GROWING up on his family’s farm in Mansfield inspired a career in agriculture for Todd Heaysman, who now aspires to be a future leader of the industry.
The 26 year-old is a production manager on a Merino sheep operation in Glenaroua, where his list of responsibilities has steadily grown.
Mr Heaysman and his partner also run their own Merino flock.
Mr Heaysman said as well as running day-to-day operations, like organising contractors for shearing, sowing and spraying, managing staff, and doing general maintenance, he has a lot to do with the Glenaroua farm’s breeding objectives.
“I really enjoy the wool aspect of it, there’s a big push to go dual purpose, and the way I look at it is that it all comes back to nutrition,” Mr Heaysman said.
“I don’t think people realise what Merinos are capable of, if you concentrate hard on that, you’ll see good results.”
He obtained his wool classing ticket six years ago, which has allowed him to contribute more to the farm.
“I wanted to be able to class sheep so I could get the best out of myself,” he said.
“I class all of our sheep every year, aiming to achieve an 18.5 micron, and it’s helpful being able to do the classing and breeding objectives myself, because it makes it easier to head in the one direction.”
This passion for farming developed at a young age, when Mr Heaysman helped on his family’s Kartigi Border Leicester stud.
When he was 15, he completed a traineeship at a local Mansfield property, where for three years he worked as a farmhand.
“It was a pretty intensive cattle operation, where I completed a lot of feeding, maintenance and irrigation work,” he said.
“Towards the end, my position grew and I was running the feeding program, and doing weekend work so the owners could have time off.”
He said learning from a young age helped him develop strong farming practices.
“I’ve always been a big believer in learning how to do things properly at the start, so no bad habits are developed,” he said.
To improve his leadership skills, Mr Heaysman completed the Marcus Oldham Leadership Course in 2017.
“The course provided access to industry leaders, and helped me gain confidence in my ability to be a productive leader,” he said.
“It helped in analysing situations, and getting me to look back and figure out why things are happening, and not just being outcome orientated.”
He said he’s always had a passion to be a leader.
“I like to lead, I’ve always enjoyed that, and when this came up, to be a rural leader, I really wanted to do it,” he said.
“The biggest thing for me is that there aren’t a lot of young leaders in the agricultural community, so if we’ve got these opportunities, we should take advantage of them.
“After school, some of my mates went on to study ag science at uni, but a lot of them went on to do a trade, and I think it’s because agriculture isn’t portrayed in the most positive light.
“With prices so good at the moment, I think it’s important to push that, so that people begin to see a future in the industry.”
Mr Heaysman is also currently the junior vice president of the Seymour Wool Marketing Group.
“It’s a productive group full of industry leaders, trying to get more out of their hectares. There are some really smart farmers trying to work together to achieve common goals,” he said.