Students from Narrabri schools were given the opportunity to learn about Federation Farm and its various operations during a recent on-site education day.
Narrabri Community Education Trust officials were joined by Narrabri Shire Council and the NSW Department of Primary Industries to explain the farm’s purpose.
Students from Narrabri’s three primary schools and the high school were shown machinery, cotton and wheat, as well as explanations about water and soil.
The 303 hectare farm on Wee Waa Road is operated by the trust on behalf of council.
Council distributes the profits from the farm to local schools on a per capita basis.
The trust’s vice chair Rob Eveleigh said the education day provided students with the opportunity to see agriculture up close, as well as the farm’s recycling components.
“The farm is a good example of recycling water and putting it to good use,” he said.
The farm uses treated effluent water which would previously be disposed of in the Murray/Darling waterway system.
This effluent water caused problems for the waterway, however, the treated water was able to be repurposed for use on Federation Farm.
Treated waste water and bio solids from the sewerage plant is transported and used to irrigate and fertilise growing crops.
“The water and the nutrients used to go to the river, now it comes to Federation Farm,” Mr Eveleigh said.
This past season especially has helped bolster additional funds for the schools, and Mr Eveleigh was optimistic schools will continue to reap the benefits of future promising seasons.
“This was our best cotton year and our best prices,” he said.
“This is a great community project that the local schools benefit from.”
The farm itself is managed by Gary Coulton, and the trust oversees its entire operations.
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