More than $2 million has been injected in to Coleambally region community projects, purely using the proceeds from a local share farm.
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The Coleambally Demo Farm was established in 1997, and since then many local organisations have partnered in shared crops to reinvest in the community. Volunteers from community groups share the responsibility of sowing, maintaining and harvesting winter and summer crops each year.
In 2020, the partner groups include Coleambally football and rugby clubs, Coleambally Lions, Coleambally Community Club, Sweatbox Community Gym, Coleambally Central School, Coleambally Apex Club and Cypress View lodge.
Coleambally Lions president Chris Hardy said being involved in the project is a great way to raise additional revenue to support local organisations and their community projects. The Lions club has several on-going projects which have benefited from farm proceeds.
“All the groups involved source their own machinery for the cropping process, but the contribution we get from the community is incredible,”Mr Hardy said.
“We have businesses and private contractors who don’t necessarily benefit from the share farm who offer labour or machinery because they know the good that comes out of the farm.
“Murrumbidgee Council also helps out with goods and services, often supplying their tanker for user groups.
“The water is owned and controlled by the Demo Farm committee, which allocates it to individual groups if they want to plant anything.
“The Demo Farm does cover some costs, including the seed for crops. It means individual groups don’t have to, and they take a percentage out of the proceeds to cover that cost.
“Profits remaining after that are distributed to user groups.’’
The farm spans more than 350 hectares, and is split in to four large paddocks. The broadacre farm has been set up to sow a range of commercial crops such as cereals, corn, cotton and rice.
“Not all groups can afford the water to put in a crop, and because of low availability this year there are only a few dryland crops in at the moment,”Mr Hardy said.
“The total area sown at the share farm each year is decided on a season-by-season basis, and not all paddocks are utilised each year.
“All user groups are hopeful we get more water by the time the summer cropping sowing window arrives.’’
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