Living remotely doesn’t come without its challenges. For some isolated farmers, the weekly Farms Advice podcast - founded by UNE Alumnus, Jack Cresswell - is something to look forward to.
What began as a Facebook group in 2017 has since morphed into a successful podcast series with nearly 5000 monthly listeners. Jack originally started the podcast to “keep in touch with my farming mates when we went our separate ways after uni”.
Jack grew up on his family’s White Dorper stud near Dubbo, NSW. He says the idea of moving to a city for university was never on the radar, and after looking at his options for regional-based uni's, he decided UNE would be the best fit. “I was pretty content marking lambs during my gap year but making the change to get off the farm and mix with others is what spurred me to apply to UNE." The vibrant college life, proximity to his home, and lack of city traffic also contributed to the attraction.
During his degree, Jack took an internship in Beijing, China, which he says was “a belter of a time” and helped to broaden his perspective. “The degree exposed me to a range of topics and helped prepare me for my career. I got to see how real-world scenarios played out.”
After graduating, he decided to add some global experience to his resume, so moved to London for 3 years. When COVID hit, he was forced to return to Australia. These days he enjoys the diversity of helping run the family farm alongside his marketing work. “I go from marking lambs to preparing marketing campaigns. Where else can you have that flexibility in a role?”
Using the marketing skills he developed during his Bachelor of Agribusiness at UNE, Jack aims to connect people from across the different agricultural sectors. He believes that everyone has knowledge that can benefit another. For example, “sheep and beef farms can learn from dairy farmers’ grass programs”.
Rather than tackling the country-city divide, Jack focuses his attention on connecting farmers, and promoting opportunities to develop new connections. Through his podcast, he hopes to encourage workers, both young and old, into essential farming jobs. With widespread harvest worker shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he feels that the ag industry can use all the help it can get in marketing the value of living and working rurally.
Success to Jack is strengthening the ties that exist in Australia’s strong rural network, while nurturing and building relationships across these sectors. He feels that rural stories are vital in educating the next generation.
“If I can create a farming podcast and have some fun along the way, then I’m going alright. I welcome any UNE alumni in agriculture to come and have a chat to see what it’s all about."
