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Insight: Sept 25

Janice Petersen hears from "Next Gen Farmers", who are determined to make a go of life on the land. 

This week on Insight, guest host Janice Petersen hears from “Next Gen Farmers” who, against the odds, are determined to make a go of life on the land.

With vast tracts of eastern Australia in the grip of crippling drought, and the average age of an Australian farmer now 56 and getting older, Insight asks – how does the next generation plan to make a go of life on the land?

For twins Will and Tom, 17, and their 16 year-old brother, Sam, it’s “in the blood.” While it’s hard being at boarding school while things are so tough at home, they’re upbeat about their farming futures.

“We’ll be seventh generation. It makes us proud. Dad’s done a bloody good job,” Tom explains.

Maddy Coleman, 27, comes from a family of Sydney bankers, and risked everything two years ago to buy a farm with her father.

“It’s my livelihood, so I’ve got to make it work,” she says of the property which she runs on her own. “It is nerve-wracking, but it’s been the most exciting two years of my life,” she tells guest host Janice Petersen.

For high school student, Hannah, 16, it all comes down to tradition and responsibility. “I’ll be a fifth generation farmer,” she says. “I’m really passionate about it, because I’ll be feeding Australia.”

But with the global population expected to reach nine billion by 2030, can the world’s food supply be guaranteed on passion alone?

Archie Weston, 21, studies food and agribusiness at university. “Technology’s the up and coming thing,” he tells Insight. And, while learning science can be “tedious at times,” it will “definitely apply on the farm.”

Jack Farthing, 29, is also focused on innovation, saying “climate change has definitely got a massive part to do with this drought. We really need to listen to the scientists, and start taking steps that are going to make us more prepared for droughts of this calibre.”

Tuesday September 25, 8.30pm on SBS

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