An innovative business is matching farmers wanting a break with people who want a break on farms.
Story Bruce McMahon Photo David Kelly
A helping hand for a farming family looking for a holiday break with the kids has morphed into Farm Sitters, a Queensland-based business taking temporary care of farms across the country, from cattle properties to oyster leases.
It is a rewarding side business for Phillip Kelly, who works with Rabo Bank, and wife Kim, a veterinarian. Both came off the land, both have dirt under their fingernails and both, now living on the outskirts of Dalby on the Darling Downs, have moved around from northern New South Wales to western Queensland. So there is inherent empathy for farming lifestyles and needs, plus job satisfaction in helping people on the land get away for a holiday, or for health or education reasons, or even a honeymoon, as was the case for an oyster farmer on a remote island off Cape York Peninsula.
This story excerpt is from Issue #120
Outback Magazine: August/September 2018
