Entering agriculture at a young age can be arduous.
Land is scarce and expensive, and farms are often passed on in the family, making it difficult for novices to get started in agriculture.
Dreams of farming without an agricultural background can be difficult to realize, as Joel Orchard knows.
After years of working in the corporate sector, Mr. Orchard wanted to cultivate and moved to Northern Rivers in New South Wales, but found that he needed more than willpower and drive to get into the industry.
Joel Orchard started Young Farmers Connect to provide a community of support to first-generation farmers. (ABC Landline)
“I was really amazed at how little support there was, not having come from a family working in agriculture and trying to get into the industry myself was really hard,” he said.
Learning center for new farmers
In 2014, Joel decided to create a non-profit organization called Young Farmers Connect, initially based in his local area.
The network supported new, emerging and young farmers, targeted at the small-scale agriculture sector.
Since then, Young Farmers Connect has become a national organization offering resources, advice, and a support community.
Young Farmers Connect has an official membership model, but field days are events with tickets open to everyone. (ABC landline)
“There were a lot of other young people scratching their heads saying,‘ How do we do that? ’” Joel said.
“And locally, we just started a network of people getting into the industry and we looked at how we could support each other. Little by little, we discovered that there were a lot of young people doing the same thing. So, yes, peer support. networking was a really natural solution “.
Tara Luca and Alex O’Reilly are two of these farmers.
Together with Alex’s sister, Tess, they grow a certified organic tea tree and cut flowers.
Starting two farming companies was a high goal, but after discovering Young Farmers Connect on social media, they found help and support fundamental to their success.
“It has given us forays into many different services, different opportunities out there, which have been very valuable to our business,” Alex O’Reilly said.
Alex and Tara come from non-agricultural backgrounds, but that didn’t stop them from wanting to take a look at him. (ABC landline: Halina Baczkowski)
For the couple, a vision of the business and trade of agriculture has been an eye-opener.
“This can be really inspiring, talking about added value and not even added value, but how to make your product financially viable,” said Tara Luca.
But for Ms. Luca, community support ranks high on the list of services Young Farmers Connect offers.
“Agriculture can be a pretty isolated job for a lot of people. So that connection, you know, for mental and social health reasons, is as important as all the education they offer,” he said.
The nonprofit has a membership model, but at this stage anyone can access the information on their social media platforms.
Share agricultural knowledge
Along with online support, Young Farmers Connect organizes field trips with tickets organized nationwide by local chapters.
Kate Keating is a chapter coordinator in Southeast Queensland, and on a cold July day, she organized an event on the scenic edge of Queensland.
Kate Keating has been coordinating the Young Farmers Connect chapter in southeast Queensland for the past 18 months. (ABC landline: Halina Baczkowski)
The reasons these days are so successful, Kate explains, is because they give people a chance to meet like-minded farmers who are getting results.
“We have a very strong community of farmers and producers, a very passionate, supportive and welcoming group of people. My job is very easy, really. I’m there to provide a platform to help and support them through peer-to-peer mentoring and that sort of thing, ”he said.
The host of the field day is Marcos ‘Curly’ Malaxetxebarria, an old roof, turned farmer and inventor. He became involved with Young Farmers Connect in its early days when Mr. Orchard was contacted.
“Joel gave us a lot of support when we started developing machinery and started our own farm. He has taken a lot of initiative to encourage this culture of farmers doing their thing,” Curly said.
The desire to help, support and pass on knowledge has a paying effect, with Curly wanting to do the same.
Curly says sharing his knowledge is of the utmost importance to him and says it’s about coming back. (ABC landline: Halina Baczkowski)
“I hope to be able to be a breeding ground, so that people nearby can come and learn about agriculture or how we do our practices,” he said.
Mr. Orchard also advocates on behalf of farmers at the government level, offering advice and research on the protection and preservation of farmland.
“There is real pressure on the land that is being bought and developed, especially around cities and urban margins. Part of that farmland is really important for our food security and access to food. So some forms of protection around that are really important. ” He said.
Working primarily with small-scale farmers, Mr. Orchard believes that this type of farming is difficult for people to do successfully.
“You’re running a small business on a very complicated project, trying to do two things at once,” he said.
“For many young people they are forming families, we also have a rental crisis and everything else as well, there is a complexity of problems.
“We advocate for more resources and more support for industry, but also only the recognition of the small-scale agricultural sector and the huge benefits they offer for Australia’s food security.
“If we get more young people involved in the industry, the benefits to the community are multiplied.”
Watch this story on your ABC TV landline at 12:30 on Sunday or on ABC iview.