Life and adventures

East of the township of Hyden in Western Australia, we farm 1350 hectares to crops such as Wheat, Barley, Oats and Lupins. aswell as 1300 hectares for sheep grazing.

We have a variation of machinery to operate the business, a Miller Nitro 4275 and 4365 self propelled sprayers for liquid applications.

 A Case Quadtrac 9370 towing a Morris 7252 air cart followed by Maxim II seeder bar and another Morris 7240 air cart, achieves the broad acre planting.

 I prefer my New Holland CR960 harvester and Dad likes his Case 2388 harvesters.

and the numerous amounts of utes and trucks and other smaller tractors for carting water, hay, grain, stock and wool.

After the Grandparents started farming here in the early 1960s, Mum and Dad succeeded from the Original Business in 1999, and i will be accepting my greater role in 2024

My passion is to understand the full ecosystem from the microbes and bacteria in the soil to the optimal growth of the plants and animals, whilst respecting the landscape and natural way of things. 

Many lessons have been learnt over the years and none is more reinforced than the precious use of water, how we use it, store it, and how effective it is. certainly not to be wasted. 

in recent memory of 2010, 2012 as drought years where we have less than half our average rainfall, i was in Perth for the 2002 and 2015 drougths.  there have been lots of years since where we learn to survive on below average rain.

average rainfall for the area is 325mm annually, so you begin to understand the passion behind it all.

I have played over 250 and continue to play for the Hyden Karlgarin Football Club (HKFC) in the Eastern Districts Football League (EDFL) as part of the West Australian Country Football League (WACFL)

 being part of the team and participating in the community is great for mental health aswell as the fitness, many lasting friendships are created by being part of something bigger than any individual.

ive enjoyed the luxury of winning 3 reserves grandfinals in 2000,2001 and 2005. i had the privilege of captaining the side in 2005, and awarded the most consistent reserves player in 2006. still enjoying the game today.

but running around the field can be thirsty work, i have my solution that gives me the upper hand on many others, the concious lifestyle ive incorparated is awesome

The Flock consists of 1600 merino ewes, 100 Cheviot ewes (Domindee), 100 Black Suffolk ewes (Black Stump), 100 White Suffolk ewes (Mallebee) for mating each year.

900 - 1000 ewes mated to merino rams for wool production and 600 - 700 mated to Cheviot and Suffolk rams for meat lambs.

The Cheviot, Black Suffolk and White Suffolk ewes are mated to their respective breeds for production of the DBM Rams to sell to local farmers to assist in their meat production.

one property has been deemed the Ram farm for the best control of the sometimes overzealous boys. numbers can range from 150 to 265 on property depending on the time of year. 

I aim to produce the best quality stock with the highest animal care techniques available.

we utilise the latest in pain relief technology when marking lambs and handling of rams at shearing time, this decreases stress on the animal and the workers, and have recently started phasing in electronic tags for easier animal identification during performance recording.

Check out the DBM Sheep Studs on Facebook for upto date activities, find it in the Socials link page

for interested people ill elaborate on each breed further. Merino sheep being the base flock, the wool is bred and classed to between 17 - 20 micron whilst maintaining healthy bodyweight. Merino Rams are purchased yearly from 2 different studs to keep genetic diversity. Seven Oaks South from Burracopin and Keetlan Valley from Newdegate.

Cheviots i found a interest in during my studies as a wool classer, they are a hardy breed and great survival instinct. they are excellent for young sheep mating and we have excellent results and improvement from previous systems in our merino hoggets. Plus they are the cutest little lambs full of life and personality. they have a quality fleece which makes them a true dual purpose sheep.

Black and White Suffolks are the meat breeds, the cross over a different breed creates what is called hybrid vigour which increases growth rates and a great tasting product. these lambs are sold to butchers and larger meat marketers, but we do enjoy the meat we produce.

 having studs for the 3 breeds allows us to choose and provide quality stock for the local area, having a private selection sale by appointment every year, i continue to source high quality genetics aiming to be a leader in the industry.

Dreaming of being a famous race car driver from when i was young , it was innevitable i was going to do something, and with a race track just down the road it was as soon as i could. i bought my first offroad race ute in 2001. fixed it best i could and turned up at my first race, what a shock that was for the uneducated.

By mid 2002 id broken that one beyond reasonable repair and purchased a second car which i raced into 2003, to suffer a similar find later that season making it also unrepairable.

2005 the Red Rocket was born, miracles do happen because while i was farming the team turned a unpainted rolling body into a fully painted and modified race vehicle in under 2 months. this vehicle served me well but as i was still learning race craft it has its scars of battle on it. 

2006 the chief car builder and one of my besties, ran it for the year and put some well placed developement into it.

2007 i made a return to the drivers seat after saving some dollars from the previous year, the season did not start as planned. events began and not finished, more race craft i had to learn. in september i that year i found my formula for finishing. and in racing to finish first, first you must finish.

2008 was my blingy year having gathered sponsors, created a dvd with a friend using footage from the previous year, merchandise was created taking the team to the next level, and a website was being ran by my Navigator.

i honoured them that year by finishing every event i started and getting to the end of that year felt epic.

as the vehicle was showing signs of wear and tear literally, and the funds were tight. i planned on taking the year off. Septmber 2009 was the last time the vehicle raced, i honoured my friends by letting them take it for one last hurrah before the big rebuild.

BTW its still in the shed waiting. family first , racing second.

2013 and 2014 i turned my hand to navigating, being allowed the success of a state championship in 2013 in our class. and participating in some monumental events.

Id competed in events of the West Australian Offroad Racing Championship (WAORC) and Australian Offroad Racing Championship (AORC). in 2014 i also crewed for a team that competed in the Australasian Safar Rally, that was an epic adventure.

in 2018 i competed in a competition called Aussie Driver Search, as a semi pro competitor i drove a v8 ute, a toyota 86, and a bmw around barbagalo raceway in Perth, making the grade there i then got to venture to Wakefield Raceway near Gouldburn New South Wales for the final and a chance at $150,000 in race funding. you never know if you never go. but i know i didnt make the cut from 100 down to 30, was a wicked great experience and created some awesome friends in the process.

cheers to more racing adventures soon