Ag Energy Australia: Our story

Jim and Jo Schembri of Ag Energy Australia.

As a farming family, we wanted our kids to carve their own path in agriculture.

So, we decided to give them a leg up by handing over a starter herd of beef cattle.

It’s been a delight seeing them take charge and grow their business, running operations from our properties near Kilkivan, Queensland and Warialda, New South Wales.

While they have the advantage of using our properties to keep costs down, they face the same challenges of any farmer – rising expenses for fuel, feed, chemicals, fencing, vehicles and insurance, not to mention the unpredictable nature of livestock markets and the weather.

We’ve taken the leap into a renewable project teaming up with energy experts who are extremely knowledgeable about the renewable energy sector.

After careful consideration, a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) was determined as the best option for our place.

The location we’ve chosen won’t interfere much with our cattle and farming operations, so it’s a win-win for us and the renewables team.

It just makes good business sense to sustaining and growing the kids’ business.

The renewables team have been incredibly helpful, and their engagement with our kids in the process was really appreciated.

Our experience working with them was really positive, so when they asked if we’d recommend them to other farmers we didn’t hesitate.

Our first challenge was coming up with a name to promote renewable opportunities for farmers.

After some brainstorming, we settled on ‘Ag Energy Australia – Farmers for Farmers’ and we’re excited to share our journey with others in the farming community.

Recent and planned upgrades to energy infrastructure along with favourable wind, sun and other attributes across the Blackall, Barcaldine, Longreach and Hughenden regions present an opportunity for farmers and landholders to consider diversification of their income streams.

We highly recommend that you consider reaching out to Ag Energy Australia, through Jo and I, for a no cost / no obligation desktop review of renewable options for your property.

We’d love to hear from you.