IT all started in 1897 when a young stock and station agent named John Archibald McGregor received a letter from a friend saying “Go west. There’s good country out here, good people, opportunity”.
And so he did, and in 1897 J.A. McGregor and Co Stock and Station Agents was born in Warialda, NSW.
Over the years J.A. McGregor and Co grew to become one of the most respected and well-known agents in the North West.
The business gradually expanded from a local stock and station agent, into machinery, agronomy, cropping inputs and farm merchandise, evolving, 30 years ago, into the innovative agribusiness, McGregor Gourlay.
The stock and station agency is still going strong today, operating as J.A. McGregor Livestock and Property.
The broader McGregor Gourlay business now employs over 120 people across 13 branches at Warialda, Croppa Creek, Moree, Goondiwindi, Bingara, Bellata, Delungra, Inverell and recently Bundarra, specialising in broadacre, cotton, cropping inputs, agronomy, livestock, animal health and merchandise.
In 2014 the business opened four coastal branches based at Alstonville, Lismore, Murwillumbah and Grafton with the focus on horticulture, sugarcane, livestock and broadacre cropping.
Group general manager Josh McGregor is the fourth generation of the family work in the company and was pleased to mark the 120 year milestone, thanking customers and staff.
A series of celebrations were held this year to mark 30 years of McGregor Gourlay at Moree, 90 years at Croppa Creek, 120 years at Warialda and 10 years at Bellata.
“Generations of great people are what has made McGregor Gourlay the business we are today, and to celebrate 120 years serving the agricultural community is a testament to that,” Mr McGregor said.
Keeping it local has been the key to the longevity and growth of the business, Mr Gregor said, with staff using local knowledge and being part of the communities they work in.
“We put a lot of trust in the people in our branches – we are only as good as the people in our team, which we are immensely proud of,” he said.
“We also pride ourselves in helping our customers pioneer production in new areas across our region and assisting them to achieve maximum crop potential by pushing new boundaries in precision technologies.
“We’re adapting all the time to incorporate new technologies, adding many facets to our agricultural services and investing in providing specialists in digital agriculture.
“Drones and satellites have opened up a new world of services around precision agriculture, elevation and yield mapping, so we now have a dedicated precision agriculture team.
"It's been wonderful to celebrate these milestones with our customers and staff.”
