Melissa Kenny – Jonel Farming (Winulta, South Australia)
Give thanks with a grateful heart.. an important passage to remember in a season like this.
2019 has seen us, unexpectedly, become hay producers due to several frost events. It has been another dry year throughout Australia with some areas over East experiencing severe drought, in some cases going on several years now.
Whilst it would be easy for us to dwell on a lacklustre harvest and dream of what could have been if only for more rain and the absence of frost, we must remember just how lucky we are.
In our case, we are fortunate to be farming in some of South Australia’s most reliable cropping country which has still produced grain, despite having our third lowest rainfall year on record. I believe this is testament to modern farming practices and plant breeding and I am grateful to those who have pioneered these advances in agriculture.
My husband’s grandmother clearly recalls the year (1959) that recorded the second lowest rainfall in our area (a few millimetres lower than this year) when they only managed to recoup their seed. We may be well down on our average crop, but we have some grain to deliver and hay as a ‘plan B’ for our failed crop areas, which will allow us to farm on another year.
As farmers, we have so much to be grateful for. As Australians, living in a wealthy country with access to clean water, food and shelter we have so much to be grateful for.
We finished harvest today (November 29) after cutting for approximately a month. It feels quite strange to be finished in November but we are excited to be able to partake in festive season events this year, which we often miss.
The burdens of a tough season are eased somewhat when you consider your blessings first.
Our ground is cracked, parched and dry but we finish out our harvest with the hope of a better year next year…and a grateful heart!
1. Be ready to go at the drop of a hat...sometimes without a lunchbox.
2. Has removed the word impossible from her vocabulary!
3. Can hold a baby, take care of a toddler and drive a tractor or combine all at the same time.
4. Must be able to cook for a crew - large or small.
5. Must be able to read minds.
6. Must be able to banter with a parts man until he realizes you DO know what you're talking about.
7. Must be the entertainment director for those rainy days.
8. Be a wife, mom, friend, helper, cook, problem solver, taxi driver or extra crew hand at all times.
9. Can handle the call that makes you react, "You need what? When?" Dropping everything you're doing to make it happen.
10. At the end of the day say, "I really do love this life".