Tim Eyes

2010

When it comes to turning this scholarship into a stellar success for himself and for his industry in Australia, no-one did it better than agriculture scholar Tim Eyes.

From a young age Tim roamed the farms of the NSW Central Coast learning about agriculture. Despite his parents not being farmers, this is where Tim saw his future.

With the goal of becoming a crop farmer, driving a tractor and under an endless sky, Tim went to study at TOCAL Agricultural College.

He finished Dux of the Year, and his teachers pushed him to apply for the BBM Global Industry Scholarship.

“It was not something I thought I could do.”

“Being a country boy leaving my postcode is big much less going to the UK. But, with plenty of encouragement from Tocal staff and my family I put my application in.”

In 2010, Tim was awarded his scholarship.

“I travelled to the UK and started farming. I always wanted to be a cropping farmer and never saw myself as a small acreage intensive farmer. But when I came back from the UK I realised how over there they make small farms work, and I live in a small farming area on the central coast.”

Tim decided against a career in large scale cropping, and instead used what he had learned on his scholarship journey to advance small-scale farming in his community.

“Giving everything a go is my deal.”

Tim adapted and applied what he had learned in the UK and Europe, starting with the management of a small farm with just 50 head of cattle.  He also set up a “time-share” for harvesting machinery to give small scale farmers access to the most efficient equipment without the prohibitive price tag.

Today, Tim manages six farms and his consultancy looks after another 35 clients, all benefiting from the seeds he planted during his BBM scholarship experience. Working with many different people on all aspects of their agricultural business continues to excite Tim.

To feed the world, to feed Australians is a privilege Tim feels lucky to be part of.

It is inspiring to see Tim turning his experience of both small and large-scale farming overseas into a thriving business for himself and into a success story for small-scale farms in Australia.