Proud bush dad Karl Zerner and wife Emily Buddle love raising their little Charlie in the country
Fifth-generation SA farmer Karl Zerner shares what he loves most about raising his little boy where he grew up – and the things about farming that city folk mightn’t understand.
Lifestyle
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Proud bush dad Karl Zerner feels grateful he and wife Emily Buddle have the chance to raise their adorable toddler son Charlie in rural South Australia.
The 39-year-old fifth-generation farmer from east of Eudunda in the state’s Mid North says there is much to love about life on the land.
And, like all good farming lads, Mr Zerner recalls years by the seasons that came with them.
“My memory of weather events is crazy, I can pretty much recall what every season has been like … I can tell you what has happened most years, it was a dry one, really wet year or whatever,” he laughs.
He and Emily, 31, manage the family’s three grains and livestock properties spanning about 5500 hectares at three locations – Eudunda, where they live, near Marrabel and at Mount Mary.
“It’s pretty special to be able to grow something that has been passed down from the previous generations … and to learn from the tried and proven wisdom and know-how they can share,” the certified wool classer with trade qualifications in agriculture says.
“I love the freedom that comes with being outdoors … and just talking to other farmers.
“I am grateful Charlie gets to grow up here; he is very, very lucky to be on the farm surrounded by open spaces.
“What he is exposed to is phenomenal, he is exposed to life and death (of livestock on the farm).
“He can climb up into a tractor by himself, he can get into a UTV (Utility Terrain Vehicle).”
Ms Buddle, a former city girl, agrees.
“I love being able to provide my children with the opportunity to run on wide open spaces and learn about the seasons and circle of life,” she says.
Community is critical outside the city limits.
“There is also a sense of togetherness … we are always looking out for each other, if we see something out of the ordinary, we talk to each other,” Mr Zerner says.
But it is not all sunshine and rainbows with farming in 2024 big business and the economic bottom line increasingly impacted by global happenings as well as Mother Nature.
“You have your moments when you really have to touch base with other farmers, when you are facing certain weather events or particular things are happening in the world, and, you know, be open and honest because they are probably feeling the same way too,” he says.
“Many people have the misconception all farmers are making a lot of money which, unfortunately, isn’t true.
“Operating costs have increased significantly … you really can’t afford too many failures in farming any more and a lot can happen in agriculture in a week.”
“Agriculture looks very different to what community visions of agriculture are … for some commodities, our domestic markets matter just as much, if not more than, our international markets,” Ms Buddle adds.
And the growing divide between access to services – particularly medical but increasingly also local banks, supermarkets and post offices – in the city and country is real.
“I won’t sugar-coat the challenges of being away from the services in the city, particularly as someone living with chronic health conditions,” Ms Buddle says.
“But country people just have a way of figuring it out by matter of necessity. We just have to.”
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