South West Queensland grazier builds a future in farming with a QRIDA First Start Loan

Divided by the Muckadilla Creek, the property boasts a diverse composition of black soil, red dirt, buffel grass, and mulga trees, making it the ideal landscape for raising cattle, sheep, and goats.

“Hartwood’s a pretty diverse block. We’ve got the Muckadilla Creek running through the guts of us, so you’ve got a little bit of that better black soil country and then you’ve got your red country with plenty of buffel growth through it, but we’ve also got the benefits of some red mulga country,” Sarah explained.

“It’s pretty drought resilient in a way that we can adapt when the seasons change. With all the different country types, I manage to run breeders, the cattle, I also run sheep for a bit of cashflow and goats because we’ve got plenty of regrowth around here.”

Keen to pursue a career in farming from a young age, Sarah’s parents supported her ambitions and provided plenty of opportunity for her to be involved in the family farming operation. 

“I’m fortunate to come from a good family focused on giving the next generation a lot of opportunities. When I was keen and showed that I could handle a bit of responsibility and commitment, Mum and Dad were happy to give me a chance,” she said.

Sarah originally heard about the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) at the Young Beef Producers Forum in Roma.

“I originally heard of QRIDA through the Young Beef Producers Forum when I would’ve been 18 or 19. I didn’t really grasp what it was until a few years later when I started being more involved in the financial aspects of the property,” she said. 

In 2019, Sarah talked to her local QRIDA Regional Area Manager about securing a First Start Loan to help her fund property projects that would boost the financial viability of her grazing business. 

“[The loan] allowed me to put up an exclusion fence around the boundary of the property because we were having a lot of wild dog problems,” she said.

Sarah had recently begun purchasing paddocks within the farm as part of her family’s succession plan and her calving rate was being impacted by wild dogs. 

“I was down eight per cent on my calving rate, which a large chunk was down to wild dogs. The loss of that paid for the interest on the loan to get the fence up so it was a no brainer to do it,” Sarah recalled.

Erecting the exclusion fence allowed Sarah to take her beef operation to the next level, expanding into sheep and goats. 

“[The fence] allowed me to expand into sheep and go into goats because I can control those enterprises within. It’s been a big benefit to have access to that.”

Sarah found having a local Regional Area Manager to help was beneficial and comforting when applying for the First Start Loan.

“The application process at the time was a little bit daunting. There’s a lot of paperwork involved but once I sat down with the local [QRIDA] representative it was very straight forward.

“When you’re getting started and you’re young, I found it much less confronting if you’re able to sit face to face with someone rather than over the phone,” she said.

Sarah encourages other aspiring producers to get in touch with their local Regional Area Manager to ask questions about securing financial assistance for their own farming goals. 

“Any young ones looking to expand or get into the industry, just go and have a yarn to your local QRIDA representative. Bounce ideas off them and don’t be afraid to jump in, go hard while you’re young,” she said. 

QRIDA’s First Start Loans offer up to $2 million to help aspiring producers in the initial years of establishing their primary production business. For more information visit our First Start Loan webpage or get in touch with your local Regional Area Manager on 1800 623 946.