Robert (Bob) Yabsley is currently Managing Director of three public agricultural companies which own and manage the properties ‘Mobandilla’ and ‘Kingumbilla’ and is responsible for the day to day operations of the properties and is largely responsible for its successful establishment including development, production and business operations due to his farming and management skills.  Bob is also responsible for discussions and negotiations with the Australian Taxation Office in regard to investors’ taxation deductions gained from investments in both properties and has also been involved in the negotiations to restructure the Mobandilla Cotton Projects.

Bob has been involved in active management of rural business most of his working life.

His experience commenced as overseer on ‘Main Camp’ Station in the Casino district of NSW. In 1957, Bob was appointed livestock overseer and acting manager to Lever’s Pacific Plantation (Lever Bros.) in the Solomon Islands for two years followed by four years as property manager for the Northern Co-operative Meat Co. at Casino, where he developed the property to flood irrigation using effluent from the Meat Company.  During this period he studied accountancy at the Lismore Technical College.

He was then appointed general manager of Synca Pastoral Company Limited and in this position carried out the first large scale tropical pasture development in the Casino district for beef production.  Following completion of this development he was offered a position as consultant with Kingston Rural Management based in Maryborough, Queensland and was involved with the supervision and management of many property development programmes in the area.

In 1972 Bob commenced his own business and purchased a farming and grazing property in the Warialda area of NSW.  A second property was added in 1974 at which time Mr Yabsley moved to the area and took control of the management programme.

In 1975 share-farming of wheat in the Moree area of NSW was added to the programme and a further two properties were purchased in 1978.

A fifth property, ‘Mobandilla’ in the Goondiwindi district of Queensland, was added in 1983 and a development programme commenced to achieve a large scale farming enterprise.  This grew to an overall cropping programme of 9,000 acres.  In 1988 development of irrigation commenced for cotton production.

Bob’s farming experience has been recognized by rural academics and he has been invited to speak at the Australian Farm Management School at the University of New England and at a symposium on large scale farming at Dalby Agricultural College.

He has been an active member of rural organisations and a delegate to numerous annual conferences of the NSW Farmers Association.

Bob holds both fixed and rotary wing pilots licences with 2,000 and 3,000 hours experience respectively.

* email     phone:  (07) 4677 5105

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