Oli Le Lievre  00:04

G'Day. I'm Oli Le Lievre, and welcome to GRDC in conversation as we've traveled across Australia, sharing these different stories of people involved in the Aussie grain sector, we'd like to acknowledge the traditional lands on which the podcast is produced and recorded. We pay our respects to First Nations Australians, and use the art of storytelling to help us understand the stories of different people involved in the grain sector, sharing wisdom and understanding that they're going to shape our future. This series is a GRDC investment that takes you behind the scenes with the people shaping our grain sector, uncovering their stories, learning more about their passions and highlighting the projects that are part of their everyday our journey continues in Western Australia to meet some of the Southern Communities the innovation through growers, advisors and people that are shaping the area in South West WA. So welcome to the conversation. One of the many things I love about Australian agriculture is just how you get to cross pathways with different people. My next guest, Tom Longmire is one of those people who I first crossed pathways with. Must have been 2015 or 2016 when I was at Marcus, Holden, Tom had come over with someone else from Esperance for maybe a race this day or something like that, and the chance to actually sit down and chat to him about his family's operation. Man, we are just such humble people in terms of actually talking about what we do. Alongside his dad and his mum, they are absolutely a beacon in precision agriculture. His dad, for generations, has been gathering insights from around the globe, and they're looking at how they can leverage technology to ultimately maximize the efficiency of their farming operation. Tom and I chat about the marriage between Emerging Technology and Economics, and how Tom's using the two to really help set him up for the future. To crack up. I loved it. Let's get into it.

Oli Le Lievre  01:59

To understand, yeah, a little bit about where you guys are farming and who's involved and what you're doing, can you just tell us a bit about what's happening at home and where it is?

Tom Longmire  02:08

Yeah, yeah. So we're 110 KMs northeast of Esperance in Beaumont, and, yeah, on the farm with mum and dad and my partner India, moved back last year or moved out. So there's the four of us. And yeah, full crop business. And yeah, just at the moment around with casual staff when it's in the busy periods. And yeah, it all goes pretty well.

Oli Le Lievre  02:38

And say, How long have you been back home?

Tom Longmire  02:39

I've been back since start of 20 or end of 2019 once I finished at Marcus, yep. And then we're meant to have that intensive year, but COVID sort of shut that down. Gotcha. Yeah, yeah, right. So what been home since?

Oli Le Lievre  02:55

When did you head over to Marcus?Was it 2019.

Tom Longmire  02:57

17 I went.

Oli Le Lievre  02:58

Gotcha.

Tom Longmire  02:59

And then in 2018 did my craft year up in Spring Ridge, yep, at Brown hills, and then back to uni, and then, yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  03:08

What was it like? The comparison between get Spring Ridge, live full flames, I guess, to farming back home, like, what were the what was it like that?

Tom Longmire  03:16

Yeah, yeah, it was good to see. Like, wasn't good to see. But from a learning point of view, because it was the middle of the drought over there, yeah, being able to actually, I guess, see day to day, how you actually manage it a tough time, yeah, when you are when you have staff in your business and keeping people motivated. By from an experience point of view, probably couldn't have learned any more than... but, yeah, a lot different, like irrigation and nice soil and rain, like, yeah, everything over there that would be nice to have. Like, yeah, a lot of that their country and the way they go about it would be awesome to be able to do it here, if we could. But I don't have the beach there. Yeah, now, I must admit, and I don't think, if we had this soil, don't think we'd be able to do what we do here, like I don't, I won't 400ml of rainfall, and that black soil takes so much rain to get wet, I don't think, yeah, when we can go seeding on 10 mil, they wouldn't even consider doing it. So I don't think it would, yeah, but climate would suit having a country as good as that through here.

Oli Le Lievre  04:28

When you said you you learn a lot. Obviously, in in the middle of the drought, was that 2018 so what, like, what were you experiencing? So obviously, that with a bit of irrigation, that was still cropping, some things.

Tom Longmire  04:40

Yeah, so still a bit of crop, but all their dry land was pulled out. Like, we didn't sort of plant any of that. And so there's a lot of, yeah. Learned a lot about, like, having cut off dates and, like, if we hadn't had so much rain by a certain day, they were pulling certain parts of the program out. And it was just an ever evolving plan of and up there where they can summer crop, there was discussions of, if we ever put it in by this day, then we'll plan on putting it into a summer crop in September, if it's rained by then. And yeah, just a lot of like, how you manage a dynamic business we got two cropping enterprises in the one but yeah, a lot of that of how to actually get up day to day and have stuff like, when it is all blowing away and you're feeding cattle three times a week, it's not as they'd know. It's not very fun, like after a long period. So keeping people motivated and keen to rock up every day. Learn a lot moving home, where we have a lot of casual staff during those busy times when you have rainy days and stuff, how to actually go about keep what jobs to set people up so that they actually feel like they're doing mentally achieving something. Yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  05:59

Yeah. Do you have any, like, any examples of that, like, so when you're over there, like, Yeah, different times where you did feel, like, quite motivated.

Tom Longmire  06:10

Yeah, I think when what they did, like, very well, they sort of explained a lot of the reasoning of why you're doing jobs, too. So when they have jobs like putting up fencing or, you know, moving cattle out the paddocks because of a sorghum stubble that they could survive on, yeah, when you sort of understood the raising and and thankfully, I guess, the being part of that, like being a practice, they sort of fully, I guess, opened up to why they were making those decisions. Yeah, sort of once you sort of understood why you had to do that or those jobs needed to be done. You sort of, yeah, yeah. You sort of bought into the cause, I guess, of going out and doing jobs that you didn't enjoy all the time, but yeah, it certainly was challenged. Like I can see now that I'm in the role of managing staff day today, I can see how challenging it would be for them to keep someone like myself and, yeah, the six other guys occupied for for a five day week. Yeah,

Oli Le Lievre  07:21

yeah. And so much planning that would have gone in behind the scenes to try and stay ahead.

Tom Longmire  07:25

Yeah, yeah, make sure you're not just caught collecting workshops, yeah, doing odd jobs and jobs that you don't feel like you're actually achieving anything. So now, certainly grateful for what I learned from them and their and the ability like, yeah, the possibility to be able to go and actually work there certainly won't take that opportunity for granted. Yeah, that was one of the better things I've ever done, I think.

Oli Le Lievre  07:50

If you had your time again, do you reckon, would you go back to that area, or would you, would you go somewhere else to learn something different?

Tom Longmire  07:56

No, I'd go back there. And it's probably, like a lot of people say about uni, like you sort of learn it. Then you go away for a few years, and then you look back and you go, Oh, go back now, take so much more out of it. So there is that point, like there's that wish that you could certainly go back and do another six months stint, and just with all the experience now of being home and managing at home as well. Like a few more questions, a few more bits that I wish I'd asked when I was there, but probably didn't realize the value of asking some of them, but I'm lucky I got a really good relationship with Dave and Gordie, so Yeah, still bringing them every six months and have a bit of a chat. And they're certainly open for any like answering questions like that, which is nice.

Oli Le Lievre  08:45

Yeah, awesome. Um, the decision to go to markets are old, so I guess, well, I'm slightly learned, but learning about the different ag colleges as Curtin, I guess in WA does an ag degree. But the decision to go to markets like and in hindsight, what were the key things that kind of stand out from there?

Tom Longmire  09:03

Yeah, so I think there's ag science in UWA and the ag business at Curtin, and then muras have an ag, ag degree there too. Yeah. Marcus, we'd heard heard some good reviews from people like, yeah, 10 years before I went that enjoy the time, a lot of people that my parents age that they'd been like that. And then I liked the idea of just going somewhere that was pure, like AG, to me that the first year of having to do, like the broad units, so you could swap degrees whenever you wanted. I yeah, I was never interested in sort of learning anything else if you own a bit like I sort of went if I don't like ag, I'd rather leave the degree, then go there and do half a year on stuff that I'm not don't actually want to learn about. Yeah, yeah. So I sort of like that idea of going to an ag, college and somewhere else out of WA - like, yeah, just having to meet people and different experience. But also the gap year after school, like having to have that gap year was pretty like, yeah, just not having a having a by the end of year 12. I was pretty keen for a break off studying as well. Yeah. Was sort of, yeah. Wasn't a massive fan of studying in the books by Yeah, the end of year 12. So yeah, that was sort of like, yeah, that review, like Marcus actually kind of spoke to us at their boarding house in year 10, and that's sort of what really spurred the interest and so from after that so they can then did that chat, and that was when I was like, alright, that's sort of probably where I'd like to go and and then if I didn't get in or whatever, then yeah, have the backup of Perth or whatever. But yeah, that was sort of a, the ideal spot, yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  11:09

Oh, that's good that they went and spoke to you at school.

Tom Longmire  11:11

Yeah, yeah. So I think they're still doing it at the but, yeah, it was certainly because, yeah, when I went, I think we had three from WA in our first year between our business and us. So, yeah, yeah, there weren't that many there, but which made it good to be able to meet people from the rest of the country. Yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  11:34

Yeah, got stop ins, no matter where you travel now.

Tom Longmire  11:37

Yeah, definitely. No, it's exactly it once you actually start looking at a map, I could actually get, yeah, from Melbourne to or Adelaide, down in Melbourne the whole way up to Brisbane, probably without having to, yeah, really buy a hotel if you didn't want, like, yeah, book a hotel room if you didn't want to.

Oli Le Lievre  11:53

Literally, um, coming home. So you obviously, by the end of the degree and COVID and things hitting gave you a pretty good chance to come home and sink your teeth into it with not a lot of distractions. Yeah, did you your old man as well? He'd studied his Nuffield beforethat, hadn't he?

Tom Longmire  12:13

Yeah, said, did that back in 2004 off,

Oli Le Lievre  12:16

Right? Oh yeah, it was 2014.

Tom Longmire  12:18

Nah. Yeah, right, yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  12:20

So he, he's obviously, like, pretty hungry for knowledge, but in terms of what was happening at home in and around that time, what was happening, I guess the lead up to you coming home?

Tom Longmire  12:33

Yeah, that they were, there was no sort of ever pressure from them to come home my prac, like, on prac-year , I guess that's when I sort of really clicked that like, I guess that first year mark. So, yeah, the opportunities of when you go that create a stuff of going and managing and doing all the bits like, it is pretty exciting and enticing. Yeah, you could go and manage a farm to your 28 and then yeah? Like, there's certainly plenty of options running around the head of what you could have done. But yeah, that practice sort of, when I really, sort of went out, I actually am really keen to get stuck into it. And, yeah, build a future for us. Like, yeah, get involved and have a red hot crack. So, yeah, a lot of it was pretty I guess, because I wasn't home. Like, yeah, a lot of it was, I guess, just the continued development of the farm and, you know, like, say, the learning and, like, sort of your standard run of the day, I guess, from you probably haven't actually, really asked what they were doing in terms of their learning and development while I was gone. Like, yeah, like you say, mum and dad, I guess were, yeah, they they run, and they want to learn, how they learn. And, yeah, they've got that, I guess, have that desire and passion to learn and keep evolving. So yeah, I'm assuming that's sort of Yeah. They will probably be running it how I've run it since when they Yeah, since 2004 type thing. But yeah, yeah, there was never any sort of pressure about, I think a lot of they were very big on, like, actually learn, like, the business and, like, don't just go to places, don't just sit Marcus thing here, tractor driver type thing. Like, if you're going to manage your farm, like, go in, analyze, look at stuff as how you would, yeah, how would you do it yourself? Or how would you, yeah? So yeah, coming home, it's been like, Good by and we're pretty we run a pretty hybrid model where we'll sort of sit down based on any big decisions, and everyone sort of has to agree. Or be aware of the decision that's being made. And a lot of the time, I'll have a idea that you take two bits from two bits from dads and couple of bits from moms, and actually end up with a better idea than all three of you had at the start going into a discussion. So yep, it works pretty well, and we're all pretty comfortable and pretty open to how it runs. And, yeah, yeah, there's no sort of yeah in terms of that, we'll get along pretty well, which is good to it is.

Oli Le Lievre  15:32

So when you came home, did you, did you put, like, I guess having that extra, extra person, extra set of hands, would have been pretty handy for the business. But like, over the last few years, has it grown quite quickly? Or, like, what have you guys, what do you guys been up to have it?

Tom Longmire  15:45

Yeah, yeah. We've done a fair bit of, like, intra farm development, like, a lot of infrastructure, a lot of, yeah, we sort of, we sort of realized that that 10 year, 10 to 12 year period for me coming home is when we're going to have the most energy in the business, like with three well now four of us, like, full time working for the farm, before mum and dad start to Yeah, move into retirement, or Yeah, slow down and enjoy life, I guess. Yeah. But yeah. So we've done, yeah, we've pushed pretty hard to set the farm up and actually get, get it all developed and and keep sort of Yeah, like we've done a lot of sheds and yeah, logistics like yeah, Fert silos, bits like that, where, yeah, we've sort of Got gone pretty hard, close, spreading and ripping and drainage. And my a lot of work that, yeah, we've gone pretty hard, and those first couple of years of COVID with the WA border lock outline staff was very hard to find. So a lot of the time, actually, yeah, you were driving a lot of gear that potentially, yeah, in a standard situation you probably wouldn't be in, and, yeah, improving sort of probably a lot of also, like the way we record keep and with how long of wait times, chemical and fertilize you had to order pre to actually make sure you got them, just with, like, shipping delays. Yeah. So I'd say a lot of aspects about business actually improved a lot from some of those challenges that COVID bought. But yeah, we've worked pretty hard on trying to set it up and and, yeah, keep the keep it rolling, yeah. But yeah, a lot of intra farm, like, internal growth and a lot of infrastructure and roads like, yeah, we've pushed pretty hard to set it all up that there's no sort of extra or minimal development needed moving forward with a lot of it.

Oli Le Lievre  17:54

Yeah, clean up a lot of the inefficiencies. What does it what are the plans for you guys for the next few years? So as you said, for you at home, fair bit of energy. And yeah, keen to get up.

Tom Longmire  18:04

Yeah, I think yeah, I'd say most people are from. Think, yeah, probably like everyone, it's, it's finding the right opportunity to but yeah, making sure that you don't just do it for the idea of feeling that you've grown, yeah, yeah. I'd say a lot of that probably comes back to a bit of Yeah, what, what we learned and and through experience of practicing making sure like there's plenty of opportunities in other industries as well that get yeah, pretty open book. I don't have a set, "This is what I want to do," like, in terms of like, I want to grow, but how that looks. I've got no yeah. There's no real sort of Yeah, ceiling or locked idea. This is what I want to do. If it's yeah, it could be whatever, if it's growing more than what it is. Well, then, yeah, it's a pretty, I guess, open ended question that, I guess, yeah, there's a desire to grow, but in what way, shape or form that is, I don't know, yeah, cool. I'm pretty open to whatever.

Oli Le Lievre  19:18

This area, like, it seems like, obviously chatting to different people. It is a bit of a powerhouse region in terms like the growing network, and especially the young farmers. What's it? What's it like for for you guys in and around here?

Tom Longmire  19:31

Yeah, young farmers is good. Like, a lot of a lot of people have decided to come home, and I'd say a lot like, from a tiny a lot of ours. A lot of us have been sort of at COVID or meet COVID. A lot of people came home. So yeah, at the moment, we've actually got a really good young crew around and yeah, like around us, all the people now at the County town. Of on a Friday night with us. Most of them are on the school bus run when you're at primary school to county. So that side of it's been good that so many people from the area have actually come home. But yeah, a lot around like Esperance, like everyone sort of use Esperance as Esperance. But when you look at the size of the district on the map, if you put it anywhere else, it's actually joined a lot of regions, like the size of the region's actually quite big. So, yeah, there's a lot of young people that have come to town and with a lot of backpackers come in for seasonal staff. Yeah, those seeding and harvest periods are quite busy, in essence, from a social aspect, yeah, yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  20:46

Yeah too good? Yeah, good for footy teams and social life and everything like that.

Tom Longmire  20:50

Yeah, yeah, definitely. Now it certainly does. It is good that we still have like a Yeah, the four team come in Esperance, and most people still applying and getting involved, which is good. So...

Oli Le Lievre  21:03

And we'll hold you to this as well, but you're going to play this year?

Tom Longmire  21:05

Yeah, yeah. Coach him, yeah. Give him another year. We'll make another plan, rolling decision, yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  21:15

Oh well that's good. Um, one of the projects which I think you got so in terms of the adoption, and GRDC did a piece on you guys on in terms of your adoption of variable rate fertilizers and things like that. Is that, yeah, is that? Are there other projects or things that you guys are looking to implement from a tech angle?

Tom Longmire  21:38

Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, Dad sort of bought a lot of that belberde part into it, and then when I got home, we sort of got the farm remapped again and took it up another gear with Aiden Sean from VRT solutions. They sort of bring out the farmer, soil tested and like. And then with that, we've also take on swarm bot with the weed it so, yeah, at the moment, they're sort of both, like, these are two separate bits. We probably future goals will be to try use the autonomy to, like, working with a bit of the variable rate, and whether that, whether that is yeah, like, verb rate baiting, or whether it's, you know, like, our soils are quite Yeah, you can go from heavy country that top of hill, and then back in the sand, then back into heavy and then get, like, it's Yeah, looks something still got you just throwing a brush at the paddock. And so, yeah, certain soil types, I got different nutrient deficiencies, and some of the micronutrients I'd like to be able to use up the robot where you could just spray, yeah, copper in your sands, where heavy country doesn't need it, but, and then you could do manganese on different bits. And so that that side of like in the future, going forward, I think there will be a bit more of that, being able to micromanage paddocks a bit better variable rates. So we, yeah, it's a pretty big space that we like. We're comfortable with what we do, but we know there's a like, and we're always sort of learning about what else there is and what other strategies. And then you have a a year like this year where, yeah, 160 growing season rainfall, and what soil types hold on and what die, which then changed the view of how you could fertilize an average year. And, yeah, it's, it's an ever sort of changing bit. And then as, like a lot of the mapping we've done, you're going to start fixing those areas like we're now hitting the point where some bits we probably need to remap, because we've gone to close spread the deep sands, but that part of the map is what tells us we should put potash there because it was deficient. But now if clay spread, it's not so. A few bits are that we're just, yeah, trying to work through of how you actually, when you start fixing issues or going about deep, ripping, tackling bits, yeah, how you then update your maps to account for those zone changes, or you just have to keep remapping once every five or six years, and, yeah, building the system it's an ever Yeah, we certainly don't have it figured out we're doing what we're comfortable with and what we think is working. But, yeah, we utilize a lot of experience from people like Aiden, our agronomists and yeah, anyone out there? Yeah. A lot of those people that would talk to it different February days and stuff of how people are doing it, because we say, I certainly don't think my way is the perfect way, yep, oh, I believe it, like I'm believing what I do, but that that's not, yeah, yeah, if I close my eyes seeing what I do is the right way, well, then you've just shot yourself in the foot. I think, like, yeah, yeah, very Yeah, open minded with with everything in the business, like, yeah, 28 like, I've got a long time to learn moving forward and how to make this business run better than what we are now. Yeah, it's an ever changing thing of, how do I keep improving? So, yeah, absolutely.

Oli Le Lievre  25:48

I want to ask you, like, for the robot to work as as well as it can. I've heard from like, in different circles people. It was another Tom from Queensland who was talking about, like, it, yeah, he really needed, well, for the robot to be successful. He really needed to put in the extra effort with the intent of making it work. Is that your experience as well? Like, it was a real investment to go it's going to take energy and, like, an optimistic outlook on this thing to succeed, because it's a really different way of operating.

Tom Longmire  26:24

Ah, bit, yeah, big time. Yeah, it is a big one of, yeah, you sort of, like, when it's working fine and all it's good. Well, yeah, it's piece of cake. Here, everything works well, but especially in Azure, like, when we first got it, like it's a big sort of wake up call of how much work there actually is to get it running and software and planning, yeah, it's does take a lot of time. It's not like some people get the idea that, yeah, yeah, just sit at home and while it's spraying stuff. And yes, when it's working great, but see where to move it. You sort of feel it. Sort of have half plans, right? Mapping, you know, make sure your trees are like, yeah. So make sure no trees are falling down and all the part like, but yeah, massive investment time wise, like taking a lot of time to make sure that your paddocks are right, that you've mapped properly, that, yeah, the software actually draws your patterns right, like it does. Take a lot of time on the computer and a lot of time on the phone that like credit to them. They're always, I've never felt like, um, can't get help on it. So credit swimming palm, like they are always there for you. But yeah, massive amount of energy too. But yeah, we took sort of that view into it, like, I guess that, like business part, like I said, to do. Yeah, the numbers on going autonomous with camera, than just buying a boom that a tow behind that track that we've got. So it was sort of a case like, yeah, bit of a case there. Why would you go autonomous versus just buying a boom that you have right now, like, you could buy right now off the shelf? And so, yeah, part of like, like, the way we assess decisions, like, three at least the robot and yeah, one of the key bits was, if we got the end of the three years and it wasn't making any money, then two hours, like, that's, yeah, that's not happening. So you can't continue on with something that's just for a feel good, that you've got autonomy on your phone. Like it actually has to, it makes sense, yeah, actually has to make your money. Otherwise you might as well not do it.

Oli Le Lievre  28:51

Is it going or not so far?

Tom Longmire  28:53

Yeah, like the last two some and this summer now and last summer, like, have been really dry, so the camera spray with the robot like and this last month's been really hot. So really working well. They've that advantage really, sort of at a point now where it actually is quite a Yeah, easy and now more familiar with how the system works and what issues you can just get by with, or what issues, yeah, how to sort of shortcut bits and making plans and that sort of stuff. Yeah, I found this year probably the most comfortable, and I think that's because of being third year in you might feel a bit more comfortable with the whole ecosystem of because it is completely different to just hopping in a tractor, yeah, if it's a different brand tractor, you sort of feel comfortable. You can just learn it. But yeah, when it's that way, had like when the day rocked that way, absolutely no idea. Yeah, absolutely no doubt, no idea what I'm doing. Yeah, it was a bit of a wake up call. The wall might was illness, yeah, yeah, once they actually got there all hang this is actually full noise now. Like.

Oli Le Lievre  30:11

Do you see a future where you're going to have like, whole team of robots running around? Or not?

Tom Longmire  30:18

That's probably another one. I'm pretty open minded on where this all goes. Like, I mean, John Deere have come out and said that they want every bit of their gear to run autonomously by 2030 like, yeah, the option too. So I still don't, yeah. I don't know whether it's Yeah. I think there's going to be autonomous tech for small bottom camera sprayers. That makes complete sense. And then I think there'll be, yeah, who knows? There could be sort of, I don't know how small is small? Where that line fits, if it's actually too small, I think it'll all be cost based, really, like, if you Yeah, how, how expensive some of these smaller robots are it better off still having one big one or three small ones, like, I think it'll be $1 single than anything. Yeah, with it, but, yeah, it'll be an interesting I really don't know where it's going to end up. And there's so many companies now saying that they're not far off having a an option like swarms, perfect for right now. Camera spraying is the worst job on the farm, so, like, it can only really do that. We've built a, like, last year, build a base spreader for it with warm and PJ grain. And because we got a lot of snails - like now and continuous crop, we've got a lot of snails and slavers and other pests that, yeah, we sort of saw the fit that we could put a one ton spreader on the back and just have that following our air seeder, yep, and yeah, anywhere from five to 10 kilos a hectare. So you get your 200 hectares at or 100 to 200 out of a fill instead of sitting in a tractor or during seeding where they ran it like all our gears tied up with seeding, so either our baiting was becoming late or having a plane to contract. So it was the perfect fit where we could have a robot just cruising along if you don't get back to filling it for four or five hours? Well, yeah, it doesn't. It don't again, real, no. Because that's a bit, like, it's not, it's not the whole being on end, or, Oh, you just have heaps of robots. Like, if we had two of them, you'd have full time, like, just looking after them. Like, yeah, it's not changing the labor, but, yeah, you're not reducing labor. I think you're just changing what they're doing. Like, yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  32:50

Yeah, is there one thing that you're looking at with, like, excitement, or an area of ag that you're gonna keep getting close on?

Tom Longmire  32:55

Yeah, auto fill is a big one. Like, once the auto fill, if they get it right, that'll be a game changer. I think then there's a real possibility of being able to have two of them and still being able to run it from one person, like, if you can make your mix and it just, they just get off spraying, and you're doing it three, 400 hectares a day comfortably, that's where it really does start to wind up. And you actually can run pretty efficiently. Yeah, so I think that'll be, yeah, that's probably the, I'd say, where I'm most excited is that sort of part of it all. Yeah, you'll make it to the Perth test, then the cricket test, yeah, yeah. Well, this year, I think it was in harvest, so, yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  33:35

Terrible idea.

Tom Longmire  33:39

Yeah. Wasn't too much thought there, but yeah, It will be interested in the night header and chase them in, like there's just so many counties in Mary doing, yeah, whether auto chose him in, whether that's the next way, and you just have a couple of people at the silos unloading all day. I don't know where it all ends up, but yeah, it's pretty excitingplace to like, time to be in. AG, I think Yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  34:12

And I like how you kind of say it's not necessarily reducing the labor, but it's changing it. So it's like, there's just going to be new opportunities and different things to how people work.

Tom Longmire  33:24

Yeah, definitely. And I think that's going to create its own challenges in itself as well. Like, instead of having a, you know, someone who isn't quite experienced that you can teach a tractor quite easily, finding someone to deal with tech, software and stuff, but also wanting to be on a farm, like, yeah, it's gonna, hopefully, I'm hoping it's one of those ones that entices people to actually be like, Yeah, that's cool stuff. I want to come work for you. But yeah, not any random person is going to be able to probably run the swarm farm from a first start. Like, it's not hard to like, yeah, once you get your head around it's but, yeah, finding, finding people that willing to pay more tech than actually sitting in a tractor, because a lot of people do actually like growing machinery, and I'm one of them itself. I I do like sitting in a tractor and, yeah, doing jobs. So yeah, it'll be interesting to find what, what staffing requirement that means, if a lot of people for that time, where the robot is going, if they're at the shed, or stuff where they're actually happy, or whether they'd rather be a machine, or, yeah,

Oli Le Lievre  35:40

Feel like they're doing something. No, I reckon, um, it's exciting, mate, obviously a few things happening at home. So yeah, excited to follow along and see what happens over the next few years for you guys, and yeah, as we move forward too.

Tom Longmire  35:51

Yeah, definitely, no, no, it is an exciting time, certainly growth of the opportunity to be able to come back at such an early age as well for mum and dad. Yeah, yeah. Like that is a big part. Certainly very thankful that I do have the opportunity to farm, yeah, moving forward. So, yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  36:16

Awesome. Well, thanks for for coming on having a chat.

Tom Longmire  36:19

Yeah, thanks for coming over. Good to see you again. Yeah.

Oli Le Lievre  36:23

We'll have to come for a look around next time.

Tom Longmire  36:27

Yeah, that's it. Come out to Beaumont and see what you think of what we're up to. You're seeing enough places around the joints, so get a good judgment...

Oli Le Lievre  36:36

and another farm tour. No judgment, easy mate.

Oli Le Lievre  36:45

Now we hope you're loving these GRDC in conversation episodes as we continue to roll on the conversation right around the country. We'd love for you to get in touch with anyone that you think's got a story worth sharing, interesting projects that are happening on their farm. Please reach out to the GRDC across any of your social panels. Get in touch with one of their team, because the grain sector in Australia is an absolute powerhouse. There is no shortage of people doing incredible things, so let's talk about it. See ya.