Finding the balance to effectively work 1000 hectares with about 1900 head of Border Leicester-Merino breeding ewes and conduct mayoral duties has been a difficult task, but one which has brought great satisfaction to Parkes Shire Council Mayor Ken Keith.
Ken and wife Sue’s property “Stanleigh”, just 5.5 kilometres from the rural community of Parkes in central NSW, was part of land Ken’s grandfather and namesake worked and has been in the family since 1906.
As well as being mayor, Ken is also chairman of the Newell Highway Task Force, chairman of the Melbourne-Brisbane Inland Rail Shires Association and has previously spent a number of terms as chairman of Centroc.
Ken has crops of wheat, barley, oats, canola and lupins as well as paddocks of pasture.
While he is hopeful of doing well from his crops, he has invested in his fine wool sheep.
Forty years ago, Ken completed an ag science degree at Sydney University, taught high school for three years before returning to help work the farm after the sudden death of his mother.
When his father died some years later, Ken and his brother Tim took over the property as a partnership.
The brothers later decided to split the farm and work independently while still helping each other out, a system that continues to work today.
“It allows us the luxury of independent decision making while still being able to complete two-person labour,” Ken said.
“We had different views on how to run the farm so splitting the property either side of the train tracks seemed the logical decision.
“It is good because whenever either of us need a hand, the other one is right there to help out,” he said.
Ken balances his farm life with his civic duties, something he had done ever since returning to Parkes in 1979.
He joined Rotoract when he returned to Parkes, immediately getting involved in the community.
He ran for the council after someone suggested it needed new blood and to his own dismay, Ken was elected.
He has now spent 34 years on the council, 17 as deputy mayor and nine more as mayor.
“My predecessor and mentor, the late Robert Wilson, said to me ‘If you want to make a small fortune out of local government, start with a large one!’ and he was right,” Ken said.
“My long career on council has helped me find a good balance between working the farm and my civic duties.
“I have received a lot of help from family and neighbours and hire contractors for jobs like harvesting and spraying where you cannot really lock down a day or time to do it.
“It can be windy one day so you can’t spray and the next day I may be tied up with official functions or meetings.
“You can’t put off the spraying so that is why I use a contractor.
“Same goes for harvesting.
“It is a bit easier with the sheep as the timing can be more flexible.
“Where I can, I schedule mayoral duties and appointments back to back so I am not running in and out of town all the time.
“Living close to town is a great benefit, especially if I have forgotten an appointment and need to drop everything and quickly shower, fall into a suit and duck into town.
“I have had great support from other councillors when I can’t make an engagement.
“They are always willing to help out and be the council’s representative,” he said.
Ken’s main focus on the property is fine wool and first-cross lambs.
“We micron test and fleece weight each hoggett, indexing them according to fleece value,” Ken said.
“We use that to select the best sheep with 30 per cent going to Border Leicester, 65pc Merino and 5pc culled.
“This practice has seen us increase fleece weight and decrease micron.
“It has been a great benefit to have the technology on site to do this.
“While the fine wool prices have not been significantly greater than normal wool, I can see it picking up again in the future,” he said.
Ken was recognised for all his work in the community and with local government in 2014 when he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal as part of the Queen’s birthday celebrations.
“I was very humbled to receive an OAM and could not have done it without the help of my lovely wife Sue, boys James, Max and Douglas, and the support of so many others,” Ken said.
“I was brought up to be very community minded.
“I have run the District Exhibit at the Parkes Show since 1982, despite local government commitments.
“My dad was a Rotarian and my mum was in the CWA.
“They were both in church groups.
“Their sense of community led to my involvement.
“Despite all my local government commitments and the work needed on the farm, I always put aside time for my kids when they were growing up.
“I coached soccer and cricket teams and led Sunday School.
“Finding that balance between work, civic duties and family life has not always been easy, but it has been very rewarding.”
