Gil Jones runs his own farming operation alongside his wife Jenny in Turoar Victoria. Coming from a strong farming background, Gil has only ever seen himself in agriculture.
His grandfather started farming in 1919 at Beulah, and his father was also in the industry. In 1965 Gll came home to help out on the family farm, and in 1976 he and Jenny went out on their own and purchased their own property in Turoar.
The pair have three sons, Travis, Ashley and Ryan, who have all stayed in farming and help out on the property. Ryan and his wife Melanie have also purchased land of their own – a sight Gil is very proud to see.
Ryan works for Trimble in GPS testing and helps on the farm in his spare time by doing the mapping and set-ups for precision ag mapping guidance and section control.
Gil says the most satisfying part of the job for him is planting and harvesting the crops. The prep for this year’s season has gone okay – they’ve only had 108mm, and while the crops are good, they’ll need solid winter and spring rain in order to finish well.
The most challenging part of the job is trying to get the crops harvested before storms or wet weather comes in – their lentils and barley make up two thirds of their crop which need to be harvested as soon as possible.
How have advances in technology impacted Gil’s farm and the way he works?
“It’s been massive in the last 20 years – the information is so easy to find, and the internet has made grain prices available daily. It’s easy to research parts and equipment when needed,” he says.
“On the farm, GPS guidance, variable rate section control, and the zero till have all made it possible to grow very good crops in very dry years.”
What words of wisdom would Gil give to someone just starting out in farming?
“It can be really tough, but also very rewarding – stick it out.”
Gll recently purchased 4x model 48’-14 sealed silos and a 16 Inch by 125 feet auger – read his case study here!
