Garry Kadwell's family have been farming in Crookwell, New South Wales, since his great-grandfather arrived in the area and established an orchard in 1901. For three generations the Kadwells managed the orchard with a horticultural market garden between fruiting seasons.
When Garry took over from his father, he made the decision to switch to seedstock potato farming due to the fruit market becoming dominated by large operations and less viable for small growers.
The Kadwell family has long been devoted to protecting remnant bush and tree planting efforts, but over the years that Garry has taken over from his father, he has kicked this conservation up a notch.
Today, around 35% of Garry's property is in conservation. This includes remnant vegetation that Garry has fenced, as well as plantings that connect these stands of remnant vegetation to form vegetation corridors.
Garry has seen significant profitability and productivity benefits to his farming operation and believes that this sort of environmentally focused stewardship can enhance rather than hinder an agricultural business.
