A Victorian mixed farmer travelled Australia and the world to gather ideas to fortify his business against seasonal variation

When Victorian mixed farmer Dustin (Dusty) Pascoe talks about his Nuffield Scholarship, he is most inspired by the people he met during his travels.

The 43-year-old – who farms 1900 hectares near Raywood with his wife Karen, parents Eric and Fran, and employee Harlee Tuohey – applied for a Nuffield Scholarship to create a global knowledge network.

“After school, I worked as a jackaroo, which meant I did not have a network of like-minded friends willing to share their expertise,” Dusty says. “I always felt I missed out because friends who went to agricultural college could always phone a mate when seeking new knowledge.”

After applying for a 2020 Nuffield Scholarship*, he was thrilled to learn GRDC would support his travel, especially since he had never ventured outside Australia. Nuffield scholars:

• earn a travel bursary worth more than $40,000;
• travel overseas for 15 weeks of face-to-face learning and development;
• research a topic of interest;
• enter a network of 2000 global alumni; and
• gain access to businesses and individuals who might otherwise be unreachable.

The learning opportunity meant a lot to the dryland farmer because he had never been away from the farm and his family for more than a week since taking over the business in 2007.

Planning to study

Before travelling, Dusty spent many hours planning how the farm would operate without him. “In the first week, I discovered that stepping back from the farm was a significant part of the program,” he says.

If the business focuses solely on me, it won’t grow beyond my capabilities. Involving others enables the farm to flourish by embracing different perspectives and skill sets.

Dusty’s study concentrated on the benefits of grazing and grain crops to fill the winter feed gap in a changing climate.

At that time, his sheep grazed half of the family’s wheat and barley crops to fill the winter feed gap and reduce frost exposure. However, he was open to fresh ideas by hearing from growers in Australia and overseas.

Delayed travel

As Dusty prepared for his trip, the COVID-19 pandemic postponed overseas travel. When travel resumed, he journeyed across Australia, England, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, Singapore, the US, Canada and France.

At first, leaving the farm and his family was a culture shock. “But it was awesome because it pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Dusty says.

Although grazing and grain crops were his primary interests when meeting new people, he asked plenty of other questions.

“I was captivated by the experiences people had with succession planning, how they built capital, and how they managed complex family dynamics,” Dusty says. “I enjoyed asking questions and learning from those I encountered.”

Lessons learned

After returning to the farm, he feels more confident growing grazing and grain crops to maximise profit and lower risk.

“Grazing sheep on early sown crops enables us to efficiently produce high-quality feed during winter when lucerne-clover pasture production runs low.”

As Dusty’s ewes lamb in winter, their energy needs are significant. “Grazing crops immediately after anchoring provides ample feed without compromising grain production in above-average seasons and when managed well,” he says. “Removing the sheep before growth stage 30 is critical.”

He sows early and dry if necessary and says grazing reduces the frost risk, as it delays and staggers the flowering window. “Grazing also enables us to gain some benefit from the crops through our sheep if droughts or floods affect grain yields and quality.”

Improvements implemented

Since his travel, Dusty has expanded his grain and grazing crops beyond half of his wheat and barley to include 10 per cent of his canola.

“Before Nuffield, I didn’t think our season was long enough to justify grazing sheep on canola, but now it’s a regular practice.” In 2024, two 16ha paddocks of Hyola^® 970CL canola provided 30 days of grazing each.

A Charles Sturt University student visiting the farm calculated that grazing twin-lambing ewes on Dusty’s two Hyola^® 970CL canola paddocks returned $733/ha.

“After a dry and frosty season, the Hyola^® 970CL canola yielded 0.4t/ha of grain. At $780/t with the grazing benefit, it returned $1045/ha,” he says. “While it’s not a world beater, I’m not going backward, and the value for my sheep was huge.”

To help manage grass weeds, he plans to grow an extra 40ha of Hyola^® 970CL this year. “It assists risk management and will continue to have a place on the farm,” he says. “We’ll plant 310ha of grain-only canola.”

Rather than sowing winter wheat, Dusty says his trials show grazing sheep on Scepter wheat is more straightforward and just as productive, provided the seed is sown two to three weeks earlier than the recommended window.

New crops

He is now more willing to try growing new crops. After a thunderstorm delivered  60 millimetres of rain in November, he planted 70ha of sorghum into pasture as a summer forage crop trial while waiting for his unharvested grain crops to dry. He has also dabbled in multi-species cover crops after seeing growers in Australia and overseas use them to improve soil health and feed supplies.

Another change was erecting a small on-farm feedlot, allowing him to opportunistically add value to weather-damaged grain and hay or when commodity prices are low.

He also plans to trial lentils to add another pulse to his diverse farming system.

Hay production

One drought management tool Dusty employs is hay production. He uses a contractor to cut about 130ha of oaten hay annually, pressing it into large square bales for export. The remaining 70ha is made into round bales for on-farm use. Typically, he grows Brusher oats for hay production, but in 2024 he also cut RGT Planet barley and has previously cut Scepter wheat.

“In 2024, oaten hay was our most profitable enterprise, as the crops we harvested produced an average of 7.9t/ha of hay,” he says.

He stores hay for on-farm use in round bales because they shed water. “The benefit of round bales is that we can keep them outside across various locations, making feeding easier while minimising the fire risk.”

Brains trust

Dusty encourages growers who enjoy learning to apply for a Nuffield Scholarship.

“It was a brilliant experience,” he says.

“I often chat with scholars I met in England, Ireland, Victoria and Western Australia to ask questions. It’s a fantastic network.”

More information: Dusty Pascoe, dcpascoe1@gmail.com

Read also: Agile ‘moisture farmer’ turns flood pain into flood gain.

Resources: Watch Dusty’s Nuffield Australia National Conference presentation:

*GRDC is a long-term supporter of Nuffield Australia and encourages those who want to enhance their knowledge globally to apply for a 2026 Nuffield Scholarship before 16 May 2025. Visit the Nuffield Australia website.