Richie's Visit

It is not every day that a small school in the Blue Mountains recieves a visit from a cotton farmer. For that matter, it is not every day that any school recieves a visit from a man who's job is maintaining and harvesting a fifth generation farm that provides some of the necessities that keep the Australian economy and every other industry afloat.
So when the news that we would have a guest floated in the ears of the Winmalee High School Archibull team, it did not fly out the ear on the other side of our now excited heads. The entire team crammed into an art room, and then realised that Henry, our cow, did not have a view of the presentation Richie Quigley was set to show. Carrying the painted and decorated, half completed cow into the room and giving him the best view in the house, we all settled down, mimicking the Hunger Games in our attempts for a good view.
With prepared questions in hand and more flying through our heads, Richie Quigley walked into the room, addressing the team with the Great Aussie Classic, "G'Day, how are you?"

Although defying the stereotype implied by black and white movies of a mid-forties man in denim overalls and a straw hat, Richie did possess alot of the know-how of his family's industry.
Explaining from the very beginning with the treatment the land requires before anything can begin, we were taken through how cotton grows, what prevents cotton from doing so, how these issues have been addressed and the costs involved in the innovations that are constantly improving the hard labour of farming.

The talk held some surprising facts that went against the general misconceptions that the public has about the industry. The use of pesticides has in the past ten years decreased by 90%. The progress that has been made in water usage and how to appropriately use the precious resource.

The costs of the machinery also placed a look of shock on our faces, with some of the cheapest tools branching into the thousands. It proves the faith farmers must have when investing into new machinery and tools and just how much use must be made out of them to cover the cost.

What started out as a slightly nervous group that didn't really know what to expect, questions were being shot towards Richie's direction with answers flying back just as quickly. Learning about the industry that we were asked to represent was a great experience that we applied not only our artwork, but the way we now perceive the importance of the agricultural industry and the level of dedication that is required to meet the task.
If this has sparked your interest and you want to find out more, please check out the Quigley Farm Facebook Page or Website.

http://www.facebook.com/QuigleyFarms

Richie with some of the Archibull team members