsh PAGE 15
Cattle prices pass peak PAGES 16-17
Warming winter with all-Australian wool
By EMMA OLIVER
RETURNING in 2018 to the family farm at Powlett Plains in northern Victoria’s Loddon Valley, Rachael Canfield was more looking for a change of pace, than a new business enterprise. A scientist by trade, Rachael worked for 11 years
in Melbourne in cancer research, before deciding that it was time to get out of the big smoke and head back to her roots. Taking on a position at a veterinary medication manufacturing facility in Bendigo, Rachael helped where she could around her parents’ property, Yuruga
Plains, but it was her love of knitting and crocheting that would inspire the creation of her new business. “Our family has been producing fine merino wool for more than 80 years, which means that there is 80 years of breeding to ensure that the wool is super soft and ideal for knitting, as
well as crochet, weaving and embroidery,” Rachael said. “I’d always wanted to see what Dad’s wool was like to work with, as I’d grown up with my father always saying ‘My wool is the best’. “So I decided to give it a go and ask for a bale, and get it processed and spun.
“This led to the realisation that there is very limited, if any, 100 per cent Australianproduced merino wool. “Most yarn badged as ‘Australian wool’ on the market is actually sent overseas to be processed.” This didn’t stop Rachael though, who, intent on trialling the wool from her
family’s farm, embraced the challenge and set about finding any remaining local processors in the state. The resulting yarn was so impressive that Rachael knew she needed to share this fabulous product with others and so Yuruga Plains yarn was born. ■ Continued pages 4-5
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