By SARAH MATTHEWS 

Coromby farmer Kurtis Schodde believes he was destined for a life on the land, from the moment his parents gave him his first toy tractor in the delivery room. 

Kurtis’s story is a common one among farming families – he grew up itching for weekends and school holidays when he could spend time on the tractor or header, doing crop inspections and enjoying the freedom of the great outdoors. 

“I couldn’t wait to get out here as a kid,” he said.

“I love it here. I did a little bit of work elsewhere, but mostly on the farm. I’ve been on the farm full-time since 2017.”

Kurtis, 21, is a grain farmer, growing cereals and legumes with his father, Craig, on the family property north of Murtoa.

“I’m the fourth generation at the same farm,” he said.

“It’s good being on the family farm because you get to see the improvements you make. 

“I like seeing how everything changes. Sometimes Dad looks at something I do and questions it, but then he can see that it works.” 

Kurtis said he enjoyed keeping busy and loved the diversity of farm work.

“I like the versatility of the work,” he said.

“There are so many different things you can do – you never get bored. 

“I always go back and forth as to whether I like seeding or harvest better – I think it’s harvest, because you get to see the result of what you’ve grown all year. 

“I’m the header driver, so I get to see the end of it. 

“I also get air-conditioning and food deliveries, so it’s a good place to be.”

Kurtis said he was lucky to have grown up in a rural environment and to pursue a lifestyle he was passionate about. 

“I think we could use a few more young farmers – there’s not enough of us,” he said. 

Kurtis has several mates in a similar situation, including housemate Bailey Petering.

Bailey, 22, worked on a cattle station near the South Australian outback town of Oodnadatta for 12 months before moving home to work on his family’s farm.

“I wanted to do something different and it was a completely different type of work,” Bailey said.

“It was very interesting to see how they operate up that way. The station was in the middle of the country, at the top of South Australia. The conditions are a lot different up there, it’s a lot hotter and very remote.”

The Peterings have a mixed enterprise involving sheep, crops and hay.

Bailey, who works alongside his father, Tim, and uncle, Paul, said he loved the different seasons on the farm.

“Each time of year, there is different work to be done,” he said.

“Each day is different – I like the variety of work and I like working outside.”

Bailey said although farming was a reasonably isolating job, there were plenty of ways to stay socially connected, including sport or catching up with friends. 

Social connection is a major issue across the country at the moment, with parliamentary leaders and health officials urging Australians to stay home and ‘socially isolate’ to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

Bailey said in many instances it was easy for farmers to follow the directive. 

“I guess we’re pretty used to it,” he said.

“I can go to work and only see two or three people for the whole day.

“The coronavirus hasn’t affected me working, but it has the potential to cause a lot of trouble for farmers if we can’t get the supplies we need coming into cropping.

“We are already finding it hard to get all the chemical we need.

“Anyone who hasn’t started to get organised for cropping is going to get a bit of a shock, I think.”

Kurtis said he and his father had ordered ‘what we think we need’ and were hoping the supply chain did not dry up.

“It’s not going to get any better,” he said.

“Even if we get the crops in, we might not be able to get the supporting chemicals we need when we need them.

“The flow-on effects are going to be huge. 

“We don’t have any employees, so we haven’t had to worry about having to put anyone off or anything. 

“We are self-sufficient, but we will just have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully it’s all okay and we don’t have to go seek employment elsewhere – I don’t know what we’d do.”

Kurtis turned 21 last week. His birthday party was also a casualty of the coronavirus lockdown measures.  

“We decided to cancel it because of the crowd size,” he said.

“Hopefully I can have a belated celebration at some stage.

“Weekends are going to be pretty quiet now – there’s not a lot of places you can go.

“I was speaking to a mate the other day and we both like woodcutting, so we might go do that.”

The entire March 25, 2020 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

The entire March 25, 2020 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!