Cropping and Machinery

Our number 1 trainee request is cropping.  We have a number of hosts in broad-acre dry land cropping areas and some irrigated cropping throughout Australia.

A typical placement would be several thousand hectares with the main crops consisting of wheat, barley, canola, oats and field peas.  This does vary for each State and is dependent on the season.  We also have smaller placements with less hectares who still put in a significant cropping program.

A medium to high level of responsibility is required for an agricultural trainee.  Machinery is made up of tractors, combine harvesters, air seeders, boom sprays, road train trucks, 2wd and 4wd motorbikes.  A valid international driving permit is required and adequate insurance for motorcycle use.  Good English is essential for cropping placements.

Your duties differ all year round from tractor driving for planting, spraying, harvester or truck driving, farm and workshop maintenance, welding, fencing etc.  General farm maintenance is required all year round.

We have many hosts who require machinery mechanics throughout the year.  Arrival of mechanics generally fall in line with our cropping programs which differ in each State.  The best starting times for mechanics would be September/October for harvest and March/April for seeding.

Don’t think if you are on a cropping placement you will spend all your time driving machinery – you won’t!  Cropping placements are very versatile and you are expected to engage with all aspects of farming.