Mr Edwards farms in southern NSW with his wife Heather and son Phillip and daughter-in-law Nicole.

They are waiting for it to dry out enough to get the header in the paddock and harvest the crop.

Like many in southern NSW he doesn’t want too much rain to fall from all of the storms which are currently circling the region.

But while the skies are grey he is in a bright frame of mind and has a spring in his step when it comes to talking up the fortunes of primary industries.

In addition to running a mixed farming property Mr Edwards is the chairman of the successful Henty Machinery Fields Days.

He oversees one of the country’s most important trade shows and has an enormous pride in advocating all of the attributes of agriculture. 

At home he grows 902 hectares of winter crops and runs a flock 2800 Bond ewes. 

His family settled in the Yerong Creek area in 1933 and it’s a region of the farming landscape that provides a backdrop to plenty of farming activity. 

It is this enthusiasm for agriculture that he wants to share with others.

“From the the agronomist to the roustabout we have to encourage people into agriculture,” he said.

“We have an aging population in the workforce and something has to be done to rectify the situation,” he said. 

Mr Edwards said National Agriculture Day was an opportunity to promote the industry.

He said manufacturers of agricultural equipment and machinery in Australia needed to be encouraged too.