Our Philosophy
Peter's Philosophy
Proven practical agronomy!
From the time he could steer the ute for his father to feed out, Peter Yelland, founder of PY Agronomy, has been involved in the industry in the Central West.
It wasn’t long after that Peter remembers thinking about new ways of doing things to improve production on the family’s 1,600 hectare farm between Manildra and Cumnock.
A third-generation operation, the farm was previously merino breeding and stud focused. It has now moved into cereal grain, oilseeds and beef cattle under Peter and his brother’s leadership.
After gaining his degree in Farm Management at the University of Sydney in Orange in 1999, Peter intended on moving back to work on the family farm. It wasn’t until 2009, on the passing of his father, that the next generation took on the management.
“The farm business wasn’t big enough to run two families so that is how I began my career in the agronomy world,” Peter explained.
“I’ve worked as an agronomist since 1999 after completing my traineeship in Wellington.
"I moved to Parkes in 2000 and have been practicing agronomy in and around the Central West since. Many of the farmers I began working with, I am still working with today."
"I began my own consultancy in 2014 following a demand for independent advice. I’ve had great support from clients."
Having forged a long-term relationship with many of these growers, we have achieved much more together. It has been hugely satisfying.
"Every day I get to see something different and work with different people. Most clients I deal with are very forward thinking."
"There are so many different beliefs and philosophies along with a vast range of different management styles from such a broad range of people in the region.”
The family farm is run as a test model to use to advise clients. Peter explained this keeps his hands in the dirt and his recommendations practically based.
The basis of our consulting is – if we wouldn’t do it ourselves, we wouldn’t advise our clients to do it,” Peter outlined.
“I think a lot of our clients appreciate that I come from a practical background – instead of relying on theory only.
“I can relate to clients on a practical level and understand the limitations. I appreciate fully how agriculture works today because I’m also experiencing it along with them on a daily basis.”
The business has grown from ten clients over 20,000 hectares to now servicing more than 30 clients across 50,000 hectares of dryland cropping annually.
PY Agronomy now also works with irrigation clients, consults with mining companies and Peter is involved with public speaking, key committees and industry bodies.
“Our core business is locally owned family farms working with dryland winter crops growing cereals, oilseeds and pulses,” Peter said.
“We also work with some irrigation clients in lucerne and we are moving into irrigated cotton down the track.”
Peter says he is driven in business by the success of his clients – seeing them progress, expand and achieve their goals.
“Seeing my clients make good decisions on the back of the advice I’ve given is very satisfying,” Peter outlined.
“Despite the frustrations we all go through in agriculture, I still believe it’s a great industry to be involved with and a great industry to work in.
“I get motivated working with similarly motivated people and I really enjoy challenging people and being challenged myself to look for productivity lifting solutions.
“It’s a very exciting time to be involved with agriculture particularly in the livestock sector. There is so much potential to lift production with livestock in relation to the adaptation of technology.
“The advances we are going to have access to in the next ten years plus is hopefully going to have huge advantages for work/life balance, productivity and measurement.
“On the back of these advances we are going to see significant changes in the future of the industry, and this will hopefully promote more productivity and sustainability in agriculture.”
Making a valuable contribution to the advancement of regional communities is a driver in Peter’s consultancy and personal life. The balance between the success of individuals, the industry, the community and the entire region is key.
“The role of our business in the future will be to become a leader on behalf of our clients to steer them in the right direction in terms of technology adoption and/or to become a link between products, services and industry,” Peter outlined.
“Given that profit margins are going to be compromised all the time, it’s a major component of our role to provide a regular, accurate and reliable advisory service to keep our clients businesses moving forward.”
Kerry's Philosophy
Moving the farm business forward rain, hail or shine.
Brought up on a family farm at Tullamore, Kerry Yelland, PY Agronomy, enjoyed her small country town upbringing in a close-knit community surrounded by family.
Tullamore was where Kerry’s interest in seeing “farmers succeed” began as she became the “extra hand” on-call for lamb marking, tractor driving, fencing and stick picking (which she says her father saved up for school holidays).
The family prime lamb, wool and cropping enterprise developed her love of all things agricultural. Kerry went on to complete a Bachelor of Business majoring in Agribusiness at the University of Sydney in Orange.
“Whilst at uni I worked during the holidays at Graincorp at Trundle manning the weighbridge and sample stand,” Kerry outlined.
“When I finished uni, I moved to Dubbo for a job with Agfarm as a Grain Marketer. I’ve always had a strong empathy for farmers.
“When working at Graincorp I saw many missed opportunities in their grain marketing, as they choose who to sell their grain to on the spot at the sample stand, and for the price on the list that day. It didn’t seem fair.
“As a Grain Marketer I was given the opportunity to help these growers get better prices for their grain which gave me a lot of satisfaction. I grew the client base in the Central West, and I really enjoyed building these relationships.”
A chance meeting at the Parkes Picnic races saw Kerry meet Peter Yelland. They were married in 2007 and now have three boys Harry, Sam and George.
The family spreads itself between the agronomy consultancy out of Parkes and Peter’s family farm operations between Manildra and Cumnock.
“I love agriculture and all the good things associated with it – the lifestyle, the family togetherness, the adventures on the farm for a young family, the hard work, and definitely working with livestock,” Kerry explained.
“I am also very interested in understanding farm business, and ways to manage the finances to ensure the farm is viable.’
“I envisage PY Agronomy potentially partnering with a Financial Planner to enable us to offer a more well-rounded service that ensures the viability of the farm is not dependant on the rain or the markets – as we obviously have no control over either.
“It’s a valuable asset to have someone on your team who can look at the farm from a business perspective, rather than just operational. Having support and guidance on both your farm business and personal financial plans ensures you are making the right decisions for your future. We’d enjoy being the linchpin to bring these sorts of opportunities and support to our clients.”