Beefwood Farms

Beefwood Farms is an aggregation of six neighbouring properties between Goondiwindi and Moree on the western side of the Newell Highway.

This large-scale dryland cropping operation aims to stay at the forefront of agricultural technology while efficiently and sustainably growing premium grains for the national and international markets.

Beefwood was purchased in 2006 by Gerrit and Pam Kurstjens, fifth-generation farmers from the Netherlands. Gerrit had founded a construction company for manure transport and manure spreading machines in 1985. He then sold the company in 1996 in hopes of retiring and travelling. However, after seeing the abundant opportunities that Australian agriculture offered while on holiday, Gerrit and Pam permanently relocated Down Under and decided to buy an agricultural operation.

Although Beefwood was originally used for livestock, the Kurstjens family could see the land's potential for dryland cropping. Undeterred by the local belief that cropping wasn't possible to the west of the highway, they began transitioning the land from livestock grazing into a highly successful continuous cropping operation.

Today, Gerrit oversees the farm's day-to-day operations with the help of his daughter Marieke and farm manager Glenn Coughran. Marieke has been involved in the enterprise for a decade and expects to take over from her parents eventually.