TOBY Jones had no runs on the board when he landed a top manager's job while still a student at agricultural college.

Six years on, Toby, now 27, has increased the productivity of his employers' mixed farm and earned recognition for his cropping and lambing results.

    AT A GLANCE
  • Who: Toby Jones
  • What: sheep, cropping and cattle
  • Why: young achiever
  • Where: Junee, NSW
  • Report: LINDSAY HAYES

The expat Tasmanian manages the 1294ha property, Glencairn, owned by Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan and his wife Margaret, near Junee in the eastern Riverina.

The region is widely regarded as "safe farming country", with good soils and a long-term average rainfall of 550mm.

"We haven't had anything like that for years," Toby said.

"The property was annihilated in the 2006 bushfire. We lost 1000 ewes, 20 or 30 steers, trees, crops and kilometres of fencing."

Although no buildings were lost, the fire spared only about 80ha.

Today, with the fences rebuilt, stock replaced, pastures replanted and crops coming off, there is no sign of the devastation.

Glencairn is back to full production and earning gongs.

Earlier this year, Toby won the Illabo Show lamb competition, bagging the grand championship for the Heffernans with a pen of first-cross lambs and topping prices in the following auction.

Six months later, he won the Junee crop competition with a Wedgetail wheat crop planted for both grazing and harvest.

Local agronomist and member of the judging panel, Bernard Hart, said the combination of grazing and estimated yield amounted to a gross return of $727 a hectare.

The lightly-grazed crop carried ewes and lambs through to September, when the autumn-drop lambs were sold over the hooks.

Toby manages the property on his own and brings in a contractor as needed, generally for the harvest.

He said Bill had given him a free rein after placing him under scrutiny for the first year.

Glencairn runs 2100 ewes and 67 Poll Dorset rams and this year turned off 2600 prime lambs for sale to local abattoirs.

The tally included crossbred lambs from 450 ewes at the Heffernans' 14,000ha property at Booligal, in the western Riverina, sent to Junee for fattening.

"Previously, we had second-cross Merinos joined with Border Leicester rams and the offspring was then crossed with Dorset rams," Toby said.

"We've given the Merinos away and now buy in all ewes for breeding. We find it more cost-efficient.

"We finish the lambs on grazing crops and lucerne, phalaris and clover pastures and sell at 19-22kg liveweight.

"That's the market we target and we sell everything we produce," Toby said.

Bolstering the lambing rate was one of Toby's first goals and he met it by reducing sheep numbers and improving nutrition.

"In 2004, the lambing rate was 91 per cent. This year, it was 113 per cent and last year, 120 per cent, due to better joining conditions," Toby said.

"In December 2007 we were joining on green feed."

The ewes are joined on December 1 for a May drop, with lambs born from May 1.

"I found I could get a lamb off just as quickly in May as I could in April," Toby said.

"Stock nutrition is the key. If you don't have it, the sheep haven't the ability for lambing.

"I keep a close watch on them and feed mineral supplements."

Stock water comes from the town supply pumped to troughs and surface dams.

Toby has expanded the cropping area and the variety sown, incorporating more dual-purpose grazing crops for stock and harvest.

A total of 556 ha is cropped.

"We have a strict rotation for every paddock, starting with canola, followed by wheat, lupins, wheat again and barley," he said.

"This year, we planted 20ha of manola for the first time and it yielded 1.4 tonnes/ha."

The oil content was about 42 per cent, compared to 36-38 per cent for canola.

"Manola is a derivative of canola, with a better oil content and a premium of $48/tonne if you make the grade," Toby said.

"This is why we tried it.

"Australia imports a lot of tallow oil for deep frying and manola is seen as a healthier option.

"I am pleased with the yield and will put manola in next year's program and trial a new variety of hybrid canola."

Toby is passionate about cropping and said it was the part of farming he liked most.

He engages an agronomist, tests soils regularly and keeps informed on market opportunities.

Kicking cowpads as he walks through the paddocks is second nature to Toby.

It's his way of monitoring the spread of dung beetles.

Introduced to the district about 20 years ago, they are breeding and migrating to different parts of the property.

Glencairn recently hosted a seminar on dung beetles and their soil-improvement benefits.

The property is self-sufficient in feed, including oats, lucerne and silage.

Toby retains stubble and practises minimum tillage.

He limes one or more paddocks each year and keeps cover on all the paddocks by grazing strategically.

A Murray Grey-Angus herd is the second livestock venture.

Numbers are currently up, with stock from the Booligal property running at Junee due to the drought.

Toby said Booligal was normally good cattle country, but had no feed and was in far worse shape than Junee. The weaners will remain at Glencairn, which each year turns off 30 to 100 prime cattle over the hooks to Cargill and other local markets.

Toby is pleased with the regrowth of native grasses following the bushfire and the rejuvenation of the surviving trees.

However, because so many established trees with nesting hollows were lost, the Australian National University and Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority have erected nestboxes for kookaburras and other birds in a trial on fire-ravaged farms.

"We are hoping for a good outcome," Toby said.