Jamie Chaffey (Parkes, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

Last week I visited the Eather family farms near Narrabri. The Eathers were awarded the 2025 Weekly Times Coles Farmer of the Year award. I have met many pioneering families throughout the electorate of Parkes, where families have a reputation for being not only resourceful and resilient but innovative in their actions. This generational farming family are a great example. Since 1936, when Sydney and Isabelle Eather bought this land on the banks of the Namoi River and named it Bellevue, the family have weathered storms and droughts and evolved with the changing times. Bellevue began, as many farming operations did in those days, as a sheep grazing property. In the 1960s, the family began irrigation and diversified into fodder crops.

Fast-forward another 30 years and the Bellevue Pastoral Company portfolio has expanded and expanded, with a focus on broad-scale irrigation, particularly cotton and durum wheat. But, in response to the many challenges farming brings with it, the Eathers also use dryland farming practices to grow wheat, canola, sorghum and other cereals and pulses. The third and fourth generations of Eathers are now at the helm, with Darren and Leanne Eather and their son, Tom, leading a dedicated and hardworking team. It is an honour to be the farmer of the year in this great country of farmers, but one the Eathers richly deserve. The awards recognise excellence, innovation and resilience—qualities that have grown alongside these generations of the Bellevue Pastoral Company. (Time expired)

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