A new rural life filled with purpose and joy – and a tractor named “Big Rodge”

A DETERMINATION to sustainably grow food, demonstrate to fellow farmers and show their children how to regenerate the land is making Will Thorncraft and Emma Jones’ new rural life in central west New South Wales a joyous and rewarding one.

Both Will and Emma are from a long line of farmers and studied agriculture at University. Will’s great-great-great grandfather came out from Ireland and settled in Brewarrina, and Emma is from Wales, where she grew up on her family’s cattle and sheep farm. Today, they produce free range lamb, pork and eggs on their 154-hectare farm, ‘Trenton’, north of Dubbo.

They admit they felt a lot of excitement but ‘plenty of trepidation’ about moving from Coonabarabran to their own farm in May 2021. And 12 months later there was more excitement when they welcomed baby Ava to the family.

With the long-term goal of becoming self-sufficient farmers, they’re practicing regenerative agriculture to achieve a carbon-positive farm selling locally produced food from their herds of Duroc, Berkshire, Large White and Large Black pigs, Merino and Charolais sheep, and heritage and commercial breed chickens.

After starting with several working sheepdogs and six chickens, plus two sows and a boar that came with the farm, they’re now the proud owners of 80 ewes with 80-90 lambs at foot, 16 breeding sows and gilts, 37 grower pigs, and 130 hens. Baseline testing has just been done to ensure the farm’s soil carbon, with the aim of being carbon positive in five years.

“We were lucky that the previous owners designed the property with the help of Darren Doherty’s design system which focuses on hydrating the landscape through building contours, dams and fencing off water ways, assisting the native pastures to soak up as much rainfall as possible,” Will explained.

“We have good exterior fencing and use a lot of electric fencing to make temporary smaller cells or paddocks inside that, so we can rotate stock and mimic what nature does to create biodiversity.”

will emma

“We use Big Rodge pretty much daily, for fencing, moving waters, feeding animals, slashing, harrowing, unloading grain and feed, moving hay and silage, putting in bedding for pigs, cleaning out pens, moving dirt, fixing roads, building our vegie garden and cutting wood.”

Will and Emma both work full time in nearby Dubbo, with the goal of paying off the farm, building their new agri-consulting business, Nextgenregen, and expanding into new production lines such as meat chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats, and cattle.

They also understand the need for reliable equipment and, after driving a John Deere S680 header in the US harvest and working with John Deere seeders and sprayers in Canada, there was never any doubt what color tractor they would choose.

It wasn’t long after settling at Trenton they introduced their green and gold workhorse ‘Big Rodge’, a John Deere 4044R, to their farm to help them achieve their dream.

“Four years ago, I did the American harvest and was lucky enough to actually take the paper off the seat of a brand new S680 header, and I had eight months of driving that machine,” Will said.

“Previously, I had worked in Canada where the farmer also had John Deere machinery, a newish tractor, seeder and sprayer. Emma and I know the importance of having super reliable machinery in a country environment, so it was a no brainer to choose John Deere.”

If you ask what they use their tractor for, the answer is simple – everything!

  • Emma driving a John Deere utility tractor
  • Will and his local John Deere dealer leaning against a fence looking into a pig pen
  • Will and his local John Deere dealer standing by Will's John Deere tractor
  • Landscape view of Emma and Will's regional property
  • Will, Emma and their family sitting outside on their outdoor entertaining area.

“I am still discovering more ways to get the best out of him. The four-in-one bucket combined with the stability is just an amazing tool to have. I carry fallen branches with it, move soil, level ground, mix compost, remove stumps, carry mulch and cart firewood just to name a few.”

However, Mr Brooks believes the biggest supporters of Little John are his wife and kids.

“I have always been the sort of person to do things by hand and wear myself out in the process. But with Little John, we are embodying the old adage of ‘work smarter and not harder’, so I am sure they are very pleased we have him.”

The Brooks family has recently added a John Deere Gator to the fold, dubbed ‘Wally Gator’ after the 1970s cartoon character. Although initially purchased to ensure everyone in the family, including Joan, who is living with a disability, could have free access to the full scope of the land, the equipment has also become a workhorse.

“We use him for mulching around the trees, carting wood, tools, hay and watering trees. He is also just a great way to get around and check fences and stock,” he said.

Mr Brooks said he was proud to be part of the John Deere family, and he believed he had the right tools for the job to ensure their small farm could reach its full potential.

There are no regrets for leaving city life behind.

“In the little cottage where we currently live, we have a deck that faces north-east and we often sit there with a nice cup of coffee and listen to two of our resident Kookaburras, who we call Stan and Gretel, sing their dawn duet as we watch the countryside wake up,” he said.

“It is a real treat and we certainly wouldn’t want to change it.”