Building on Legacy, Growing with Purpose
How Ash Wilkins from FarmWorks Narrogin turned a question into a career, a succession plan into a legacy, and an independent store into an award-winner.
Ash Wilkins didn’t walk into FarmWorks Narrogin as the owner. He walked in as a job applicant who’d just missed out on a management role somewhere else and instead of moving on, he backed himself and knocked on a different door.
That decision changed everything.
“Charlie could retire knowing the business was in good hands, and we could build on what he started.” Ash Wilkins, Co-Director, FarmWorks Narrogin
The business he walked into was built by Mark “Charlie” Farleigh a small but respected independent CRT store in Narrogin, about two hours southeast of Perth. Charlie had spent years cultivating it on chemical sales and community relationships. He and his wife Sandy saw something in Ash, and offered him a rare opportunity: buy into the business over ten years, with no penalties for early payout, repayments structured through dividends.
It wasn’t a high-pressure pitch. It was a handshake built on mutual respect exactly the kind of arrangement the corporate world rarely makes room for.
Before NRI. After NRI.
Fast forward to 2024. The buyout was complete, Ash’s co-director Hilary Wittwer had taken a stake in the business, and the team was looking at their next move.
After months of due diligence, FarmWorks Narrogin became an NRI shareholder and Ash hasn’t looked back.
The Numbers Tell Part of the Story
- 7 Team members (up from 2.5)
- 2023 Agsafe Outstanding Premises of the Year
- 10yr Vendor-finance succession plan
- 150 Community members at Charlie’s retirement
The rest of the story is in the people. Bernie Maley, Sarah Johnston, Jacqui Martin in admin and finance, Trevor Radford and Kellie Wilkins (Ash’s wife) during the busy periods this is a business where everyone knows why they show up.
The 2022 construction of a purpose-built chemical shed and hands-on emergency training with local brigades earned them national recognition. “It’s about getting everyone home safe at the end of the day,” Ash says simply. “That’s what matters most.”
What Independence Actually Means
With three young daughters at home and a business woven into the fabric of Narrogin, Ash isn’t thinking about an exit to the corporates. He’s thinking about giving the next generation the same shot Charlie gave him.
“We don’t want to sell to corporates. We want to give someone young the same chance we got reward for effort, opportunity, and independence.” Ash Wilkins
By 2026, plans are in motion to bring on a junior agronomist and an on-road merchandise sales role. A delivery truck is already running. Offsite storage is being explored. The business keeps moving not because it has to, but because the team believes in what they’re building.
That, ultimately, is what NRI means to FarmWorks Narrogin. Not just better pricing or supplier access (though both matter). It’s the confidence that comes from knowing you’re not alone that there’s a network of like-minded independents backing you up, without asking you to give up what makes you, you.
Thinking about independence with better backing?
FarmWorks Narrogin’s story started with one question and one open door. If you’re running an independent agribusiness and wondering what the NRI model could mean for you, we’d love to have that conversation.