For the past 55 years, Tumut farmer Peter Sturt has followed family tradition and grown millet.
As the last remaining millet growers in the area, Peter and his wife Shirley not only grow it, but their Tumut River Millet Brooms company turns the fibre into straw brooms.
Peter and Shirley made the leap from growers to manufacturers 18 years ago, when they realised the Tumut millet industry was threatened by competition from overseas imports.
“The industry looked like it was going to die, and we didn’t want that to happen.” he said.
Mr Sturt bought broom-making equipment from a company in South Australia and hired broom-maker Roger French, who is still with the company.
“Harvesting is a time-consuming process. It's all hand-harvested by cutters using vegetable knives,” he said.
The Sturts grow about six hectares of millet and make up to 10,000 brooms a year, which were seen by members of the Riverina group of the CWA when they toured the factory on Monday.