Kellogg’s Wheat Farmers

An Ode to Stewart 

Farming is in Stewart Crawford’s blood. He comes from the NSW town of Narromine, where his family have been farming for over one hundred years. “Yeah we’ve been here a little while,” he jokes.

Back in the seventies, Stewart’s father passed the torch on to his son, making Stewart the fourth-generation farmer. In the future, Stewart plans to continue his family’s legacy and pass the land and his skills on to his own two sons and daughter. He looks out across his fields and smiles, “Farming’s about passion and seeing your kids take up that passion is very rewarding,” he says.

Although Stewart also grows barley, cotton, and chickpeas, he has a soft spot for his wheat. “It’s really an enjoyable crop to grow. It gives its all in dry or wet,” he says. It’s also a crop he’s been supplying to us here at Kellogg’s for many, many years.

Stewart has seen farming change a lot over time. Back when he was a boy, harvesters were only doing 15 tonnes an hour - now they can do forty. “The growth in agriculture technology is amazing. I think, god where are we going to be in another 50 years?” he says. But despite this technology, last year Stewart had to endure one of the driest winters of his career. “You’ve got to be able to take the highs with the lows because there’s not always beers and skittles. There’s droughts and there’s floods,” he says. But Stewart makes the most of what he’s got and proudly exclaims that Australian farmers are the best in the world because they’re farming in the driest continent on Earth.

To say thanks for his hard work, and celebrate 90 years of sourcing grains from Australian farmers, Kellogg’s commissioned a song for Stewart. It was written and performed by Sydney-based artist Mirrah. We chose Mirrah because of her uplifting lyrics, and her ability to tell stories through songs.

When we played Stewart the song, he was touched to hear that Mirrah managed to capture farming so well. She encapsulated what it’s all about - building a legacy with your family, the importance of a healthy harvest, and love for your work. “I think it’s important we show our city friends how passionate we are about growing quality product. The bond between city and country is really important,” he says.

So thank you for all you do for us Stew. We look forward to keeping that bond alive by working with your family, and future farming generations for another 90 years and beyond.

Ode to Farmers.

Ode to Stew.