Composite ewes on Barton Station.

ONE of Australia’s largest sheep producers Paraway Pastoral will hold a free ‘Net Zero: Better for Business’ field day at its Victorian Wimmera property Barton Station next month.

The Paraway Pastoral Company currently runs more than 250,000 sheep and 220,000 cattle on 27 properties spanning 4,481,370 hectares in Qiueensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

The ‘Net Zero: Better for Business’ field day on 22 May at the company’s its Barton Station property, in Victoria’s Wimmera region aims to showcase its next steps on an innovative pathway to greater agricultural sustainability.

Industry experts speaking at the May field way will include Lambs Alive founder Jason Trompf, Paradoo Prime principal Tim Leeming, Nutrien Ag Solutions’ head of commercial sustainability Rebecca Underwood (Nutrien Ag Solutions) and Thomas Foods International farm assurance and supply chain manager Mark Inglis.

A special wool industry panel session will also be held to provide a holistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities shaping the wool sector. This session promises to delve into crucial aspects of the sector, such as market trends, evolving customer demands, and the future trajectory of the wool industry. Attendees can anticipate hearing a variety of insights involving buyers, exporters, and industry specialists.

Paraway Pastoral CEO Harvey Gaynor.

Paraway Pastoral is building on the success of its informative net zero field day last August, with the agricultural producer announcing it will host the next instalment ‘Net Zero: Better for Business’, to be hosted at, on May 22nd. The on-farm event will build on the well-received ‘Getting Started’ field day that Paraway Pastoral hosted in 2023 at Burindi Station, near Barraba, NSW.

Paraway Pastoral said it is focused on reaching its own net zero target by 2040, and is also keen to help other farming operations become informed on how to reach their own climate targets.

Paraway Pastoral chief executive officer Harvey Gaynor said team members were so thrilled with the interest shown at last year’s event that they’re determined to showcase even more positive opportunities to combat climate change.

“The upcoming field day will have a strong line up of industry representatives sharing their knowledge.

“As a company, we will demonstrate the ‘next steps’ of working towards net zero by showing how Paraway Pastoral is managing  its own emissions company-wide, within the Barton aggregation and alongside other initiatives,” he said.

“Our previous event successfully attracted over 200 participants, with the majority being producers.

“We’ve built another high quality program to make the Barton Station field day just as valuable to producers in that region,” Mr Gaynor said.

“By extending the invitation to other farming enterprises to join us for this event, we’re hoping that they too will find this to be a valuable knowledge sharing and networking opportunity that shouldn’t be missed.”

Barton Station is located between Moyston and Willaura, in the southern Wimmera region of western Victoria and spans 8244 ha in an amalgamation of five properties. The country includes mixed soil types ranging from low lying relic lake beds to sandy rises, with rock outcrops limited to the northern section of the property. The properties are used for breeding sheep and cattle, with the capacity to finish a portion of its own stock.

For more than seven years Paraway Pastoral has been working on emissions reduction programs focusing on livestock production efficiencies, renewable energy sources, carbon sequestration, and pasture improvement.

Mr Gaynor emphasised that Paraway Pastoral’s approach is geared towards boosting productivity, meaning that investments in emissions management today will yield returns in the future.

“There is a lot of information available to agribusinesses on how they can improve their practises, but the details may not include how to do it in a manner that improves the bottom line.

“By opening up Barton Station and showcasing our operations, we’re keen for others to learn how becoming a net zero organisation can actually be a better investment and better for their business,” he said.

To find out more or to register to attend this free event, visit the field day Eventbrite page.