SINCE he returned to the family farm at Scaddan, Brad Egan has spent countless hours gathering and crunching data.
For some it may sound like a tedious task, but it led Mr Egan to be able to convert gut feel into data-driven decisions which has ultimately maximised efficiency, productivity and profitability onfarm.
His enthusiasm for precision agriculture has allowed the farm to get ahead of the curve and his knowledge on the topic was recognised last week when he was announced as the winner of the 2022 Young Farmer of the Year Award at the Kondinin Group and ABC Rural Australian Farmer of the Year Awards.
So impressive was Mr Egan's skillset that he was presented with not one, but two accolades, having also won the Award for Excellence in Innovation.
"I wasn't expecting that much recognition and it definitely came as a shock," Mr Egan said.
"I got to meet a few of the other finalists in my category and they're also great at what they do, so it's incredible to be recognised at the top of such an amazing cohort of young people."
Mr Egan studied agribusiness at Curtin University and when he returned to his family's 3400 hectare farm - which he runs alongside his parents Gavin and Elaine - he wanted to use precision agriculture to make the most of all the data and technology which was available.
OTHER GREAT READS:
From an early stage in his farming career, he could see there was a huge opportunity for what they could do with data.
It was a case of piecing together which bits of the data they needed and in what ways they could utilise it to make better decisions in the future, not only to be more efficient with input applications but also to maximise production and profitability.
"Since I started farming I have been passionate about making more data driven decisions onfarm, rather than relying on gut feel and I'm very grateful for my parents letting me have a crack and pursue that passion," Mr Egan said.
"I am so lucky and I know there are so many young farmers that don't receive the same level of support that I've had."
"That's part of the reason why I'm always looking to help out others wherever I can, to try and give them a foot up and a head start like I had."
Mr Egan is the current Vice President of the SEPWA Youth in Ag group, which organises events to help develop and connect young agricultural professionals in the Esperance region.
He recognised it could be a daunting field to get into as it's not an easy task to wrap your head around precision and digital agriculture.
In his journey, he had to push through some barriers which hadn't been crossed before, and now that he's done it, he wants to pass on that experience to others to help them on their journey.
"I've met so many amazing people in this industry over the years and to have their support is so humbling," Mr Egan said.
"The Esperance area is really innovative and I'm surrounded by some truly incredible mentors, which is something I know other young farmers potentially don't have access to.
"Whatever I can do to help them out, I'm willing to do and I want to share my knowledge with as many people as possible."
It's knowledge which hasn't just helped other farmers, but also the local community in Esperance with the Egan family supplying barley to Lucky Bay Brewing.
While the decision was based on wanting to support local businesses, there was also an added benefit of lowering their risk profile which Mr Egan recognised.
"With how volatile the situation is in terms of the bulk commodity markets around the world, we don't want to rely purely on the export market and supplying local gives us a way to do that," he said.
Mr Egan was nominated for the awards by Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Western Panel member Rohan Ford, who had been urged by other farmers to put his name forward off the back of a presentation he gave at the GRDC Updates in Esperance last year.
