Bush Summit: ‘The farm is where I belong’: Couple Owen Woolley and Caitlin Radford live a farming life motivated by love of land and animals

To Owen Woolley and Caitlin Radford, farming is more than a career. It is a lifestyle that preserves her family’s livelihood and their legacy. Why they love the farm life.

Farmers commonly tell the story of being raised on the family farm and how agriculture essentially chose them.

That, however, is only part of the story for farming couple Owen Woolley and Caitlin Radford.

As a fifth-generation farmer, Mrs Radford was born to take over the family farm at Moriarty on Tasmania’s rugged North-West Coast.

Fifth-generation farmers Caitlin Radford and Owen Woolley with Ruby the working dog at their farm at Moriarty. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

But her husband, Mr Woolley, is proof that one does not have to grow up on a farm – or even in the country – to discover their purpose in agriculture.

A carpenter by trade, Mr Woolley made the move from Southern Tasmania to be with Mrs Radford shortly after meeting in 2019 because “it’s easier to move a business than it is to move a farm”.

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“I’ve always been hands-on; building is what I know because where I grew up, the opportunities to farm down there were minimal, and you played your strengths,” Mr Woolley said.

“So when I met Caitlin, the stars aligned, and I think our shared interests and skills complement each other.”

Fifth-generation farmers Owen Woolley and Caitlin Radford with Ruby the working dog at their farm at Moriarty. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

Since then, the pair have established a thriving mixed vegetable and livestock farm at Mrs Radford’s grandparent’s old estate.

“I completed an apprenticeship with my Mum and Dad and then got a start with my grandparents, Reuben and Gladys Radford, to go share farming,” Mrs Radford said.

“Then, when Pop decided to retire at the age of 86, we bought his property, and that’s around when Owen and I started dating.

“So that’s how we got our start farming, which was really fortunate for us. It can be tricky for many people to get a start in farming, even generationally.”

Mrs Radford said that too often, families don’t discuss the logistics of transferring a farm business from one generation to the next.

“There’s no succession planning that enables the next generation to come in,” Mrs Radford said.

“Because of that, people go off and do other careers, and then they don’t necessarily come back to the farm.”

Fifth-generation farmers Caitlin Radford and Owen Woolley with Ruby the working dog at their farm at Moriarty. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

To Mr Woolley and Mrs Radford, farming is more than a career. It is a lifestyle that preserves her family’s livelihood and their legacy.

In telling the story of her 25 years in agriculture, Mrs Radford said, “The farm is where I belong”.

For me, my favourite thing about life on the farm is the diversity in the work – you’re never bored,“ she said.

“And it’s also the satisfaction that you get out of the job. Everything comes down to you.

“I think it’s pretty special being farmers and getting to help feed populations.”