The Donald area is largely a sheep and crop growing area. As a result of falling prices for some farm products there has, in recent years, been a great increase in the variety of livestock and crops farmed - including goats, emus, ostriches and more cattle.

Sheep are farmed for wool and meat, and there are some stud sheep farms in the district.

Every farmer around Donald grows some kind of crops on their farm. They grow crops such as: wheat, barley, chick peas, lucerne, canola, faba beans, lupens, oats. In the winter we crop most of our paddocks, but some grass paddocks are for the sheep to eat. We spend hours out in the paddock on the tractor ploughing, sowing, and spraying the crops before it rains. If it rains well, it is too wet to plough or sow the paddocks.

During the summer, its harvest time and you have to strip all of your wheat, chick peas, etc... with your header. This year we had a lot of break-downs and were always needing new parts for the header - but it happens to everyone.

Our header is a 'John Deere' header and is about 11 or 12 years old, but it is pretty new compared to other headers I have seen. You spend long hours during the day in the header - and also half the night or longer - it really depends on whether you are in a hurry to finish a paddock because the weather forecast is for rain.

Top of Page

 

[Home]

[Donald District]

[School]

[Staff]

[Newsletter]

[Education]

Page Prepared by E. Wood