Retiring Piallamore farmer Mark Stass reflects on 'pretty steep' learning curve after 40 years

The 30-year-old Sydney-sider didn't know a thing about agriculture.

"I didn't know what a bale of hay was when I came up here," he said.

"We visited my brother in law, he was up in Bendemeer with a grazing place up there. I think there was a bit of a dry period in 1981. One thing and another led us to thinking this was a good idea. It took us about 12 years to work out that it mightn't have been such a good idea.

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"We're still here anyhow!"

After 40 years on the 120-acre farm, which boasts 80-acres of some of the best irrigated alluvium soil in the region, and with memories of beating the worst drought the region has ever faced still fresh, he's retiring.

The property has been sold, and his equipment went up for auction at a clearing sale on Saturday January 22.

Mr Stass said the learning curve was "pretty steep". His previous job was owning a takeaway food shop and he had soft hands, and no idea what gear to buy or how to maintain it.

He learned most of the trade watching his neighbours, who were old hands, he said.

Experienced farmer Keith Moss was a particularly notable mentor.

In 1984, Keith warned him about some poorly-secured temporary fencing he'd installed in order graze sheep, telling him it'd be wrecked in a flood.

Mr Stass laughed off the advice, saying the area hadn't flooded since the 50s.

Two days later a flood wrecked his fences.

"All the sheep are down there and they look like turtles, all you can see is their heads bobbing out of the water," he said.

"Righto you were right."

Watered through a groundwater licence, the property is "fairly secure" on water and very drought-proof. They managed to get through even the last drought with enough water to keep producing feed.

Nonetheless, it took Mr Stass about 15 years to get where he wanted to financially.

Taking on the farm from a place of ignorance would be an even harder task in 2022, he said.

"Money's a problem," he said.

"It'd be really nice to see a lot of young people come in and buy land and be able to farm but unless they've got backing from the family, or money from somewhere, it's near-impossible.

"You can't finance the mortgage on farm income. So you've got to have big input to start with to get the land."

The industry has also shifted substantially.

Where once almost all hay would feed livestock in the New England during winter, today local horse fanatics on five acre blocks take up about half demand.

They will keep their home next door to the property and will continue living at Piallamore.

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