Fred farms about 200 hectares, very close to Kialla’s mill at Greenmount, near Toowoomba in Southern Queensland. Since he’s only about 30kms away he has actually been supplying the mill since it first started in 1987.
And Fred was around long before that, having been farming in the Darling Downs area some 50 years. The rich black alluvial soils of the area have excellent water holding capacity and high soil fertility making this one of the best farming areas in Australia.
Rye is a winter crop, planted sometime between April and June each year. It will be harvested about 5 months later. As a hardy grass similar to wheat, it is able to withstand the often frosty conditions of winter in southern Queensland.
