Happy second birthday to us! Broadacre Contracting was established in May 2023.
We want to take this opportunity to tell our story and timeline.
It’s been a complex journey, and there’s some confusion around who and what we actually are, so we are excited to lay it all out on the table. Hopefully, people may read this and gain the encouragement to chase their visions. At the end of the day, we live on borrowed time! If we can give any advice to the younger generation, it would be to listen, learn from experienced people, and chase your visions – you will be the continued success of our awesome industry.
In 2022, Dillon was learning his real passion and enjoyment for the cropping sector and agriculture as a whole, and that passion is what pushed him into creating Broadacre Contracting.
Whilst facing a lack of a strong financial position, it made Dillon wonder how he could overcome that small obstacle to establish a business, and this is where our timeline and story can explain everything.
Our timeline is as follows:

1st of May 2023 – 10th of June 2023. We created an ABN as a sole trader and landed a job on ABN operating a seeder and K-line speed tiller in the Moree NSW region. However, the weather didn’t provide the moisture needed at the time, and the planting programme was pulled up short. Dillon was advised to seek alternative options as the work would be pulling up. After a few phone calls, we managed to land a 12-week job operating on ABN mulching cotton in the Emerald QLD region with a well-established cotton grower. Not long after committing ourselves to the mulching job, the weather models indicated a high possibility of 70mm in the Moree area. We had the conversation with the grower that we had given our word elsewhere and wouldn’t be able to stay as per original plans. The grower respected that and understood. In the end, Moree got 5mm from the 70mm forecast. Disappointing it would have been!

13th of June 2023 – 5th of September 2023. We mulched cotton, a lot of cotton, for a lot of days and hours. It’s not needed to be more detailed than the fact that we worked hard, hard to the point you couldn’t remain consistent over years doing what was done and what we needed to do! In this period, we had many lengthy discussions with our insurance broker and other parties who expressed concerns around ABN operating and essentially opened our eyes to what we were oblivious to, and that was based around risk from an insurance point of view.
In August 2023, we were in a position to apply for finance. We proceeded with the application to secure a loan for a 25-ton Grainking chaser bin. Following a thorough process, our application was approved, subject to certain conditions, including the use of our Toyota Hilux as collateral and a high interest rate, given that this was our first loan with a new startup business. We accepted these terms and acquired the chaser bin, completing minor repairs such as fitting a center bearing in the bed auger.

Between September 5, 2023, and December 23, 2023, we successfully secured a client for our chaser bin, operating on a dry hire basis with a day rate charge. The bin was utilized in various locations, including West Wyalong, Horsham, and Ballarat, with no breakdowns and positive client feedback. During this period, we also worked on wages with a family in Merredin, Western Australia, opting not to continue operating under an ABN due to the associated challenges. We strongly advise others to carefully consider the implications of operating under an ABN. Following the harvest season, we addressed personal relationship issues that arose from work-related stress. We took a month to repair our relationship, reflecting on our 10-year journey together. This experience reminded us of our appreciation for each other, and we are now expecting our first child in August. We returned to Mansfield, Victoria, and pursued employment opportunities, recognizing that our chaser bin’s revenue was insufficient to sustain the business. We then acquired a second chaser bin at an unbeatable price, rebuilding it and dedicating it to Dillon’s late father, Ron. We named the bin “Ronnie’s Dream.” Between February 3, 2024, and June 27, 2024, Dillon secured employment with a farming family in Corowa, NSW, and is still employed with the same family. The family has been supportive of our endeavors. At the beginning of February, Dillon contacted Angus to discuss developing a website for growers & contractors which Angus enthusiastically supported. Since then, Angus has become a trusted partner, contributing to decision-making, website development, marketing, and other aspects of the business. The collaboration between Dillon and Angus demonstrates the importance of building a strong team and valuing partnerships. We launched our website on June 27, 2024, integrating our core values and expectations, and notified growers and contractors. The response was overwhelmingly positive, allowing us to build a community and establish trust with our clients. We are grateful for the progress we have made and look forward to future developments. Over the coming months, we will be launching new systems designed to benefit our growers and contractors. We would like to emphasize that broadacre contracting is not a broker system, and we do not intend for it to be. We are a community-focused platform aimed at improving the agricultural industry. Our experience has taught us valuable lessons, and we invite others to learn from our mistakes.
We would also like to mention we are not contractors & intend to remove our chaserbins when possible due to them becoming a conflict of interest.

For more information about broadacre contracting or to discuss any related topics, please contact Dillon at 0439 300 380 or visit our website by searching for broadacre contracting in Google.