Agriculture Digest - Issue 1, 2022

2022

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Issue #1

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A MAGAZINE FOR THOSE ON THE LAND: AGRICULTURAL ISSUES, INSIGHTS, INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY, THE ENVIRONMENT, MACHINERY, PEOPLE, TOWNS...

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DIVERSIFICATION

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So far, the 2020s have been challenging years for Australia’s agriculture sector. Droughts, fires, COVID-19 and floods have thrown a lot at us – layering local complexities on top of global issues such as threats to biosecurity, strained supply chains, increasing competition and changing consumer preferences. As a result, more agriculture businesses than ever are choosing this time to innovate, transform and reinvent themselves.

It’s into this atmosphere of change that we’re launching the inaugural issue of Agriculture Digest: a magazine that analyses current agricultural issues from the perspective of those who make a living off the land. We want to talk about the environment and how it affects us as primary producers. We want to showcase the innovation and technology that’s changing our sector and keeping us at the forefront of the agricultural industry worldwide. And we want to share real stories about real people that provide insights into rural and regional Australia and its diverse culture and towns.

We hope you enjoy our first issue.

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creative director Melissa Price senior designer Joana Gala cover Aaron Burden, Unsplash All content is the property of Agriculture Digest and can only be reproduced with the express permission of Monachello Publishing.

disclaimer This publication is intended as an information source only and is not in any way an endorsement of any product or service mentioned. Every effort has been made to ensure the information in this publication is up to date and correct at time of printing. The publisher does not accept responsibility for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies.

No representation is made as to the quality or suitability for any purpose of any goods or services offered by any organisations in this publication.

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INTERVIEW

Stuart Austin: A fresh approach to farming with Wilmot Cattle Co 32 A D V E R T I S I N G FEATURE

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D I G E S T

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W E L C O M E T O O U R L A U N C H I S S U E

BUILDING A MORE PROFITABLE FARM THROUGH DIVERSIFICATION w: Amber Howison

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A G R I C U LT U R E

ALL MIXED UP

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D I V E R S I F I C AT I O N

D I V E R S I F I C AT I O N

There’s nothing new about diversification.

In fact, adding complementary crops or livestock to supplement your main activity, is almost as old as farming itself. But since the 1980s, Australian farmers have been taking diversification to whole new levels.

As more and more farmers broaden their output, we’ve rounded up the latest trends in complementary crops and livestock.

sorghum, teff, chickpeas or lentils to a wheat farm can mitigate the With Australian farmers finding risk posed by a wheat-specific themselves under ever-increasing disease or pest.

Then, of course, there are the financial, environmental and environmental benefits, with a market pressures, many are broader approach to planting turning to diversification as and livestock often resulting in a means of generating higher better quality soil and greater returns from their land, sustainability. spreading risk, and building A 2020 Iowa State University resilience into their businesses. study showed that on farms Adding a new plant or animal across the world, crop enterprise to an existing farm diversification maintained can increase both productivity and profitability, helping farmers or even increased yield while turn otherwise unprofitable parts simultaneously producing better environmental outcomes. These of the farm into new revenue included increased pollination, streams. For example, a herd of milk or meat goats can be run on better quality, more cost-effective steep or rocky land unsuitable for pest regulation through natural predators, increased nutrient other livestock or crops.

Diversifying is also a clever way turnover, and higher levels of of spreading the risk from factors carbon sequestration in the soil.

Many farmers also report like disease, pests and drought. experiencing personal gains Adding a heat and drought through farm diversification, tolerant crop such as millet, STRENGTH THROUGH DIVERSITY

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Farmed for meat, hunting and velvet, deer will happily graze alongside sheep but require high fences complete with netting.

Goats easily cross-graze with other livestock, and their preference for eating woody weeds helps with weed control.

ALPAC A S

B U FFA LO

HONEY BEES

Alpacas thrive in similar conditions to Merino sheep and, if run with sheep or goats, will bond with them and protect them from foxes. Their soft feet are ideal for fragile soils.

Farmed across Australia, consumer demand for buffalo meat and milk is growing.

Buffalos produce a rich milk that is perfect to be made into cheeses such as mozzarella and yoghurt.

Bees are another growing industry, with beeswax, honeycomb and royal jelly just some of the additional hive products they can generate. They’re also great for pollination.

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Introducing a new animal industry to your farm doesn’t just give you the opportunity to increase your productivity and profitability, it can also impact the quality of your farm itself.

For instance, legume pastures grazed by livestock can boost the nitrogen and carbon in your soil.

Here are some further ideas that may work for your farm:

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“Diversifying is also a clever way of spreading the risk from factors like disease, pests & drought.”

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such as the challenge and satisfaction of learning a new skill and starting a new business.

Some also noted an increase in interest in their farm from other family members, such as their adult children.

PLANTING A NEW CROP

If you’re looking to diversify by broadening your planting, you have plenty of options. In fact, there are more than 5,000 plant food species, many of which can have wider implications for your farm than just giving you a new revenue stream. − Pulse crops such as lentils, chickpeas, fava beans and lupins have been shown to take less nitrogen from the soil than wheat or canola, reducing the need for fertilisers. − The pasture seeds industry, focused on temperate species such as medics, lucerne, serradella, sub-clover and clover, produces around 20,600 tonnes of seed per year and continues to grow. − Rice, ginger and tea tree oil are all expanding in Australia too.

SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS

But before rushing out to plant a paddock of chickpeas or buy a herd of deer, it’s important

to consider which type of diversification is right for your farm. Factors to take into consideration include: − Your farm’s environmental conditions, such as size, location, soil quality, access to water and climate − Your stage of life and succession plans − Your tolerance for risk and debt − The workload involved in your potential diversification options − How the new crop or stock complements and integrates with your existing business.

Remember to bear in mind the importance of marketing too. If you opt for a specialised product with a niche market, getting the word out and connecting with buyers will be crucial to making your diversification a success.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

If being at the cutting edge of Australian agriculture appeals to you, you could consider diversifying with one of several newly emerging agricultural industries.

AgriFutures Australia has identified several new industries with high growth potential, including native flora such as seaweeds, Kakadu plum, and native pepper, as well as

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recent additions to Australian agriculture like coffee, quinoa, hazelnuts and industrial hemp.

Emerging animal industries include working dogs, game birds, sea urchins, camel milk and crocodile.

AgriFutures Australia has even gone so far as to identify the next generation of potential agriculture industries. Asian vegetables, hydroponic hops, medicinal marijuana, hemp milk, hydroponic berries and insect farming all make the list.

These nascent industries are well placed to meet changing global and local demand and may well one day have an important economic, social and environmental impact on Australia and the world.

IN SHORT

While diversification has always been with us, changing tastes, emerging markets and a growing population means that there has never been a better time to try something new.

Best of all, many of these ideas require little upfront capital, meaning the downside is small but the potential gain is enormous.

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HOW FARMERS ARE USING AGTECH TO TRANSFORM THEIR BUSINESS

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A G R I C U LT U R E

AGRICULTURE’S DIGITAL DAWN

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A G T E C H

Australia’s variable weather conditions have always posed a challenge for our agricultural sector. Recently, however, farmers have been using the power of agricultural technology (AgTech) to de-risk the effects of the weather and optimise their day-to-day operations.

Agronomeye CEO and co-founder, Stu Adam, says the reason the digital revolution is Digitisation has already happening right now is that falling costs have disrupted industries put cutting-edge tech such as financial within the reach of services, logistics and average farmers. retail. Now agriculture “Until recently is in the midst of its own people haven’t been tech revolution, says able to engage in digital Chris Mendes, Chief technology because it was Technology Officer at too expensive, but that The Yield Technology is all changing with the Solutions. creation of data sets that “You hear about can be reused, ” he says. digital transformation “Anything that can be in other industries, and digitised will be,” Adam we are living through that now in agriculture,” says. “Agriculture is no exception.” he says.

Mendes, whose business aims to W E AT H ER T H E MAIN GAME transform food and agricultural practices at The main factor that the farm level, speaks many of today’s AgTech from a position of companies have in authority. The Yield, common is that they’re which taps into the targeting ways to mollify power of artificial the effects of Australia’s intelligence (AI) and notoriously challenging smart sensors to collect weather patterns. masses of hyper-local While some weather weather data, has technology may attracted the attention seem ‘out there’, from of high profile partners. nanosatellites to These include Yamaha, supercomputers, most UTS Sydney and tech agricultural digital giant Microsoft, which platforms are rooted featured The Yield in at ground level, on the a global ad campaign farm. They require demonstrating the the input of farmers potential of AI. themselves and aim to Another Australian supplement and build on AgTech entrepreneur, their existing knowledge

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REDUCED COSTS DRIVING A D I G I TA L REVOLUTION

and experience. Central to how they operate is collecting masses of relevant data using sensors, which can be attached to everything, from infrastructure to animals and plants.

Sensing technology has advanced significantly in recent years with data now transmittable through the Internet of Things (IoT) - a network of objects that can be connected wirelessly.

This data can then be processed and analysed

by AI and converted into usable information with practical on-farm applications.

Mendes says that the sheer volume of data that farmers can now gather with little effort should allow them to detect even the smallest changes and factor them into their planning.

“From data to decision, we turn complex information into key insights by giving growers the right digital tools to consistently and accurately manage risk, and that has a huge impact,” Mendes says.

“There’s definitely a drive from growers who are experiencing the effects of climate

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change. What we do is important, because something that may have been reasonably predictable in the past, just isn’t so anymore.”

GETTING INTO THE MICRO D E TA I L

The Yield’s patented technology observes and forecasts microclimate conditions right on the farm, providing a level of precision and accuracy not obtainable through normal satellite imagery.

Sensors measure conditions in real-time, from air temperature to humidity, sunlight, wind speed and direction, rainfall, leaf wetness and soil moisture. This information is collated with other relevant data such as gridded weather forecasts and customer data, then analysed by AI to provide hyper-local forecasts that farmers can use to make better decisions.

“With a gridded forecast you’re generally getting predictions for a four-kilometre by fourkilometre cell. It’s a big area and just because the weather bureau says there is rain in the cell, it doesn’t mean your farm will have any,” Mendes explains.

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“People have been putting weather stations on farms for decades but now we are able to translate that directly into what a grower needs to know.”

Mendes says The Yield has proven to be particularly beneficial for spraying, with one recent study showing microclimate data gave farmers 20% more opportunity to spray than relying on standard weather forecasts. This can have a major impact on harvest volume and can be the defining difference between an A- and B-quality crop.

Knowing the right time to spray also results in less chemistry, less wastage and easier compliance with environmental issues.

For Tahbilk, Victoria’s oldest family-run winery and vineyard, The Yield has brought multiple benefits, including reducing water usage.

“The Yield enables us to track the number of variables, so we can analyse the water available to the vines across different profiles,” says Lachie Thomas, Tahbilk’s Environment & Vineyard Research Analyst. “This knowledge means we can run our irrigation with greater efficacy, only watering when necessary.”

“Understanding soil moisture also means we can time our fertigations so that valuable nutrients don’t simply leach through the profile and disappear below the root zone.”

BRINGING WAT ER TO A DRY LAND

Based in Goondiwindi, Goanna Ag has been leading the way in the sensing business for 15 years and is committed to solving the challenges Australia’s agricultural sector poses when it comes to cost and connectivity. One solution has been to adopt LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) technology.

Already widely used on European farms, this low power, long-range, on-farm gateway can connect to thousands of sensors.

Goanna Ag recently collaborated with another Australian business, Myriota, a global leader in low-cost nano-satellite technology, to help farmers better manage their water resources.

To help stream data more rapidly, the two businesses connected remote sensors with an ever-growing constellation of nanosatellites orbiting the earth at an altitude of 600 kilometres.

The resulting products, GoRain and GoTank, allow farmers to continually monitor widely distributed water assets, from rainfall gauges to water tanks and troughs and receive real-time information, notifications and alerts.

Agronomeye is also helping farmers manage water assets through its 3D modelling technology, joining

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“FROM DATA TO DECISION, WE TURN COMPLEX INFORMATION INTO KEY INSIGHTS BY GIVING GROWERS THE RIGHT DIGITAL TOOLS TO CONSISTENTLY AND ACCURATELY MANAGE RISK, AND THAT HAS A HUGE IMPACT.” – CHRIS MENDES, CTO, THE YIELD.

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“FARMERS NEED CLARITY AND CONFIDENCE TO MAKE DECISIONS, OR TO BE PREVENTED FROM MAKING THE WRONG DECISION, AND TECHNOLOGY CAN PROVIDE THE TOOLS TO HELP THEM DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO.” – STU ADAM, CEO AGRONOMEYE

forces with Microsoft and CSIRO, to provide farmers with an engaging, ultra-highresolution, bird’s eye view of their farms.

Their digital foundation, known as AgTwin, provides a highly detailed view of the landscape – or digital twin – that Adam describes as, “a dynamic, living, breathing version of the farm which can be analysed to give great insight to farmers, from where to build a dam, to livestock monitoring to the placement of gravity-fed pipes.”

Once the digital foundation - or home base - is laid, all kinds of software and hardware integrations can be added, from soil data to sensors to forecasts and satellite imagery.

“We look at how the landscape is physically formed to see how water flows across it, and from that, we can determine where we could be more efficient,” Adam explains. From preventing erosion and land degradation to moving water away from waterlogged areas to better placement

of dams and creating shade belts for livestock, the model has endless applications for farmers.

“Digital transformation isn’t going to solve problems overnight, but it can help those on the land secure the land for future generations.

We want to unlock the future of farming, by delivering critical data in a way that enables landholders to see more and do better,” Adam says.

“Farmers need clarity and confidence to make decisions, or to be prevented from making

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the wrong decision, and technology can provide the tools to help them do what they want to do.”

“What if your farm could be kept out of drought longer, or brought out of drought sooner?” Adam asks.

For many Australian farmers, the answer could be the difference between profitability and precariousness.

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S U P P LY

C H A I N

FROM GLOOM TO GLORY A G R I C U LT U R E

D I G E S T

w: Karen Boalch

The future is looking bright for Australia’s agriculture sector.

We look at how our industry has overcome challenges including severe drought, trade restrictions and COVID-19 to be ready to capitalise on growing global demand.

The future of Australian agriculture has rarely, if ever, looked so bright.

Exceptional seasonal conditions across the land, increased production forecasts in almost every category, and historically high commodity prices are presenting the ideal combination for another bumper year.

The current conditions are so favourable that, over 2021-22, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) has forecast record agricultural production of $78 billion. This is up from $61 billion in 2019-2020 and places the sector well on track to achieve its ambitious $100 billion production target by 2030.

In its most recent overview, ABARES emphasised the extraordinary circumstances leading to its forecast.

“Production is forecast to increase year-on-year for every major livestock commodity

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and almost every major crop commodity – the first time in at least 50 years that production will increase for so many products at once,” it said.

“In addition, most international commodity prices are forecast to either increase or remain at very high levels, taking the price for Australia’s basket of agricultural goods to its highest level since 1989–90.”

There are similarly optimistic predictions from a range of industry observers as the sector continues its recovery from the ravages of the 2017-2019 drought.

UNPRECEDENTED PRESSURE ON S U P P LY C H A I N S

It has taken a lot of work to get here from where we were earlier in the pandemic when supply chain issues brought many of Australia’s agricultural distribution networks almost to a halt. And, as always with the vagaries of agriculture,

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“We start 2022 with the Australian food supply chain under unprecedented pressure.”

– Rabobank Australian Agribusiness Outlook 23

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there is potential these same supply chain issues could return, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing.

Rabobank warned in its annual Australian Agribusiness Outlook: “We start 2022 with the Australian food supply chain under unprecedented pressure, supply chain disruption and bottlenecks being felt across the board – from access to inputs at the farm level through to consumers accessing food on supermarket shelves.”

COVID-based international travel restrictions have reduced the number of overseas workers available to the horticulture and

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meat processing industries over the past two years.

The Omicron outbreak has caused even greater disruption, with labour shortages across the food chain as workers are infected with the virus or forced to isolate as close contacts.

Fruit and vegetable growers have ploughed millions of dollars of fresh produce back into the ground, while meat and dairy producers have been forced to operate with as little as 50 per cent of their required staff.

Infections have also impacted workers in processing and packaging, transport and distribution, as well as in

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supermarkets, where empty shelves have been the most graphic illustration of COVIDinduced supply chain issues.

Transport logistics have proved particularly problematic.

Until recently, road freight has been impeded by state border restrictions.

The cost of getting produce to international markets has blown out, with freight rates on key global trade routes around seven times higher than in 2020.

Highly perishable exports such as live seafood and fresh produce have had to contend with reduced cargo space availability on flights to key export markets.

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AgriFutures Australia has embarked on a research project to identify ways to future-proof our supply chains against domestic or international shocks.

Efforts to diversify supply chains have resulted in barley being shipped to Mexico for the first time, along with new market arrangements for beef and lamb into Saudi Arabia, citrus in the US and enhanced chickpea access into India.

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And big-ticket Fertiliser investments in ports manufacturer Incitec infrastructure and Pivot is increasing inland rail will reduce the local production shipping bottlenecks of urea after China and allow for produce banned the export to be more easily of the chemical transported across the compound, a key country. ingredient in modern diesel systems without which agricultural transport could ground to a halt.

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Citrus exporters are trialling a traceability pilot for high-value exports and a new automated export property inspection system in a bid to reduce lead times and enhance supply chain efficiency.

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I N N O VAT I V E W AY S A U S T R A L I A’ S A G R I C U LT U R E S E C T O R I S O V E R C O M I N G S U P P LY C H A I N I S S U E S

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On the waterfront, one-third of container capacity was impacted by COVID-19 in 2021 in Melbourne alone.

Mandated quarantine periods for port workers disrupted operations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, combining with ongoing industrial action to put a bottleneck on distribution.

In Melbourne, dockworkers stopped supply for 12 hours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the entire month of October, reducing the port’s capacity by a third. S&P Global Platts estimates that worldwide the average shipping delay is now five to six days. This has impacted many suppliers’ costs bases given each day of delay sets a typical container ship back almost $140,000.

Higher shipping costs are also impacting the price of many imported farm inputs, including fertiliser, fuel, farm chemicals and equipment.

THE SILVER LINING

On the flipside though, Australia is benefiting from its geographic proximity to South-East Asia, with shorter shipping times making Australian grain relatively more affordable for importers in those markets.

Another consolation to

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Moree grain farmer Stuart Tighe effectively reverse-engineered the supply chain several years ago when drought prevented him from “The whole purpose supplying his usual quantities of malt barley to the Queensland and is to be a value chain Sydney markets. facilitator and link the Over an 18-month period, he supply chain directly arranged for up to 1.5 million tonnes of grain to be brought to the farm gate.” in from South Australia and Pure Grain chief Western Australia, not only sustainability officer to supply the malt houses of Brisbane but feedlots in northern Michael Clancy NSW and south-western Queensland.

The story could have ended there but Stuart was aware of the emerging supply chain trends Australian farmers is that these surrounding the sustainability conditions are to some extent and traceability of produce. universal.

His emergency drought If anything, Australian farmers initiative grew into the Pure have been better placed than their international counterparts, Grain business and a grower network covering 250,000 experiencing strong seasonal hectares across Australia. conditions while some of the As another example of world’s key cropping regions have Australian farmers’ resilience, gone into drought.

Rural Bank notes that over the As RaboResearch senior busy summer period, growers commodities analyst Cheryl managed labour shortages by Kalisch Gordon puts it: “This lengthening harvest timeframes, delivered clouds to agriculture enhancing harvest efficiency and sectors in many regions of the improving overall labour retention. world and a silver lining for “The whole purpose is to be a Australian agriculture.” value chain facilitator and link Dr Kalisch Gordon says the the supply chain directly to the Australian agriculture industry farm gate,” says Pure Grain’s is therefore well placed for the chief sustainability officer challenges of 2022.

Michael Clancy.

“More importantly, it means “We facilitate the trades and the industry can prepare for the time when the sun is not shining organise the transport for our growers, giving them greater so brightly in its favour.” certainty.

“At the other end of the supply FAR MER S SOLVING S U P P LY C H A I N chain, we can specify exactly WEAKNESS where the grain has come from, right down to the paddock, how The Australian agriculture it was grown and where it’s sector is exceptionally resilient, been stored.” showing an ability to adapt to In recent months, Pure Grain the many obstacles thrown its signed an exclusive contract way. Farmers are working in a variety of ways to address supply with Asahi to supply the Yatala brewery in Queensland, with chain weaknesses, even turning hopes to further expand this some of these challenges into relationship. opportunities.

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F A R M E R

Stuart Austin A FRESH APPROACH TO FARMING WITH WILMOT CATTLE CO w: Ralph Grayden

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How did you become involved in farming?

I used to spend every holiday on my grandparents’ farm in the Upper Murray. Both my parents had grown up on farms and had seen some pretty ordinary times so they knew just how tough farming could be. They didn’t want that life for their son.

However, when I left school I enrolled in a Rural Science degree at UNE in Armidale.

I didn’t actually get there, because I went jackarooing in the Northern Territory and I loved it. I loved the work. I loved being up North. I loved everything about it. I briefly tried something different by working on a roadworks crew and I even went on a working holiday to Canada.

But I soon found myself working on farms and ranches over there too. I couldn’t stay away.

While I was in Canada I started an agricultural recruitment company, which became quite successful but changes to the visa process in Australia in 2013 virtually killed the business here overnight.

Did you eventually end up going back to tertiary study?

Each year my mother would send me the university enrolment forms to try and get me to go back to fulltime study. I was 28 when I relented and enrolled in Agribusiness at Marcus Oldham College.

I was actually really lucky doing my degree as a mature age student because I could see how

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my experience working on farms and in my own businesses all fitted together.

What did you do when you finished studying?

I really wanted to get back to managing farms so I went back to the Northern Territory, to join my now wife Trish, and I worked as a station manager for Charles Sturt University, while she worked in extension for the DPI. We also started another successful business together, this time a beef bull breeding business.

The next turning point in my career came when I enrolled in RCS Australia’s ‘Grazing for Profit’ (GFP) course. It’s a weeklong course, which is run around the country, and it promises to improve the health of your land, improve the relationships in your business and increase the resilience of your operation.

I was fortunate insofar as I’d been exposed to other producers who’d studied GFP and I really looked up to them. These were guys who had their houses in order. They were financially stable and they could afford to do things like taking holidays. They weren’t always out just having to chase a dollar.

You and Trish now work as General Manager and Group Business Analyst at Wilmot Cattle Co, who are innovators in farming and have a strong ecological focus. How did that happen?

D I G E S T

Stuart Austin came from a family of farmers but his parents tried to warn him off a life on the land.

Since then, his love of farming and entrepreneurial nature have combined to deliver a satisfying career in agriculture.

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We were recruited to run Wilmot’s beef producing property in the NSW New England area in 2016. We could see right away their values aligned with ours.

The family who owns Wilmot have been very supportive of everything we’ve done and they have a strong growth mindset.

A couple of years in, we sat down together and worked out a strategic approach to shore up the business and reduce risk. We agreed that we needed to expand our operations and I oversaw Wilmot’s expansion, which now includes four separate farms in the New England Tablelands.

Moving stock around is crucial to the way Wilmot operates. Can you tell us about how that works?

To place less strain on the land and the cattle’s food supply, we have large herds that graze on a small area for a short period of time before moving on. Our herds might not come back to the

grass, cattle, our cash levels and the market. This goes into determining all of our decisions, such as when to restock, how many head of cattle we can support, and when to sell.

Ultimately, farms are multi-million dollar businesses and if you look at other multi-million dollar businesses outside of agriculture, most operate this way. The thing is, anyone can manage the way we do, making the transition from more conventional methods is not as expensive as most think.

With farming, there are always going to be things you can manage and things you can’t. What data gives us is the power to focus on and manage what we can control.

What GFP taught me is not to stress over the rainfall or the Can you explain the role data market because there’s nothing plays in the business too? we can do to influence them. Just We rely heavily on data to make smarter business decisions. We’ve focus on what you can manage. automated our data collection Find out more at so that we’re always aware of six wilmotcattleco.com.au. factors: rainfall, soil condition,

same patch for 30-to-40 days or even up to 90 days in winter. This gives the pasture the opportunity to fully recover.

By doing this, we’re really mimicking mother nature. If you look at buffalos and other herds, this is how they graze. We have more financial accountability than most farming businesses and ultimately we’re here to make a profit.

There are strong ecological foundations for this approach but there is also a strong business case for it. Because we don’t have to continually buy fertiliser, the cost of inputs into our business has fallen dramatically. We don’t have to produce as much to make the same profit and that also mitigates risk.

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THE GOLDEN AGE OF AUGER

From their humble beginnings in rural Canada, Westfield augers have built a global reputation for reliability and dependability, as well as for design and innovation. Still manufactured in Rosenort, Manitoba by AGI Westfield, last year the Westfield auger celebrated its 70th anniversary.

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HISTORY

The modern-day grain auger is a very Canadian invention. In 1945, Peter Pakosh built the first-ever auger in Toronto, Ontario.

Then, in early 1950, Abraham Plett from Rosenort, Manitoba bought an auger to resell to a customer. When the undercarriage failed, he decided he could build a better one.

Abraham called his business Westfield and chose to paint his augers in the now iconic bright yellow. He did so because it was the same colour as the golden wheat that grew on the Canadian Prairies.

The first two Westfield augers were sold in 1951 and the news of their quality soon spread. As the company grew, it quickly became synonymous with durability and workmanship, as well as design and innovation.

In 1965, Abraham handed the reins of Westfield over to his four sons. After a major flood in 1966, the Plett brothers relocated their factory to a nearby property.

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Two years later they finished building a modern Westfield manufacturing complex that allowed them to redesign their grain auger and expand the line-up of Westfield models.

Before long, Westfield had started supplying augers to farmers in the United States then they moved on to supplying global markets, including Australia in 1983.

In 2000, Canadian agricultural company Ag Growth International (AGI) acquired Westfield Industries. AGI is one of the most recognised equipment manufacturers in the global agriculture industry, with over 35 brands. In 2010, an addition to the Rosenort factory increased AGI Westfield’s manufacturing facilities to 16,250 square metres. The factory now produces over 13,000 augers a year, and is the leading grain auger manufacturer in the world, with a reputation for producing high-quality reliable products.

Over time, AGI Westfield has developed, redeveloped and refined the auger – understanding that farmers want affordable, simple, straightforward designs that save them time and labour, and hold up to all the conditions that a climate can throw at them – including Australia’s.

Through a commitment to farm-proven designs and innovation, the company has earned a solid reputation for superior quality products.

It also takes pride in innovating within the grain auger industry to improve farmers’ profitability and lifestyle.

AGI Westfield’s augers are built to provide value and performance using the best materials, components and features.

The next time you see yours working hard in your back paddock, remember Abraham and his can-do spirit, which exists among the prairies of Manitoba just as it does through the grain fields of Australia.

“When you make only one product, you get to be very good at it.”

FARMRITE

Founded in 1993, Farmrite is an Australian, family-owned and operated company based in Moree, New South Wales. In January 2021, AGI appointed Farmrite as a

national distributor of the AGI Westfield range of augers and belt conveyors. Before this, Farmrite distributed the AGI Wheatheart range of augers.

Farmrite imports AGI Westfield Augers and Belt Conveyors and

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distributes them through its Australia-wide dealer network.

The AGI Westfield brand is well-known and highly regarded around the world. Farmrite is proud to offer AGI Westfield augers via its dealer network.

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“Through a commitment to farm-proven designs and innovation, Westfield has earned a solid reputation for superior quality products.”

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The AGI Westfield range includes swing away augers, transportable augers, the X-Tend retracting hopper, U-Trough augers and belt conveyors.

X SERIES SWING AWAY AUG ER S Available in 10 and 13-inch tube sizes and in lengths from 73 to 94 foot, the X Series uses a scissorlift frame with cross members to maximise reach and reduce swaying. This helps keep the auger in place once it has been positioned at the silo. The 10-inch models use heavy-duty cable trussing. However, for longer, heavier models, AGI Westfield uses commercial-strength steel trussing. Trussing acts like the auger’s backbone, keeping the tube and flighting aligned so that it’s easy to set up at the silo.

The X10 is capable of up to 170 tonnes per hour while the X13 can achieve up to 295 tonnes per hour.

MKX SWING AWAY AUG ER The MKX Series is available in 10, 13 and 16-inch tube diameters and lengths from 53 to 125 foot. It features over 75 proven performance enhancements, specialising in ease-of-use and serviceability.

The A-frame undercarriage withstands bowing and maintains rigid alignment during heavy loads along with precision engineered flighting, a commercial strength frame and trussing, and an easierto-use hopper, guaranteeing unmatched dependability.

Suited to large farming and commercial operations, it is capable of 10 tonnes per minute, and is the biggest and best auger available on the market today.

T R A N S P O RTA B L E AUGER Available in lengths from 41 to 61-foot, the STX2 Load Out transportable grain auger has been redesigned from top to bottom and is engineered to perform optimally. Built for durability, longevity and capacity, it gets the job done fast.

U -T R O U G H A U G E R The AGI Westfield UTX 44 U-Trough loadout auger is fast and can deal with up to four tonnes per minute. Its unique design allows it to move grain efficiently without damage.

The U shaped auger barrel increases capacity and allows space for the grain to move freely.

The AGI Westfield UTX 44 U-Trough loadout auger is built with resilience and longevity in mind, with a heavy-duty mover kit, hydraulic winch and LED work lights. The electric clutch and triple banded drive belt coupled with a reversing gearbox and top drive chain tensioner make for a bulletproof drive train.

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RETRACTING HOPPER The AGI X-Tend Retracting Swing Away Hopper is available for both the X13 and X16 Swing Away Augers. The X-Tend retracting swing auger offers the convenience of being able to extend, swing side-to-side and retract, without having to move or reposition the truck.

Once a grain trailer is in position, the swing tube is extended.

The power swing moves the low profile hopper side-to-side, reaching the truck hoppers with ease. The X-Tend then retracts to allow grain trailers to drive away.

B ELT CO N V E YO R S Westfield Belt Conveyors are built tough to perform, yet designed and engineered for gentle handling of delicate seeds and commodities. Specialty crops, seeds and some commodities are very susceptible to impact damage caused by conventional grain handling systems.

A Westfield Belt Conveyor minimises impact damage and helps protect grade quality and germination performance of seed.

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PROFILE DUAL FLIGHT HOPPER features left and right hand flighting to pull grain toward the centre of the hopper so it flows efficiently up into the tapered boot.

DURABILITY Like all AGI Westfield augers, the flighting has been reinforced with Wear Edge Technology™, which provides an extra layer of steel welded to the flight edge at critical wear points.

SQUARE FLIGHT JOINERS Square, one-bolt flight connections provide improved performance through positive torque transfer.

POWDER COAT PA I N T A durable powder coat paint is used to protect the finish and prevent rusting.

1000 RPM SPEED REDUCER is required for tractors with 1000 rpm PTO output to reduce the speed of the auger to 540 RPM. This is optional.

E A S I LY ACCESSIBLE SERVICE POINTS allow for quick maintenance of u-joints, chains, bearings, and gearboxes.

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THE REVERSER allows the flight direction to be reversed for quick and easy clean-out.

T O O L- F R E E INSPECTION AREAS include the hopper chain cover, neck transition, boot clean-out and swing headcover.

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A-FRAME UNDERCARRIAGE withstands bowing and maintains rigid alignment during heavy loads.

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T O W N

Gympie: the town that saved Queensland

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Situated 168km north of Brisbane, Gympie is one of Queensland’s most important agricultural towns, but farming isn’t what it has always been known for. The town first came to prominence in 1867, when a gold discovery kickstarted ‘one of the wildest gold rushes in Queensland’s history’. w: Ralph Grayden

The colony of Queensland was broke at the time, having recently separated from New South Wales. The colonial government tried to kickstart the local economy – and drive population growth – by offering a £3,000 reward to anyone who found gold. Local farmer James Nash soon discovered rich deposits near the Mary River and the ensuing influx of prospectors, as well as the income from the goldfields, earned Gympie the moniker ‘the town that saved Queensland’.

Nash claimed his reward but the government got off on a technicality (they said the gold needed to be found within a particular 90-mile area and Gympie was just outside it). They later agreed to pay him £1,000.

Fortunately, Nash’s discovery was fruitful and the Gympie goldfields yielded more than £14,000,000, £7,000 of which reportedly went directly to Nash.

Unfortunately, he lost it all on bad investments.

Well before any of this, Gympie was the established home of the local Gubbi Gubbi people who gave the town its name. Gympie derives from ‘gimpi-gimpi’, the Gubbi Gubbi word for a nasty local tree that counts among the world’s most venomous plants. (‘Once stung, never forgotten’, says Australian Geographic.) Later, it became home to Labor Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, who found his way out of the local mines to represent the federal division of Wide Bay before serving as PM for three separate terms.

Today, agriculture is Gympie’s most important sector and the Gympie region’s total output for growing, processing and selling food and beverage is $655 million a year. It also employs more than 3,000 people. Key produce includes dairy, beef and other livestock production, as well as fruit and vegetables, especially macadamia nuts. Gympie played a decisive part in the growth of the macadamia industry worldwide.

The origins of as many as 70% of

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the nuts commercially produced in the world today can potentially be traced back to a single tree taken from Gympie to Hawaii in the 19th Century.

One of the reasons for Gympie’s impressive agricultural productivity is its climate. The town receives 1,118mm of rainfall a year with a peak in summer and early autumn. February alone receives an average of 166mm of rain. That also means Gympie is notorious for its floods. In February this year, the Mary River peaked at 22.8m, subduing more than 1,000 homes. It was the third time the two had been inundated in the past 11 years.

That hasn’t deterred people from moving to the town. With its proximity to the Sunshine Coast beaches, thriving local economy, abundant parks and relatively low cost of living, homebuyers have recently been flocking to Gympie. This has caused the median house price to rise 30.9% over the past year, according to realestate.com.au.

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Lees, William. (1899). The goldfields of Queensland : Gympie goldfield, http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-415760312

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News / Notes

Oakey Creek Speckle Parks prides itself on honesty and integrity and producing superior breeding stock.

Being third generation beef producers, Dennis and Lou Saint were constantly looking for an edge to improve returns.

After noticing the breed early on, we began using AI in our 250 head commercial Angus herd. It quickly became evident after experiencing outstanding results and returns that further commitment in the breed was required. Shortly thereafter quality stud stock from around Australia were sourced and purchased. Hence, the beginning of Oakey Creek Speckle Parks in 2011. With a strong focus on producing quality breeding stock, the stud has grown rapidly.

We use AI and ET to maximise the genetic potential from the best Canadian sires and females in our Speckle Park herd and cross breed with our Angus females to produce

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concentrated on breeding the truest and correct examples of the Speckle Park breed. We are now well on the way towards replicating this superior genetic herd based in Australia that has taken 18 years of dedication to perfect in Canada.

This importation of new Outcross Sire and Dam lines will see 100% Legacy bred calves being available here for many years to come. It is important to note that these animals will not be just called “Legacy” by name or contain 25% to 50% Legacy blood, they are full blood descendants of the Canadian Legacy Herd.

Since 2013 Oakey Creek Speckle Parks have been implanting embryos from Codiak Acres in Canada and have replicated the Codiak bloodlines into our herd. Now with the introduction of Legacy Speckle Park embryos, we will be replicating that herd as well. It is widely known that these two studs are without a doubt the best two herds in the Speckle Park world. They have taken the breed from its beginnings and created the example that it is today.

Oakey Creek Speckle Parks is all about introducing the absolute best genetics in the world into their programs here to give their clients a choice that is unrivalled in Australia today.

To find out more, give us a call or head to www.oakeycreekspeckleparks.com.au.

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Oakey Creek Speckle Parks

outstanding F1 and F2 calves for the feedlot and supermarket trades.

You may not find us in the show ring but that does not lessen the commitment to producing quality stock for stud breeders and the commercial cattleman.

We strive to produce cattle that will widen the genetic base of the breed through sourcing the latest genetics from around the world that will result in an animal that will provide a carcass of outstanding quality.

We believe Speckle Park cattle have a big future in Australia as purebreds and offer great options and premiums in any crossbreeding program.

In 2019, Oakey Creek Speckle Parks announced the arrival of their first 100% Legacy Speckle Park Canadian embryo calves, following the purchase of the last two sons from the legendary Legacy Brute Force 61Y, Legacy Cliff Hanger 65D & Legacy Revere 110D, and after a collection of these two total outcross sires, a flushing program was initiated with the infamous Legacy herd using both of these sires. October 2018 saw the first embryos arrive in Australia and these were implanted into recipient cows.

A further two outcross Legacy Sires, Pason 158F & Seminole Wind 31F were purchased in 2020.

The Legacy herd has been virtually closed for many years whilst they

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New upgrades for Ryan-NT’s no-till disc conversions & coil wheels The well-known and trusted Ryan brand has been developing innovative farm machinery for over 50 years, starting from its humble beginnings with renowned inventor Austin Ryan OAM. The brand is currently trading under the name Ryan NT. Sales have soared in the last two years due to the highly sought-after upgrades implemented by Paul Ryan, the managing director. The recent innovations include: ground following double disc; double chute double disc; outside disc scrapers; adjustable flexible rubber and closing bar; shorter disc legs for combines with limited road clearance; and new robust press wheel option with stronger coils and coil support bars.

build-up on the outside of discs”, Paul explains.

He responded by developing an outside scraper that works well in sticky and trash conditions and eliminates unnecessary widening of the furrow.

“In addition, we have now developed shorter disc leg models to suit combine drills with limited road clearance and reshaped seed boots for ease of grain and fertiliser flow.”

with more support to handle the roughest and most challenging conditions. We have not only upgraded the press wheel wire but have made the coil more robust”, Paul said.

The coil press wheels are available in 2 or 3 coils and can retrofit most press wheel models on the market.

SELF-CLEANING COIL WHEEL IMPROVEMENTS Ryan NT’s coil press wheel range has grown. Paul realised that farmers who were moisture seeking needed more support.

“We have released a new coil press wheel, designed

NEW DISCS UPGRADES WITH NEW BENEFITS Paul has developed a new model rubber boot with a closing tool for his retrofit double-disc system that can ground follow when either single or double chuting.

He has also created an outside scraper to combat challenging conditions.

"These two options are very valuable after extensive trial work,” Paul said.

“The flexible rubber boot can be adjusted to set the seed depth. This means you can confidently double chute or plant small seeds separately away from fertiliser, ideal when planting canola.”

Paul has been working closely with farmers planting in red clay.

“We received feedback that farmers could get more time in the field by reducing mud

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RYAN-NT also offers its own coil press wheel assembly.

“We continue to improve our successful coil gauge wheels and closing wheels, with new models being released this planting season.”

Get in touch with Paul Ryan on 0417 354 617 or paul@ryannt. com.au or visit ryannt.com.au.

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Grain investments boost benefits for growers

Gunnedah and Nowra, cements our footprint in regional New South Wales and commitment to a sustainable grains industry,” he said.

Mr Sloan said that the company remained focused on exploring all opportunities to make the grain buying process as streamlined as possible for local growers – servicing to accommodate and improve existing and future delivery, payment, and logistical requirements.

Manildra Group will own and operate six grain storage sites in New South Wales from Stockinbingal and Grong Grong in the south west slopes and the Riverina, to Manildra and Bogan Gate in the central west, and north to Moree and Bellata in the state’s central north.

Phone 1300 MANILDRA to contact Manildra Group’s local wheat grain specialists.

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Grain growers will reap the benefits of significant investments at high-capacity grain storage sites at Grong Grong and Bogan Gate, in the heart of the New South Wales wheatbelt.

Leading the project, Manildra Group Head Grain Buyer Peter Sloan said he was looking forward to the opportunities that

these sites will provide for Manildra Group’s flour milling operations and thousands of Australian wheat farming families.

“These high-capacity storage sites are a long-term investment in one of the world’s best wheat growing regions,” said Mr Sloan.

As a major flour miller producing premium food and industrial products since 1952, the 100 per cent Australian family-owned Manildra Group has grown to become the largest user of high-quality wheat in Australia.

Operating directly out of regional areas, “our industry knowledge and investment in regional Australia means Manildra Group is equally invested in the prosperity of Australian farming,” said Mr Sloan.

“This additional storage, on top of our existing capacity at our other grain storage sites and state-of-the-art flour mills in Manildra, Narrandera,

Advertiser note

Polled to perfection Rosedale is a family run business and has the largest Polled Charolais herd in Australia. Having commenced in 1970 Rosedale is one of Australia’s foundation Charolais studs and is the longest running Stud in NSW today.

Today we sell over 150 bulls a year both privately and through our two

annual sales. We offer Pure Charolais Bulls as well as Charolais Composite bulls comprising Charolais/Angus and Charolais/Shorthorn.

Since it’s foundation in 1970 the breeding objectives of Rosedale Charolais Stud have remained the same, which is to be “commercially orientated”.

Our cattle have always been produced with the commercial end user in mind, we focus on producing the highest quality cattle to maximise returns for producers targeting both the Australian domestic and export commercial markets.

For more information visit www.rosedalecharolais.com.au.

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Anything that can improve the quality of the water we draw from bores, wells, dams, and rivers, then, is great news for Aussie agriculture.

Adelaide-based water conditioning company Hydrosmart, has been working at the forefront of the water treatment space for almost 25 years, with CEO Paul Pearce at the helm. The company’s core technology is a computerised, chemicaland fi lter-free water conditioning system that softens hard water that’s high in salt, iron, calcium, and other minerals.

A microprocessor unit is attached to the outside of a pipe and directs resonance Hydrosmart’s Australian-made water conditioning systems significantly increase frequencies onto the water inside, breaking down the bonds in its minerals the utility of highly mineralised water. and in any existing deposits in the pipe.

Water is a high-value asset to That sounds complex – but the farmers – but its value depends on its devices are easy to install, don’t require quality. Substandard water can cause maintenance, and only cost around $10 big problems for crops and stock, not per year to run. The benefits they can to mention irrigation infrastructure.

Hydrosmart: helping farmers make the most of their water

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Advertiser note

Power Hound attachments Power Hound was established in the market place to provide great priced attachments for skid steers, tractors and mini excavators and supply to the tradesman, farmer, hobby farmer, landscaper, machinery dealers, or anyone who needs tough, reliable and guaranteed attachments.

The small family owned company design and manufacture in Australia and specialise in specific needs for the agricultural and earthmoving industries within

bring include improved growth rates, reduced scale layers and corrosion in pipes and troughs, decreased water use, and stock that fatten more quickly.

Hydrosmart found early working with winemakers, and has helped everyone from strawberry, olive, and citrus growers to broadacre and livestock farmers – even large-scale commercial miners.

The results speak for themselves. In trials on lemon trees in California, for example, Hydrosmart-treated water increased growth by 30 per cent over the first year.

With water security being a key challenge of our time, we need to make the most of every drop of our water supply – and an investment in a Hydrosmart conditioning system is a step in the right direction.

For more information visit www. hydrosmart.com.au or call 1300 138 223.

Advertiser note

Australia. They work with past customers to engineer and make the best attachments for tractors, skid steers, excavators and mini loaders for Australian conditions.

You can multi purpose your existing plant with their attachments. They make log splitters for your existing plant like tractors, skid steers, excavators and mini loaders. They also specialise in five finger grabs for your tractors and skid steers, with a custom-designed bolt on hitch system that enables you to use your existing plant with new attachments.

They also provide Australia-wide freight, great after sales service and guaranteed satisfaction.

Visit www.powerhoundaustralia. com.au or call 0488 200 205 for more information.

Rose Hill Speckle Park Stud Rose Hill Speckle Park Stud is located near Rylstone in the Central Tablelands of NSW. Cattle are raised in commercial conditions to ensure that they are fit for purpose in all settings. Since it’s inception in 2011, Rose Hill has gathered exception genetics from Canada and Australia to produce high quality seedstock for the beef industry.

We chose Speckle Park because of their ability to produce and finish a marbled, high yielding quality carcass that is tender and tastes fantastic at an age of 14 months. The ability of the Speckle Park to produce this carcass at a younger age also means a smaller carbon footprint. As consumer behaviours change towards sustainable eco-friendly beef Speckle Park is a breed that ticks all the boxes.

Rose Hill has Stud Speckle Park bulls and Females for sale as well as Speckle Park Genetics for sale at the Annual Scone Speckle Park Sale, the Speckles in the Capital Sale in Yass and on property throughout the year. Rose Hill also presents an Open Day on the last Saturday of August each year where a limited number of cattle are also available for the astute buyer. Herd tours are welcome any time by appointment.

As breeders of Speckle Park in Australia for over 10 years, Alex and Natalie have a wealth of experience in navigating through Speckle Park genetics, the show ring and the running of Speckle Park sales.

Natalie and Alex are always happy to share what they can with the Speckle Park community to further the breed and build strong relationships.

To find out more, give us a call or visit us at www.rosehillspecklepark.com.

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Australian designed, made & manufactured pig traps to one set only. You can cover more area with more traps in half the time and the traps have capacity to capture 20+ pigs at one time. Traps can also be placed on sand and beaches.

The collapsable traps take much of the manual labour, time consuming hassle out of storage, freighting, relocating and set up and can be shipped Australia wide.

TRACKER TRAP TRAILER The trailer unit makes transportation, deployment and placement of the traps even easier. Ideal for organisations and customers that are constantly required to

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relocate and deploy pig traps, covering large areas or long distances.

Implementing the unit eliminates any heavy lifting and maximises time efficiency. The trailer comes with a 500kg Maxilift Crane, a quality made tandem axle trailer, five collapsible traps an two built in toolboxes.

Trailers have capacity to carry 10 collapsible traps and can even be customised.

COLLAPSIBLE TRAPS Trackers patented Collapsible Pig Trap is the only design of its kind worldwide.

Developed to deliver a time efficient, stress free, easy solution

for setting a pig trap, boasting a 2-minute set up.

TRACKERS FL AT PACK KIT TRAPS The kit traps offer the same innovative features as, but with lighter panels in a DIY easy to assemble kit.

Assembly takes around 15-20 minutes.

TRAPPERS MIX – 20KG BAG Trackers Traps special blend of Trappers Mix is designed to lure and attract feral pigs in a variety of locations. It is livestock friendly.

For more information visit www.trackerstraps. com or call 0459 483 309.

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property, or another area, moving the traps around due to their bulky size and weight was always a challenge.

This lead Tyrone to come up with the collapsible trap design which can fold flat to 15cm and once deployed can be folded out and set within 2 minutes.

With a quiet close, the traps provide an environmentally friendly and humane method of feral pig control which is stress free for the targeted animals and safe for non-targeted species.

The trap allows greater success of capturing more pigs with a 2-way repetitive entry door – as opposed

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Trackers Traps is a 100% indigenous owned and operated family business located in Central Queensland, that produces unique collapsable pig traps.

These are backed by decades of experience and knowledge in the field, research, development, trials and innovation. The patented design has been proven to be more effective and much easier to use than conventional styles of pig traps.

Tyrone who designed the trap, grew up in rural NSW running about 40 pig traps at any one time. When it came time to move these traps to another location, a different

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Barko RVT security and management system Designed and manufactured in Australia specifically for remote farmers and landowners; the Barko RVT system uses rugged, but superb quality camera and connectivity technologies to help tip the scales in the fight against farm crime and overcome issues in remote property management.

Farm theft across all sectors including livestock, plant and equipment and consumables like fuel and chemicals is huge growing business. Rural Crime Taskforce conservatively estimate the value of loss to Australian Farmers last year was close to $70million, up 100% on previous years, which may be much higher, as 50% is not reported, due to the fact that many farmers don’t realise for weeks that things are missing. A recent survey by University of New England (UNE) concluded over 80% of farmers are victims of crime and 88% of those surveyed, more than once. Currently due to the huge social upheaval caused

by COVID-19 farms are prime and easy targets for theft.

One of the most potent, practical and cost-efficient tools in the fight against farm crime is a camera system that provides 24-hour video footage sent

back to a mobile device, computer or tablet. The Barko RVT is a multipurpose management and security standalone camera solution with effective connectivity options for remote areas.

The complete package comes with a 5-meter tower, solar panel, and long-lasting AGM battery, that can be located anywhere. When positioned in the ideal location, the fully selfcontained system stands guard and records everything, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Our state-of-the-art PTZ (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) camera is the heart of the Barko RVT. Video can be viewed directly from your mobile phone with perfect HD clarity over a 360-degree view radius and up to 36 x zoom capability. The camera allows you to track unknown vehicles and intruders or check water assets and mobs of cattle from up to 2km away.

Barko’s advanced vision technology enables crystal clear images in any conditions, day, or night. The Barko RVT will alert you whenever there is movement in the view range, wherever you are in the world.

Simple, sophisticated, and highly effective.

For more information visit www.barko.com.au or call 1300 BARKO1 (1300 227 561).

Advertiser note

Electric Off Road Bikes The company was started in 2018 in a quest to find safe, economical, efficient personal transport for around the farm and for mustering.

Quad bikes were in decline for safety reasons and Side by Side’s are even bigger, unable to transverse timbered or

rocky country and are very expensive to run. Two wheeled electric bikes only weighed 50kg to 80kg, limiting the crush injury risk compared to a 300kg Quad bike or 700kg SXS. (Side by Side’s operated without using seatbelts, have statistically been as deadly as Quad bikes) An electric bike has a lifetime cost of ownership, that is half that of a Quad bike and a third the cost of a Side by Side. Solar panels vs increasing petrol prices would widen this cost gap.

Electric Bikes were sourced from France, New Zealand, and China, to be put through real world testing on farm.

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and The Kondinin Group came onboard to take the bikes around to farmers to gauge their opinion.

Farmers were overwhelmingly impressed by how quiet, light, and easy the bikes were to operate, the minimal maintenance and low cost of ownership.

Mustering operation can now be conducted for up to 8 hours on a single battery charge, with some bikes having removable batteries that can be hot swapped.

Significant battery charge could be done over lunch for the afternoons riding. Full charging taking around 3 hrs,

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costing less than $1.50.

Livestock appreciate the quiet nature of electric bikes, lambs stay with their mothers, allowing stock to move paddocks in a low stress manner.

Electric bikes are ridable by people not able to use conventional, heavy petrol Ag-bikes with a clutch and gears. Light weight, low seat height, low centre of gravity, low gyroscopic effect, smooth throttle operation, regenerative braking and power modes all add to easy, quiet fun operation.

For more information visit www.electricoffroadbikes.com.au.

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risk of any potential seepage and meets local requirements. It’s generally best practice to position your loafing shed with an east-west orientation to take advantage of the prevailing winds and avoid the late afternoon sun shining in your barn.

Next, you’ll need to calculate the size you need. To estimate the size you’ll need, it’s a good idea to allow for a 13-metre square area per cow. This would mean for Have you been thinking about ways a comfortable barn for 200 cows, you’ll to improve your milk yield? Have you need 2600 metres square floor area, or a considered adding a compost-bedded 26 x 100 m shed. loafing barn?

In terms of the shed height, having A loafing barn or loafing shed’s primary the largest sidewall opening possible (the purpose is to give your cows somewhere space between the ground or retaining that is dry, protected from the elements and has space to lie down. Dairy farmers wall and the eaves) will assist in providing that we’ve worked with have told us that ventilation. As a minimum, you’ll likely loafing barns have improved cleanliness, need a 3.6m sidewall opening, increasing to 4m if your loafing shed has a width of improved foot & leg health, reduced more than 12m. Further ventilation can the instances of infections, and led to be achieved using ridge vents and large improved milk production. One dairy ventilation fans. farmer we worked with saw an Because of the corrosive environment estimated 20% increase in milk yield created by animal waste, TechSpan once they started using the loafing recommends that the columns of barn. The composting bedding helps your structure are hot-dip galvanised the material stay dry, reduces smell, structural steel to ensure longevity. and is easier to maintain than The expert team of design consultants alternative bedding options. at TechSpan have experience working There are a few key design closely with dairy farmers to ensure their considerations to keep in mind when loafing barns (and other farm buildings) planning your compost-bedded loafing barn. You’ll need to consider the site for are structured to work. the shed and make sure you leave enough space between the new shed site and any If you’d like to discuss your dairy shed needs, you can book a design consultation at existing infrastructure to ensure good ventilation, and that the site and base for www.techspanrural.com or give the team a the bedding minimise the environmental call on 1800 350 450.

Are you a dairy farmer?

Livestock funding for Growing Businesses Agrifunder Livestock Finishing Finance has been designed to help producers profit from the increasing global demand for protein, providing 100% funding for the purchase price of livestock for operators who are finishing cattle and/or sheep for domestic and export markets.

Security is taken over the livestock rather than land and the livestock trade is repaid once the livestock are sold.

Business Development Manager, Dee Commins explains ‘we provide an alternative funding solution to traditional bank finance. Our specialist livestock funding product has been designed to work alongside producer’s existing bank facilities. We provide growing businesses with a source of funding for livestock so that their bank finance can be used for other farm expenses.’

‘Supporting producers with speed to market is also critical. When there is an opportunity, you need to be able to go for it – you shouldn’t have to wait 6-8 weeks for approval for finance.’

‘We provide competitive market rates with no hidden costs or fees. Producers also gain access to an online account that provides transparency and is simple to use.’

‘Many of our team are from rural Australia. We understand country needs, and quality relationships with our customers is a priority for us.’

To find out more call 1800 247 438 or visit www.agrifunder.com.au.

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D I G E S T

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A G R I C U LT U R E

D I G E S T

The evolution of renewable energy There’s a town in the north east of Iran called Nashtifan. Once known as Nish Toofan, or “storm’s sting”, the area experiences strong winds of over 100 kilometres per hour all year round and is home to what may be the oldest windmills in the world.

Thought to have been created between 500-900AD, there are around 30 windmills up to 20 metres tall standing sentinel on a hill overlooking the village, protecting it from those strong winds while at the same time using that wind to provide power.

Agrarian ingenuity once again showed why it is a cornerstone of establishing and advancing civilisations: the energy generated by the windmills was used to grind grains to produce flour; a thousand years on, they’re still working.

Conversation around renewable energy has been loud recently, but in the simplest of terms, it is not a new thing - we are merely evolving a principle and technology to harness energy from wind, water, and the sun which has been in place across various cultures and civilisations right around the world for thousands of years.

Even while naysayers are tilting at windmills – or wind turbines – it’s pertinent to remember that farms and landscapes right around the world have been using them for generations, and we are building on existing systems, just as those who will follow up will continue to build on what we create today.

Right now, we’re at a stage of evolution where we can manufacture effective and reliable ways to store harnessed energy to use later, thus stabilising supply so energy is available even if the original power source is fluctuating.

And once again, agriculture can benefit.

A TRANSITION TO ENERGY STORAGE Given the challenges of grid connectivity to rural areas, it’s unsurprising that renewable energy generation and battery storage is increasingly popular in the agricultural sector. Retrofitting existing assets is becoming common, new buildings are designed with renewables in mind, and some farms have even started going 100% renewable.

The sense can be seen in the dollars – as well as cutting emissions, the move to renewables also cuts operational costs.

“We’re at a stage of evolution where we can manufacture effective and reliable ways to store harnessed energy to use later... and agriculture can benefit.”

Compared to a diesel generator, using a hybrid solar/wind and battery energy storage system could cut emissions by 90%, and decrease energy costs substantially.

With space for solar and large storage systems often available in abundance, powering an entire rural property that includes a full farm operation and a homestead is not only possible, but also financially feasible. There are even opportunities for neighbouring properties to share in the power generated.

Of course, if farm vehicles are also electric, there’s the additional benefit of avoiding supply chain issues such as the recent urea shortage.

Australian-made solutions for Australian conditions, RedEarth is a Brisbane-based battery energy storage systems manufacturer offering fully integrated systems and batteries to suit the most demanding conditions found in Australia.

Applying a unique, modular design philosophy, RedEarth’s systems offer a single platform that can be customised to deliver a solution suitable for anything from small applications to large-scale sites.

With scalability being a core principle, systems can be expanded in the future to meet changing demands, giving full flexibility and a guarantee that assets will be used to their full potential.

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Battery technology is combined with utility-scale control equipment to create unparalleled reliability and capability.

Batteries are fitted with numerous failsafe features, self-optimisation protocols, and advanced cooling systems. All can be monitored and controlled through energy management systems and site control mechanisms. Operator control is fully automated, yet still offers full and detailed manual control over every aspect.

Every system is subjected to rigorous testing by RedEarth’s engineers and electricians at its factory in Brisbane before it is installed.

MAGPIE Magpie is the smallest of RedEarth commercial and industrial complete turn-key systems. Offered in 50 kVA or 100kVA power output options, the system offers flexible battery storage sizes from 80kWh and upwards. With an integrated solar MPPT input, diesel generator autostart, and RedEarth’s own system controller, this solution is widely used in small to medium size applications where reliability and efficiency are required.

KOOK ABURRA The Kookaburra is the next level up in energy storage systems. True flexibility is provided by the ability to use 62.5kVA inverter building blocks to create systems with up to 3MW in power output. The battery bank starts from 200kWh but can easily be increased up to several MWh. Supplied in purpose-built enclosures, Kookaburra is made to withstand all Australian climatic conditions.

For more information visit redearth.energy or call 1800 733 637.

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Electric bikes, quiet, easy to ride, no gears, light weight, low maintenance, less than $1.50/charge.

Up to 8hrs ride time, bikes from $6500 with Australia wide freight.

Brands include Electric Motion France, UBCO New Zealand, Sur Ron PRC, CAKE Sweden.

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www.agiwestfield.com.au 1800 945 069

It’s not an ordinary auger... it’s your Auger.