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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-04-09 Daily Xml
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Frome Electorate

Ms PRATT (Frome) (15:44): My electorate covers nearly 13,000 square kilometres with a strong representation of primary producers and farming families and every town's local economy is intrinsically tied to the supply chain of farming, viticulture and horticulture. Our town businesses are strong, particularly when the agricultural sector is performing well. Of course, we are all familiar with the well-known phrase that Australia rode on the sheep's back, so when it comes to the sheep industry in this state, the pedigree of breeders in the Mid North is unparalleled.

In fact, just a few weeks ago, the Elders SA Stud Merino Expo returned to Burra with some of the state's best stud stock on show. The successful two-day event kicked off with a range of on-property displays from across the Mid North with studs including Collinsville, East Bungaree, Glenowie, Greenfields, Gum Hill, Nyowie, Old Ashrose, Pindari, Springvale and White Hill all exhibited.

Of course, it is no surprise to anyone that Hallett-based Collinsville Stud Merinos took out first place of the ram of the year, with general manager, Tim Dalla, and director and owner, George Millington, proud of the recognition of their breeding program by leading peers in the industry. George's own story of revitalising the Collinsville brand is extraordinary, and he and his wife, Sophie, work very hard to build a sustainable farming business that can support their family for generations to come.

To learn more of George's pathway to Collinsville, I highly recommend all those listeners out there to tune into a fabulous podcast called Voice It as hosted by Annabelle Homer to learn more of his remarkable story into the Collinsville brand. George's recent appointment as a board member with Australian Wool Innovation is yet another opportunity locally for him and AWI to promote our state's contribution to the wool export market. George's reflections, I think, are worthy of sharing here to paint the picture of this significant natural fibre. He says:

Wool really is a fibre for the modern age with a great story to tell being a renewable, organic, bio degradable fibre with fantastic thermal properties.

As I will explain shortly.

Especially when you consider it competes with nylon in the market place which is a by product of the crude oil industry.

I think he makes a really strong point. So, enter stage left, based in Burra, the fabulous Emily Riggs and her husband, Tom, with 15,000 merinos on 30,000 hectares of pastoral country. I am sure that Tom will not mind me focusing on the success story of Emily's approach to establishing her business, Iris and Wool—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

Ms PRATT: Indeed, member for Chaffey, contributes—which has risen to prominence as a modern, sustainable, fashionable line of clothing for women of all ages and, dare I say, all sizes. Startups by women are common in my region and Emily's concept has become a bricks and mortar establishment in the heart of Burra and, of course, online. Chatting with her over the weekend as I drooled over the racks of candy-striped winter skirts, we spoke about family business, the local shopping strip of Burra and how important it is to invest as she has done in country towns maintaining their vibrancy and viability.

There are so many champions of the food and fibre industry across my region. I will endeavour to recognise as many as I can today. Natalie Sommerville from Spalding is a celebrated leader in agriculture. She is recognised by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on International Women's Day as a leader who has made an incredible contribution to agriculture.

Andrew Morphett and Peter Hayward are modern pioneers who both understand diversity in farming and tourism as they manage Anlaby Station. Greg and Jane Kellock of Farrel Flat are industry leaders for the implementation of the Sheep Sustainability Framework, along with the Honan family based at North Benalla in Hallett, John and Pam Mitchell of Mintaro, and John and Helen Williams of Greenwood Park at Auburn.

A lot of farmers locally sell their hay and straw to companies throughout my electorate such as Johnson's, Gilmac, Balco and Hay Australia, which is over at Paskeville, making stock feed pellets and processed hay that are transported and exported. A special mention to Juliet Tripodi, based at Lewiston, of Rainbow Fresh fame, our salad bowl of the Northern Adelaide Plains.

So whether it is advocacy bodies and peak bodies like Brad Perry, the CEO of Grain Producers SA, who brings to the state's attention the freight route and safety of roads, or whether it is people like Sue Pratt and Karen Bromley in the education space, the talent pool in the Mid North and the electorate of Frome is deep.

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