Dylan Wedel talks business with regional area manager Tegan McBride
In the heart of Queensland's sugarcane country, young canegrowers Dylan and Sarah Wedel have embarked on a journey which intertwines dreams, hard work, and a commitment to the land.
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Located in Victoria Plains, just 30 minutes from Mackay, this innovative young couple, received a First Start Loan from the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) which enabled the then 21-year-olds to purchase their first 45ha sugarcane farm.
"At the time Sarah and I'd managed to save up a bit of a deposit and the First Start Loan was instrumental for us being able to get into farming," Dylan says.
With farming deeply rooted in Dylan’s family history, the decision to enter the sector felt like a natural progression.
“I'd grown up on a farm with cattle. Cane farming has been in my family, but it hadn't been something I'd been involved in directly.
"We had a look around at a few of the farms in the area and thought this might be something we could have a go at," Dylan says.
Before purchasing their cane farm, both Dylan and Sarah had been working in the mining industry.
"Sarah and I were looking for an investment opportunity," he explains.
"Dylan had a very thorough decision-making process to decide which farm we would buy. Because it was an investment, we had to make sure that it was going to work out in our favour," Sarah adds.
QRIDA's First Start Loan was the most accessible financial assistance to help the couple secure their first block of land.
“Commercial lenders were hesitant because we didn’t have a lot of experience in farming or an extensive deposit. The First Start Loan allowed us to overcome those barriers,” Dylan says.
"We met with our QRIDA regional area manager early on before we purchased a property, ran some scenarios past them, talked about what it is that QRIDA was looking for, or not looking for, in a property that they were willing to contribute finance towards."
Dylan says the manager was understanding of their situation and really knew the local industry and market.
“We exchanged a lot of emails and had several meetings, which really helped clarify the process and set realistic goals," Sarah adds.
Dylan and Sarah felt the questions they were asked during the application process helped them feel confident they were making the right decision before purchasing their property.
"They were the same kind of questions your parents might have, such as 'Have you got the right idea?', 'Is this financially viable?', 'Is the decision-making sound?'”, Sarah says.
"Like any application process, it took time, and we had to put some effort into it, but it was contributing to what we wanted to achieve," Dylan adds.
"It was tricky too because we hadn't come from a cane farming background and that's where the regional area manager at the time was really helpful, because they knew what some of those numbers should be and what was a reasonable number or how to best present those numbers."
Today, as they cultivate their sugarcane, the couple remains committed to sustainable practices.
"We've got a fixed amount of land here and we want to try and make as much money as possible, for as long as possible. We've tried to adopt what is considered industry best practice, backed by research," Dylan says.
"We do fallow cropping, we're Smart Cane accredited, we're following what is best practice to try and maximise return,” he says.
Looking to the future, the Wedels are aiming to expand their cane business to become a fully viable, primary production business.
"The big thing is increasing scale with the ultimate goal of being able to become full-time farmers, which we're working towards slowly.
"We're currently going through the process of purchasing a neighbouring block at the moment, which will take us to 100ha. We will continue to expand into the future to get to a size where it's actually a viable primary production business," Dylan enthuses.
Dylan and Sarah Wedel on their Victoria Plains cane farm.
Dylan and Sarah encourage aspiring young growers in a similar situation to them to lean on the support available and start the conversation early.
"If you want to get into farming and you're not really sure whether you're ready to go or not, early conversations with QRIDA's regional area managers are going to be important to be able to give you a bit of guidance in terms of what your timeline is going to be and how far away that potential purchase of your first farm might be,” Dylan says.
QRIDA's First Start Loan offers up to $2 million to help aspiring young producers in the early years of establishing their first primary production business.
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