Quirindi farmer Roy Eykamp who pioneered commercial kikuyu seed production has died, aged 102.
The eccentric American farmer quickly became a pillar of rural Australia when he started his kikuyu grass seed business at the age of 53 including developing the machinery to harvest and process it.
What eventuated was a worldwide monopoly.
"I knew there was a market for it ... so I put my mind to it and I did it," he told the Northern Daily Leader.
Even from a young age Mr Eykamp had an eye for recycling what others threw away.
He told ABC's Landline he once salvaged the wheels from an old Buick (vehicle) and built the district's first rubber tired hay cart.
Up until a few months ago, Mr Eykamp still regularly took drives around the countryside and read the Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
He passed away in his sleep on Thursday morning and is survived by his three sons; Curtis, Lynn and Clifford.
A closed funeral will be held on Thursday at the Quipolly Church with plans for a larger memorial in the future.