Grower profile: Thang Hoang Le aka Aussie Kev

Not stopping at trials, Kev teamed up with a mate to develop an App specifically for growers. The App, FarMate, gives growers real time and targeted info to their smart-phone. The App was designed after the two friends wondered why they could get a game Apps that notified them of updates, but not about weather warnings or other information that are vital for farming.

The free to download App works by a grower entering in the sectors, locations and weather zones relevant to them. The App will only send notifications to a specific area, for example if there’s a severe storm approaching growers will be notified. The benefit is the grower will not get any information not related to them. The App also provides real time market information for those growers who pay a $30 per month subscription fee.

Kev, said the soft launch of the App had seen 200 growers in his area using it. He also said the market information was useful because it let the grower see what prices were and where so they could direct produce to where it get a higher return. Kev will shortly be launching the App, which works on Android and iOS smartphones, across Australia. As part of the launch Kev will be meeting people face to face to explain how the App works and its benefits.

It has been this adoption of information technology and communications that led Kev to look at how he can break down the isolation often experienced in farming. This he said was particularly important to bring in the next generation.

Kev said one of the great challenges of farming is finding the connections with other farmers. He said his experience had shown older generations of farmers were reluctant to talk to their younger counterparts particularly when wanting to do things differently or adopt new innovation.

This reluctance, he said was overcome by forming the Virginia Young Farmer group to make the social connections. He said the group had no set structure or office, but used the WhatsApp smartphone App to talk, joke and try and solve problems or to give a heads up if a weather event was expected.

“Overcoming the distances, the long hours and the amount of time working on their own, could make farming difficult,”

“Pulling the Young Farmers Group together makes farming easier and more excited,” Kev said.

The Virginia Young Farmers are a multicultural group, with farmers of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Italian and Greek background finding common ground on the farm. The group are also not afraid to have tough talks if one member is having a hard time, the rest support and encourage them to keep going. This can often be as simple as going on a fishing trip to get away from the farm to get the time needed to take a fresh look at the problem,

In fact, Kev attributes his success in winning the Ausveg award couldn’t of happened without the advice and support of the group.

Monsanto is proud to work with growers like Kev. The company is committed to sustainability, part of which is ensuring farms are profitably as well as sustainable. This profitability is helped by the selection of crops that require minimal inputs and produce food that the consumer wants.