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16/10/2024
Thomas and Tim Hill
As two of five brothers, Tim and Thomas Hill’s aspiration to return to the family farm in Victoria’s Colbinabbin region was unlikely to be straightforward.
Yet their vision, work ethic, and relationship-focus has spearheaded significant farm business growth – enough to sustain the Hill family’s farming footprint for yet another generation, and perhaps many more to come.
Growing a business for the next generation
With parents, David and Cathy encouraging their five sons to value education and seek careers beyond the family’s grain operation “Colbo Hills”, Tim initially pursued a career in agronomy and Thomas studied Agricultural Science at the University of Melbourne.
“Succession was always going to be a challenge, our region is traditionally comprised of small holdings, and we simply didn’t have enough area for a viable business between us all,” Tim explained.
Undeterred, the brothers established a contracting business, servicing their parents and building valuable relationships across the region – and the flow-on was swift.
“Our contracting business opened all sorts of opportunities, from leasing to land purchases, and each part of our business grew,” Tim said.
Today, the brothers, together with their wives Shannon and Meg, are in partnership with David and Cathy, and manage 5,000 hectares, with their brother Dan soon to join the business.
“With additional scale we can now leverage improved machinery and labour efficiency, keep our costs down, and employ staff to ease the workload pressure,” Thomas said.
Knowledge-sharing at the farm gate
The Hill family’s growth was forged through proactive upskilling – with both brothers keenly embracing learning opportunities.
“Knowledge helps us remain agile in our business, if something’s not working we have the tools to identify the problem, shift our thinking and hopefully find a better solution for additional business strength.”
Thomas Hill with his parents Cathy and David, and his wife Meg at the Colbo Hills RaboTruck knowledge event
For example, the brothers took advantage of the Financial Skills Workshops, offered by the Rabo Client Council, which helped them understand cash flow and budgets when embarking on their contracting business.
Tim completed Rabobank’s Farm Management Program in 2014/15, gaining a deeper level of farm management skills, and next year Thomas will participate in Rabobank’s Executive Development Program, providing a further chance to hone his farm business nous.
Recently the family hosted the RaboTruck on-farm for a knowledge sharing event, which was attended by over 70 local producers and included a crop walk, insights and highlights from the Rabo Canadian Grains Tour, and a first-hand market update from Stefan Vogel, RaboResearch.
The RaboTruck on-farm
“It’s always invaluable getting out and about networking and learning from other farmers, and industry experts such as Stefan, and it’s something we don’t do enough of,” Thomas reflects.
“Sharing knowledge and experiences is so important, and networking can’t be undervalued as a business tool – it’s hard to get farmers off-farm for these sorts of things, but you never regret it when you do,” Tim said.
“To have this opportunity in our backyard was terrific – so many of us can’t generally find the time to travel to larger centres for events like this, locally it’s a lot more appealing and I applaud Rabobank for bringing the RaboTruck into the regions.”
Rabobank by their side
For over a decade, Rabobank’s Leon Fennell, based in the Bendigo branch, has been supporting the Hill family’s growth journey, and Thomas believed this long-term relationship eased processes enormously.
“Leon knows our business inside-out,” Thomas said. “He was proactive encouraging us to have a succession plan – it’s an evolving issue he’s been part of – and with Dan coming home soon things are now a lot clearer, and we’re grateful Leon helped push us on this.”
The brothers with their Rabobank manager, Leon Fennell
“If we need Leon, he’s always only a phone call away, and his knowledge of our business is such that we don’t have to background him when we want to make a move, which is welcomed relief,” Tim said.
The Hill brothers also value the ease of Rabobank’s All In One (AIO) product.
“When we review our AIO we can see where we’re sitting with our liquidity, debt and cash flow at once,” Tim explained.
“The AIO offers flexibility to support us long term, so we’re able to better manage our seasons.”
Still in their 30s, and now with young families of their own, Tim and Thomas are proud of the business they’ve built – and they have no intention of slowing down yet.
“We didn’t expect to be where we’re at so soon, you just never know what opportunities are out there until you start building strong relationships, and making them work, and we’re excited to see what our farming future holds,” Tim said.