Growing up on a rice farm and coming from a long line of farmers, Peter Herrmann wasn't necessarily encouraged to look to agriculture for his own future. It was the 1980s, and agriculture was going through a difficult time, with commodity prices low, interest rates high, and increasing costs. "I was encouraged to study hard and earned an honours degree in law from ANU [Australian National University]. I worked for Arthur Andersen management consultants overseas and in cities here," Peter said. But after a number of years, Peter found himself looking back to his roots and, in his late 20s, was drawn back to farming. "I soon figured there was more to learn back home. I then worked for wages on my parent's farm until finding ways to afford a farm nearby," he said. These days, together with his wife Katherine, Peter runs a farm in Murrami with rice and sheep. More recently, in an effort to diversify the farm business, they also expanded into walnuts. As the father of six growing sons, aged from 14 to 22, Peter has taken a similar approach in guiding them towards their futures, encouraging them to all venture out and develop their skills and find their own passions. His three oldest sons have finished school and all gone into fitter machinist apprenticeships, and each has their own plans for further study or work experience. But ultimately, they all want to end up back on a farm. "When the kids do find their way into farming, they'll be doing it with trades or work qualifications outside of turning dirt over. So they'll have their own qualifications, and they'll have some life experience off the farm," Peter said. Peter's love of life on the land and passion for agriculture and innovation has clearly rubbed off on each of the boys, who all return to the farm whenever they have a spare weekend to help pitch in. IN OTHER NEWS: "We spend most of our weekends on the farm with Dad. He's always got a list of stuff to do, and we volunteer our time to do that. So, we've got our freedom, and we choose to be there," oldest brother Oswald, 22, said. "It's been a blessing to have the farm more than anything else," Stanley, 20 said. "We've got ongoing projects. So every weekend, there's something new to do." "I like being hands-on, and all the jobs on the farm, you can see your progress. All the effort you put in, it definitely shows. And it shows when everything operates and runs smoothly as well," Fredrick, 18, said. Peter, who is president of the Ricegrowers Association of Australia, believes parents have a huge role to play in inspiring the next generation into agriculture. "We need to be really mindful about how we are projecting our industry, and albeit there's a lot of frustration in what we do, there's a lot of joy and a lot of freedom. So maybe everyone would benefit from dwelling more on those favourable, positive attributes than on the challenges and see them as opportunities," he said. "[As a parent], it pays to remain positive about agriculture's future because it has a very positive future. And there's opportunity around every corner." You can find the Herrmanns story and more farming and agricultural yarns in the 2023 edition of MIA Farming publishing Friday, June 9. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: