CELEBRATING COMMUNITY CROPS: Beacon community all smiles as farmers come together to mark ‘bumper’ season

It was a warm and breezy afternoon when the small community of Beacon gathered to harvest their 400ha community crop, located 35km north of town in a farmer’s paddock near Tampu. Smiles were abound at the December 15 get-together after an absolute belter of a season resulted in record crops. For 15 years, the Beacon community crop has delivered crucial funding to businesses, community crops and local projects in the small town 312km north-east of Perth. Some of the beneficiaries include the Beacon Bombers Football Club, the Beacon Co-Operative, the Beacon Recreation Centre and the local Community Resource Centre, among others. The crop was last year planted on a 500ha parcel of land owned by local farmer Jeff Munns for about the past four years after previously being rotated from different farmers’ properties each year. Beacon Community Progress Association president Michael Carr said locals took a collaborative approach to distributing funds and the group was happy to listen to “whoever had an idea”. “The committee are all members of the community, so no one person decides what projects get done or not, it is up to the community to decide,” he said. Mr Carr has held the top role for four years and was the vice-president before that, but says the credit needs to go towards Mr Munns and his generous allocation of farmland. “Jeff is a keen supporter of the Beacon community, and for the past four years he has generously allocated 500ha for the crop – which is quite a lot,” he said. “We look after it the best we can, and it puts a load on many of the local farmers who have their own crops to look after.” With 400ha put to crop this year, and 100ha left out to fallow, the group planted all wheat this year with about 240 tonnes collected all up. The aim of the game is to keep it simple, Mr Carr said, to lighten the load on local farmers. It was a community affair when the local community gathered at the Munns’ farm on December 15, with four headers and four chaser bins and a steady stream of trucks whirring for more than eight hours to finish harvest. “It’s a good cross-section of the community and their gear,” Mr Carr said. “It’s also a good mix of people who have finished harvest and who are in the middle of harvest. People are more than willing to help out.” Some projects are outright funded, while others are helped through loans. The Beacon Co-Operative was last year allocated a $50,000, interest-free loan to install a new coolroom display fridge to store and showcase perishables including fruit and vegetables. The co-operative is owned by the local community and serves as the major shopping facility for locals, selling fruit and vegetables, and operating as a cafe. “In a lot of cases, the community needs an upfront loan and they are able to fund themselves after that,” Mr Carr said. “The crop also has its own continuous outgoings in terms of rates and the like, continuous upkeep. “So if we don’t have a project to fund straight away, we have the money there in case someone comes along to say ‘we need help’.” Harvest is as much a collaborative effort as deciding what projects will benefit. Someone will decide when the crop is ready for harvest, and propose a date. From there, it is about spreading the word and finding out who is available. Mr Carr might not be behind the wheel, but he is on an equally important job — supplying food. Armed with a ute-load of sandwiches, cakes, soft drink and water from the Beacon Co-operative, Mr Carr is just about the most popular person when he arrives at the Munns’ farm on December 15. After eating bacon and egg rolls by Jeff’s wife Sue Munns earlier in the morning, farmers were keen to tuck into lunch before being provided dinner by Ninghan Spraying co-ownerBrandon Lancaster. “As soon as I get there, my job is to make sure everyone is fed and watered,” Mr Carr laughed. “It’s important for people to take a break.” Beacon farmer Danny Miguel can’t remember a time the Beacon Community Crop didn’t exist. It was his first year as vice-president last year, a role he says means he is “joint organiser”. “I’ve been farming for 20 years and there has been some sort of local crop since then, either to benefit the local football club or the local community,” Mr Miguel said. “But this year it’s just been amazing. Harvest has been very good, I didn’t think we would top last year’s crop but we have. “It would be a record for sure. It means more money and more projects around town.” Mr Miguel said there was always plenty of robust discussion about what to spend the money on. “There are a lot of ideas, and you have some people who want to spend a lot and some who want to save a lot . . . so it is a real balance to keep people happy and get things done,” he said. “But the whole community gets a say . . . and everyone chips in to get the harvest done. “I thought we didn’t have any chaser bins this year, and the next thing I knew there were four here.” Among the crowd was truck driver Matthew Hyde, who was not only experiencing his first harvest but his first community crop when he visited Beacon in December. After years of doing general freight in WA’s north, he was recruited “by a mate” to help out with harvest — carting grain from Beacon, Koorda and Bencubbin. For Mr Hyde, who lives in Perth, helping out at the Beacon Community Crop was a way to meet new people and the 5am and 7pm start-finish was just part of the experience. “I wanted to get to know a few people around here and establish some friendships and relationships with people,” he said. “I am always happy to help with worthy causes and to do my part to keep small communities moving.”