Pioneering pig producer, ag advocate Geoff Baker awarded OAM honours

Mr Baker has been awarded a medal (AM) of the Order of Australia in the general division.

Transcript

00:00Ruth, you must be very proud of your husband for being awarded an Order of Australia medal on Australia Day.

00:06Very proud.

00:07What's that been like for you, following him from the very start to now?

00:11I was a town girl and I wanted to go on my farm and that's what I did.

00:17That's where we stayed.

00:18That's beautiful.

00:19And so I worked with him all this time.

00:23We didn't have any phones.

00:24We didn't.

00:26No mobile phones either and everything was to ring early of the morning to catch him

00:31before he went to meetings and that when he was in Sydney or anywhere in Australia really.

00:37It was a matter of just working together.

00:40It's an incredible achievement.

00:41Yes, it was a big achievement but I'm very happy for what it's getting.

00:47So Geoff, what would be some of your top tips for young people trying to get a start in agriculture?

00:53Well, I think the days with small farmers are really limited and technology is certainly

01:00for the big ones.

01:02I would say get a degree, get as many degrees and learn as much as you can and then go out

01:09into the big world with the company and work today.

01:13I think you'll get a lot more achievement, a lot more satisfaction and will pave the

01:20way for the future.

01:23For more information visit www.fema.gov