Our Date with Dennis – A Farmer Profile
Dennis Stewart, his wife Susie and their family have been farming in the district for over 35 years. In recent times they have secured the purchase of Booberoi Station, located on the banks of the Lachlan River, between Euabalong and Condobolin.
They have faced many challenges but Dennis loves this way of life, and the land itself. It becomes challenging dealing with the lack of moisture, and prevailing droughts, and the recent acquisition of Booberoi Station, with its more secure water holdings on the Lachlan River provides the farming family with more security.
Seeing more extremes of weather and being a staunch believer in climate change, Dennis believes that good strategy, and future planning is key to keeping production increasing on the land.
Grain storage for feed in challenging times, and water storage are crucial for remaining productive.
Their main production enterprise being Angus cattle, with a core breeding stock of 1400 head, Dennis says they can carry up to and over 3000 head of cattle. Their bloodlines are sourced from Te Mania Stud in Victoria, and Dennis believes that they have some of the best genetic lines available.
With this cattle farming enterprise, grain storage for feed is a crucial aspect of the process, more so at this time, as Dennis and his son Cameron remain committed to continually improving pasture for their stock. The main grain production on the property is oats, produced primarily for feed, and stored utilising HE SILOS Forbes sealed grain silos which Dennis says gives them peace of mind that their grain is protected and viability remains intact. Dennis initially purchased 3 HE Silos for grain storage, with another grain silo purchased and installed approximately 8 months later. Following their farming strategy, Dennis says that they will require another 2 silos in the near future. They continue to be a great system for storage, and are reliable and maintain grain quality to optimize best feed for their cattle enterprise.
Dennis has also branched into cotton production on a share farm basis, seeing this an opportunity in diversification, and all going well, will look to increase production over the next few years.
With son Cameron now taking the reins of the business and Dennis now “a worker” he jokes, Cameron is looking towards the future with a very set 5 year plan in place to continue to improve their infrastructure, fencing and primarily their pastures. And providing the right opportunity came along, expansion could also become part of that plan.
Dennis and his wife Susie, while still very active in the farming enterprise, are enjoying spending more time with their grandchildren on the property, and seeing the third generation rise up through the ranks.
The Team from HE Silos | Grain Storage Technology would like to thank Dennis and Susie for taking the time to chat with us.