All in the family

For Dandaragan farmers, Sue and David Brown, farming is all about family.

Three generations of Brown men have come together for this award-winning photograph, representing how a farming business can grow and support multiple generations in the same family.

The photo, which won the People’s Choice Award in the recent CBH Photo Competition, was taken by Sue Brown, and was an image that she had been keen to capture for a long time.

“It was the first harvest that all the younger boys had come home to work on the farm,” she said,

“They had all been away to school and completed apprenticeships but then all decided that working on the farm was what they wanted to do, so it was quite a special thing for them all to get together.”

The boys, Lachie, Lincoln, Riley and Jackson, are all part of the fourth generation working on the farm.

The farm was established in 1919 by Jack Brown, subsequently taken over by his son John, who is pictured to the right of the photo.

“John, at 81, still lives on the farm, and has no plans to move anywhere else,” Mrs Brown said.

“He is still very active, and is very involved with the day-to-day running of the farm operations. We are really very lucky with how everything has turned out.”

John’s sons David and Richard have been farming together for many years, and Mrs Brown said the younger cousins also work well together.

“They’ve all grown up together, been to school together, both locally and in Perth, and they are all very close and get along really well together,” she said.

“They are all back on the farm for a few years to see if it’s something that they would like to do as a career, and all of them seem very keen. This photo represents the progression through the generations of our business.

“We also have two daughters in Perth, and there is the possibility that one of them may also come back to the farm, if she decides that is something she would like to do.”

Mrs Brown said the farm, of almost 7000ha, was enjoying an exceptional season, with excellent spring rains to finish the crops.

The business plants wheat, lupins, canola, and also trades sheep opportunistically.

“We have had a wonderful season this year, the rain patterns have been like a normal winter,” Mrs Brown said. “The crops are looking beautiful.”

Mrs Brown will donate her winning prize of $500 to the Dandaragan St John Ambulance sub centre.