Posts by Sahala Stone

EWEN BEATON

KIOMA MANAGER

Background

Ewen grew up in rural Scotland in a family of butchers and farmers. After school, he attended Oatridge Agricultural College leading to an Agricultural Engineering apprenticeship and successful trade career for the next 10 years with the same company.
With a thirst for adventure Ewen travelled to Australia in 1997, for a one year working holiday… and never went home.

Upon arrival in Australia Ewen worked on a broadacre cropping farm in WA, then moved east to a mixed farming property at Coonabarabran in the Central district of NSW. In 2004 Ewen joined JH Fairfax & Son at Kioma as Cropping Overseer, progressing to Cropping Manager and Property Manager in 2021.

What is your passion in the industry?

Ewen has a passion for regenerative agriculture, believing that we have a social responsibility to encourage the next generation to look at agriculture as a career option and to encourage our existing staff to develop their skills.

What makes you get out of bed every day?

Leading a happy, productive team gets Ewen going. He also has a passion for soil biology and aims to learn something new every day.

“I am grateful to be part of a forward-thinking, supportive, organisation that is committed to regenerative practices and caring for its people”.

Ewen’s wife Sal assists with the farm administration. They have two young adult / teenage daughters, Piper and Holly.

STEVE WILKINS

GENERAL MANAGER

Background

Steve grew up at Walcha in the New England district of NSW, where his family owned a beef cattle property.
Steve commenced jackarooing on the historic Merino stud, Buttabone Stud Park, located at Warren in Central West NSW, and studied Farm Management at Orange Agricultural College before another jackarooing stint on Undabri at Goondiwindi in the Border Rivers district of Southern Qld.

Steve was the livestock overseer at Bobbara Station, Galong, in the Southwest Slopes district of NSW, progressing to manage the mixed farming properties Springfield and Breakfast Creek Station at nearby Booroowa for Hillgrove Pastoral Company.
Steve became the fourth manager of Kioma in 2003 for JH Fairfax & Son, which has been owned by the Fairfax family since 1911.

Steve is now based in the head office in Brisbane in the role of General Manager of Aminya Pastoral.

What is your passion in the industry?

Steve has a passion for staff development and regenerative agriculture. These two passions combine with the ability to be implemented and have an impact on a large scale across all Aminya Pastoral properties.

What makes you get out of bed every day?

The enjoyment of doing a role that is challenging and rewarding on a daily basis along with the increasing recognition of agriculture’s importance in the world is what gets Steve out of bed every day.

Steve is married to Emily, who works in commodities marketing. They have three teenage children, Ella, Chloe, and Skye.

MICHAEL FITZGERALD

STRATHBOGIE MANAGER

Background

Michael was born and raised and educated in Young, NSW, situated in the Southwest Slopes region. His interest in agriculture began at an early age spending time on his grandparents’ farms they owned/leased.

Upon leaving school, Michael spent 10 years in the shearing industry whilst also working on mixed enterprise livestock and farming properties in the Young district – which eventually lured Michael to work full-time as a Farm Hand then progress to a role as Livestock Manager. In 2010 Michael became the Manager of Camperdown, Armidale in the New England district of NSW and later moving to Bungendore in southern NSW as General Manager of Mulloon Creek Natural Farms.

Michael has had extensive experience in regenerative agriculture including exposure through Holistic Resource Management and Natural Sequence Farming. Michael has also completed a Diploma in Agriculture as well as Grazing and Farming For Profit.

Michael commenced as the manager of Strathbogie for Strathbogie Pastoral Company, Emmaville, situated in the Northern Tablelands of NSW in 2020.

What is your passion in the industry?

Michael has a passion for understanding the importance of the restoration of the biological function of the land through the utilisation of grazing, rehydration, and regenerative practices.

What makes you get out of bed every day?

Besides his family, waking up and realising that you are a key part of a family-owned business that has the land, its people and its community at heart is what gets him going in the morning.

Michael is married to Wendy, who is an interior designer and lectures at Torrens University. Their adult daughter Molly is currently pursuing her career in the pastoral industry in Northwest Qld with her husband and two children.

MARK SUHR

ALBRO MANAGER

Background

Mark grew up on a small family property near Crows Nest, situated north of Toowoomba in the Darling Downs region of Qld. Upon completing Year 12 Mark attended Gatton Ag College, University of Qld and graduated with an Associate Diploma of Applied Science in Animal Production.

Mark has 25 years of experience in the cattle industry across Central & Northwest QLD having commenced his career as a jackaroo on a property in Central Qld, progressing to Overseer on a property north of Longreach, before several management positions on privately owned properties in the Aramac, Richmond & Cloncurry districts. Mark also had corporate management experience on a property in the Hughenden district.

Mark commenced with TVF Pastoral as the manager of Albro in March 2021.

What is your passion in the industry?

Mark has a passion for seeing young people enter the cattle industry and helping them pursue a pathway to succeed in their chosen careers.
Mark is also passionate about being able to sustainably develop and manage grazing country to ultimately leave it in a better ecological state than when he started.

What makes you get out of bed every day?

The things that get Mark out of bed every day include the challenge & variety that every day brings, helping to train young people & provide a career pathway for them and finally being part of a sustainable industry that provides high quality protein.

Mark is married to Pam (a registered nurse) who is an integral part of the team at Albro. They have two adult children, Clem & Sarah, both of whom are currently working in the cattle industry in North West QLD.

TIM & GINA FAIRFAX

BUSINESS PRINCIPALS

GINA

I lived in Toowoomba for my first 15 years.

Each year during the August school holidays we would return to my mother’s family home at ‘Delubra’, Mundubbera. This gave me a love of the land and appreciation of life in the bush. I loved our yearly holiday and have many happy childhood memories of country life on a cattle station, mustering and playing in the scrub.

I completed Tresillian Nursing in 1969 and from early 1971 I had 3 years on a working holiday travelling to many parts of the World. I still have places to visit!!

When Tim and I were married in 1977, I moved happily to live the next 20 years at ‘Rawbelle’, Monto. Raising our 4 daughters in the country gave our girls the basic learnings of life. Mustering, molasses runs, flood fences (occasionally), school bus, playgroup and tennis days.

We now have 16 grandchildren, and they are enjoying the time spent at Strathbogie, experiencing and watching the working life on a sheep and cattle property.

We are fortunate that the girls are all living in Brisbane.

I am enjoying keeping busy with many involvements, and in the Family Office and the Foundation.

TIM

I jackarooed on several Queensland properties in the early 1970’s, after which I purchased ‘Rawbelle’ near Monto, with the help of my parents and the bank. The property was purchased on condition that it would give a 15% return on investment on the then current cattle prices. Three months after the purchase, the beef depression occurred, the cattle I had purchased with the property were suddenly worth a quarter of their value and there was a large debt. It was at least 12 years before cattle prices returned to a realistic value. They were tough years, but I have no regrets and there were plenty of learnings.

The beef depression saw me become involved in Agri politics, specifically the Cattlemen’s Union which was a very progressive organisation aiming to deal with the high costs of beef production and a better return for producers. There were some outstanding and intelligent leaders in this organisation whom I admired.

Over the years I have been fortunate to be able to acquire quality properties in a diverse range of locations and to employ excellent and loyal staff, something I never take for granted.

I have been privileged to have been a Director of Stanbroke Pastoral Company when it was owned by AMP Limited and Primac Holdings Limited before it merged with Elders.

JONATHAN TERRY

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND MANAGER

Background

Jonathan grew up on a family-owned mixed grazing property on King Island in the Bass Strait.

Jonathan has 15 years industry experience working in different roles in the pastoral industry throughout the Eastern States of Australia. Since graduating from Marcus Oldham College with a Bachelor of Business in Farm Management in 2013, Jonathan worked as Overseer for Bull Creek Pty Ltd on the properties Terrick Terrick, Blackall and Bull Creek, McKinlay in Qld.
Jonathan relocated to manage Oakwood Station, Augathella initially for Arcadian Organic and Natural Meat Company then following the sale of the property for Hewitt Cattle Australia.

Jonathan joined TVF Pastoral as the manager of the Thalmera, Spottswood Park and Orana Park aggregation in 2019 and became Central Qld Manager in 2022 with Glenbar coming under his supervision.

What is your passion in the industry?

Having been born into a productive grazing operation Jonathan developed a passion of the land, livestock, and business.
Jonathan remains passionate about participating in a progressive, sustainable future for the agricultural industry.

What makes you get out of bed every day?

Jonathan enjoys witnessing the improved capacity of the land and its resources, people, livestock and the business.

Jonathan’s partner Sarah Fotheringham works for Aminya Pastoral as the Livestock Administrator and Office Manager.