Farmshed Museum and Tourism Centre at Kadina: In the Yorke Peninsula region of South Australia

If you drive through Yorke Peninsula in late winter and early spring you see that the country looks a treat. There are plenty of sheep and come summer the Peninsula will be awash with fields of gold as the traditional crops of wheat and barley await the harvester. They are still fundamental crops in South Australia but in the last twenty years, the Peninsula and the rest of South Australia, have undergone a revolution with farmers trying their hand at newer crops like canola, lupin, lentils, and peas.

Visit the Farmshed Museum and Tourism Centre at Kadina and the crops you see in the paddocks are explained in a very hands-on way.

"The golden crop that you see in the field at the moment actually produces a very fine black seed from which we get out canola oil," explained Graham Hancock. "It's about the size of a poppy seed."

From the canola seeds we also produce margarine and from the durum wheat on display in another bin, the manufacturers make miles and miles of spaghetti and other pasta. But the seed display only touches on the end products of dryland farming so Graham takes us out the back to a machinery display that takes us right to the beginning.

"Most of the machinery (on display) has been made locally from foundries in the towns of Kadina, Moonta or Ardrossan or somewhere else on Yorke Peninsula." said Graham.

The Farmshed Museum is a treasure trove of all things agricultural. From the Whittaker Brothers Treble Furrow Stump Jump Plough - which literally jumped over the problem of the troublesome mallee roots to very early harvesters.

As with all country contraptions necessity was the mother of invention and the peninsula certainly spawned some great inventors.

"This is the Grundie Stone Picker," said Graham as he showed us a giant machine with rows of steel rakes underneath and a big hollow wheel on the side. "It was developed here on the Yorke Peninsula about 1920."

"It simply gathered stones through the front, channeled them through the rakes into the very large wheel. The wheel revolves and brings the stones up to the top and drops them into a dray on the other side."

An old black and white photo shows Mr. Grundie had his work cut out for him when he used his stone picker at Currumulka in 1945. But with each successive generation Australian farmers adapt and improve their technology.

"Dryland farming refers to the fact that we're reliant upon only the water available naturally. In other words, we're dependent on rain not only the amount but also the time that we receive it." Said Graham.

Dryland farming these days means minimal ploughing or soil disturbance to avoid erosion. South Australia's been good to its dryland farmers and now more than ever, many realise the relationship between the land and the man on the land is a two-way thing.

It's just one of the lessons to be learnt at the Farmshed Museum and Tourism Centre on Moonta Road at Kadina.

The Farmshed Museum and Tourism Centre
50 Moonta Road
Kadina
Open Daily