![Dan Fox, "Five Oaks", Marrar, in a crop on the family property "Gladlea". Dan Fox, "Five Oaks", Marrar, in a crop on the family property "Gladlea".](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-agfeed/2079055.jpg/r0_0_1024_683_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
FOR Marrar producer Dan Fox, "Five Oaks", "first and foremost" he was always going to return to the family farm.
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Now with a university degree under his belt the 23-year-old works on the family holding just north of Marrar alongside his father and grandfather.
After finishing school in 2009, Mr Fox went on to balance full time study and working on the farm before graduating from a double degree of a Bachelor of Science/ Bachelor of Education (Secondary) at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga.
He finds himself one of just a handful of young farmers in their 20s in the local district.
When his father David, "Brigadoon", finished at Yanco Agricultural High School in 1980 and returned to the farm, it was a different story, Mr Fox said.
"I look back to when my Dad was 17 and in his generation there would be 10 or so farmers who came straight home to the farm after school.
"They had a strong network of young farmers just within the local district - people they could bounce ideas off.
"Twenty years down the track there's not that immediate network of young farmers to the extent that my father had."
The Fox family now run 1100 first cross ewes for prime lamb production and put in 1752 hectares of crop this year.
The 2023-hectare holding is spread across properties in the region, and an 80 per cent crop and 20pc pasture set-up is paving the way to go all cropping, Mr Fox said.
"It's an exciting time for cropping with technology and marketing options which is making cropping far less risky - it makes it a more viable option.
"You can't put lambs in a silo and store them until the prices are good but if you've got the ability to store grain for periods of time you can take the market out of the equation to an extent.
"The sheep are there more for some security. They're low cost and low return.
"There's a lot of work in them but at this stage we can't do without them."
Now a fourth-generation farmer on the Fox side and a fifth- on his mother Cathie's (nee Heinjus) family tree, Mr Fox said the knowledge learnt from his father and grandfather Bun, "Gladlea", was priceless.
"Grandad came from modest beginnings and I'm fortunate I didn't miss that knowledge.
"He learnt to do a lot of things on not a lot of money and he's the reason why I've got the opportunity to be a farmer and for that I'll be forever grateful.
"Dad had the same opportunity and knowing where you've come from and where you are now really makes you appreciate it all."
Mr Fox hopes that in the future farming will be better recognised.
"I think people outside of the industry don't understand how exciting and rewarding any career in agriculture can be.
"When you grow a good crop, it's very rewarding and heart-warming to realise what you can achieve.
"Farming doesn't just involve the immediate farm family.
"Agronomists, agribusiness, bank managers, accountants; there's too many to name.
"They're just as much a part of the business.
"People perceive farmers to just be the bloke sitting on the tractor. The reality is quite different."