Originally Posted by
exmexican
Sounds like a while since you were on a farm! Plenty of backpackers operating big harvesting machinery in all areas. Your description of neighbours working in teams sounds idyllic, but not widely adopted in modern times. With many farms using multiple harvesters or contract harvest operators, the owner is more likely to be found coordinating the process, marketing grain, and filling in where needed. Some smaller farms don’t even own a harvester. Too much $$$ siting in the shed for 10-11 months of the year. That said, your description reminds me of my late teens on our small family farm. Big brother in the harvester, the only vehicle with aircon, Dad moving bins and support equipment, and me hammering down dusty track getting as many 8 tonne truckloads in to the local silo as I could!
Its more the unskilled parts, like any sort of picking where they are used to imported labor that they have been able to exploit / scam for years. Now with the backpacker shortage farms / industry that have rep for fair employment are taking all the small pool of australians willing to work these jobs. I am doing banana's this year and got a good offer from a mango company thats desperate to get some guaranteed staff, but damn I hate mango's. The big harvesting contractors are considered essential workers and having minimal issues getting through borders