WHEN Natimuk’s Kane Sudholz was in kindergarten, he used to come home and immediately ask his dad what work he had done on the farm that day.
Now aged 22, Mr Sudholz is the fifth generation to work on the same property.
He works with his dad Michael and brother Jake on 2800 hectares.
They grow wheat, canola, beans and oats, and run sheep.
Mr Sudholz said he knew he wanted to be a farmer when he was about five years-old.
“It was a long time ago – it was when I was little that I started to be interested in agriculture,” Mr Sudholz said.
He went through primary school and then high school at Horsham College, itching to get out onto the land.
While completing year 12, he was also doing a school-based apprenticeship on his home farm and studying part-time at Longerenong College.
“I started work full-time as soon as I had left school,” he said.
Mr Sudholz’s studies at Longerenong College included certificates II to IV in agriculture, before he graduated in 2014.
He is now working on his family’s farm.
While there a range of jobs to do on the land, he said his favourite was spreading.
“The work you do later in the season and spreading urea, that’s what I love doing,” he said.
Mr Sudholz believes the best thing he did in his career was study.
“I really enjoyed studying and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get into agriculture,” he said.
He learnt even more when he started working full-time.
“When you are at school at the same time, it’s hard to learn everything you need to,” he said.
He said he wished he could have left school earlier to give farming a go.
“Because of school, you can’t really get started until you are 16 or so,” he said.
“But you learn so much more when you are actually doing it.”
He said he encouraged more young people to consider a career in agriculture in the future.
“It’s important that younger people become the next farming generation,” he said.
Besides growing crops, he has also had experience with sheep shows.
The family runs ewes, weaners and fat lambs.
When he was aged 17 and 18, he started winning awards at Sheepvention.
In 2013, he won first prize in the medium-strong wool ewe weaner competition and the judge’s choice for most outstanding ewe weaner.
About two years ago, Mr Sudholz bought a few of his own paddocks on the property.
He looks after them himself and decides what to do with them.
“Dad still helps use the machinery on them,” he said.
He said he wanted to stay working with his family, but that it was also good to have his own land that he was responsible for.