DALBY lucerne grower Rob Mitchell says diversity is the key to running a successful farming business.
Mr Mitchell and his wife, Jodie Robson, run Dalby Hay on their 260-hectare Darling Downs property.
They produce small bales of lucerne hay for the performance horse and sport horse markets as well as cereal hays such as forage oats, barley and wheat for the horse and stud beef markets.
The business usually sells about 20,000 square lucerne bales, 600 round bales and 400 jumbo bales - weighing 650kg each - annually.
This year, they have also ventured into silage production and will market their product to dairies and feedlots.
"We spread our business over lots of different markets," Mr Mitchell said.
"It's a good foundation, so you haven't got all your eggs in one basket, and no single market gets saturated."
The Mitchells moved to Dalby from Emerald five years ago, sensing room for opportunity in the market.
"Dalby's location is in the middle of the performance and feedlot industries, plus it's a great community and area," Mr Mitchell said.
Another important factor for the family was water.
"Water security in Dalby is brilliant - it's one of the location's greatest assets," he said.
The biggest challenge with hay making was the timing, Mr Mitchell said. "Bales are moisture orientated, and they've got to dry down to a certain percentage," he said.
"There's a very small window to roll the bales in."
The window is determined by wind direction and other environmental factors.
"Easterly winds hold more moisture, which means we can bale a lot earlier or a lot later," he said. "But if it's a northerly or westerly wind, the time to bale might be one o'clock in the morning."
Mr Mitchell said strong demand for hay and silage meant business was low stress and stable. "We definitely enjoy what we do and the area that we're in." - Picture: RODNEY GREEN.
