THE FIELD · 2018-06-07 · The Field Winter 2018 3 In this edition of “The Field” we honour...

2018 Winter | vanderfield.com.au

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3The Field Winter 2018

In this edition of “The Field” we honour the founder of Vanderfield and my Dad, Gordon Vandersee. He passed away recently aged 92 and I am immensely proud to have had him as my father and mentor for all of my life. Our family have been overwhelmed with the cards and messages from many, so, on behalf of our family, a sincere thanks to all.

For the last 20 plus years we have hosted the first year UQ Gatton agribusiness students at the Toowoomba branch. The students generally come with some targeted questions for us, but it is also an opportunity to tell them the Vanderfield story. What is most

RICH HERITAGE... EXCITING FUTURE!Bruce’s Update

03 Rich Heritage... Exciting Future! Bruce’s Update

04 Fallow Water Use Efficiency A Trial Comparing Zero Till, Strip Till and Horsh Tiger Strategic Tillage

06 Tim and Courtney Gersbach You Can’t Take the Boy Out of the Farm

08 Darryl and Cheryl Doyle Keeping Up with the Times

10 Vale, Gordon Vandersee

What’s your life story? You can also be part of ‘The Field’.

Email us at: [email protected] STORY

CONTENTS

exciting about the group is that we have seen the numbers grow from a low of 9 students some 12 or 15 years ago to a staggering 86 students now. I am more than confident about the future of agriculture and the ag related industries in this country. During the last year, we have also employed two graduates and one current student from agribusiness courses as well as 37 new apprentices. We are preparing for the next 10 years with an expectation of good times ahead.

I trust the winter season will treat you all well.

13 Archie’s Produce Growing the Rainbow in the Granite Belt

15 Life Story - Gerry Deguara

16 Experience the Jewel of the Kimberley Greg Smith of Lake Argyle Cruises

18 Moonrocks The Power of the Data You Already Have

21 Grant and Fiona Borchardt Grizzly Ploughs, Happy Team

22 Jeff Hansen 40 Years Strong

Front Cover: New St George facility, officially opened 23 May 2018.

4 The Field Winter 2018

In the past few seasons Vanderfield has seen renewed interest from grain producers in the introduction of strategic tillage into long term minimum and zero tillage systems. Some of this has been driven by emerging issues such as weed resistance, erosion of controlled traffic tramlines and depletion of immobile nutrients at soil depth.

One tillage solution gaining interest is the Horsch Tiger, which can be used as a one pass strategic tillage unit in otherwise zero till farming systems. The Tiger combines discs plus deep ripping tines on 50cm spacings and a range of packer options to consolidate the tilled soil into a seedbed.

In December 2017 Vanderfield Toowoomba performed a field demo of the Horsch Tiger at Peter and Michelle Black’s Brookstead property, ‘Cecilvale’. Peter was an early adopter of zero tillage and controlled traffic in the Brookstead district, with all of his farm managed on 12 metre tramlines and 3 metre wheel spacings. Sorghum, mungbeans and chickpeas are grown on 75cm rows, while winter cereals are grown on 37.5cm rows. Over five years ago, Peter introduced strip tillage into his farming system with an Orthman 1tRIPr, as a way to prepare seedbed tilth ahead of summer row crops grown on 75cm spacings and also to apply banded fertiliser at a range of depths.

The Horsch Tiger was set up for this demo using Ultra Low Disturbance (ULD) points on the deep ripping tines. The ULD option has special points and shank attachments that help minimise stubble inversion so as to maintain surface residue cover. This setup and soil conditions at the time achieved a general depth of tillage of 100mm, with the deep ripping tines operating at approximately 200mm depth on 50cm spacings.

A John Deere 8310RT tractor pulling the 4.5m Horsch Tiger 4MT at ‘Cecilvale’, Brookstead

A John Deere Connect moisture probe at ‘Cecilvale’


FALLOW WATER USE EFFICIENCYA Trial Comparing Zero Till, Strip Till and Horsh Tiger Strategic Tillage

The demo also allowed Vanderfield Toowoomba to establish a trial comparing 12 metre treatments of Zero Till, Strip Till and Horsch Tiger, which were replicated 3 times across existing controlled traffic tramlines. The trial field will be fallowed through to sorghum planting in Spring 2018.

The trial site is a long term zero till field, with the only tillage history being single season pass of Orthman 1tRIPR, with the last pass being in approximately March 2017. The trial site was planted to wheat on 37.5cm spacings each side of the strip till lines. The wheat was harvested in November 2017 with minimal in crop rainfall. The top 50cm of the soil profile had very limited moisture content, with only one rainfall event between harvest and tillage.

Vanderfield are interested to understand differences in fallow water infiltration characteristics of the 3 treatments. Anecdotal evidence in similar soil types suggests that

The trial site at ‘Cecilvale’, Brookstead



growers using strip till techniques may be getting faster infiltration of water into the soil profile, while still maintaining the benefits of stubble retention in between strips. This has led to interest in applying deep Phosphorous and Potassium with Orthman 1tRIPr units on 75cm or 100cm bands suitable for summer row crops. However, these widths of application bands can be too wide for narrower row spacings of winter cereals and pulses.

Vanderfield are interested to learn if the Horsch Tiger would allow one pass strategic tillage option for application of deep fertiliser on narrower 50cm spacings.

VNET Precision Farming have installed 100cm John Deere Field Connect moisture probes in each treatment. The moisture probes in combination with temperature and rainfall sensors will help study variation in speed of moisture infiltration through the profile after a rainfall event and also any differences in evaporation loss. Quantifying comparison of fallow water use

efficiency of a strategic tillage with the Horsch Tiger against strip till and zero till, will help understand the fit for this type of tillage tool in our local farming systems.

Apart from studying fallow moisture variations, VNET Precision Farming will also monitor performance of the Spring 2018 crop across the three treatments. Plant stand assessments and in crop imagery

will help determine if there is any variation in crop establishment. Post calibrated harvester yield data will also allow gross margin analysis of any yield differences against the variable input costs of zero till, strip till and Horsch Tiger.

If you would like to know more, please contact your nearest Vanderfield representative for updates as the fallow and growing season progresses.


Tim Gersbach’s grandparents, Max and Lorraine Gersbach, moved up from Dubbo to the Emerald area in 1962. They share farmed initially, but 15 years later they were able to purchase ‘Kurrajong’, a 2000 acre dry cropping property near Capella.

Tim grew up with his sister Bianca, who is now a hairdresser in Emerald, in the house his parents, Garry and Cathy, had built in Capella. When he finished school, he took up a diesel fitter apprenticeship with Hastings Deering in Rockhampton. Once he got his trade, Tim was transferred to their Emerald branch but, eventually, he found work in the mines around Capella.

At that point, Tim began to work on the family farm on his rostered days off. Tim’s interest and passion was always in farming. He always intended to come back to the farm after he’d secured a trade and spent time gaining experience with that trade, and the plan turned out well. ‘This line of work can be very rewarding,’ says Tim, ‘when you plant a crop and things

TIM AND COURTNEY GERSBACHYou Can’t Take the Boy Out of the Farm

Eden Gersbach in her dad’s chickpea crop at ‘Kurrajong’, Capella

go well and you see it through to the harvest. There’s something very fulfilling about the process.’

Tim’s parents have been able to purchase a couple of additional properties, and they now have around 9700 acres of cultivation. The family have a crop rotation system, with wheat and chickpeas growing in winter and sorghum, mung beans and sunflowers (for oil) in summer.

‘We practise zero tilling, and one of its main advantages from what we have seen over time is that crops have a higher yield for the same amount of rainfall, as the crop residue helps to reduce moisture evaporation and increase water absorption. Topsoil runoff is also significantly reduced, and, of course, eliminating ploughing reduces labour and fuel costs.’

The Gersbachs have had a long association with John Deere. ‘My grandfather had all green equipment, and my father and I have followed in his steps because the Deeres are just really good machines. We have

Weed control underway on ‘Kurrajong’

LIFE STORY

Tim and Courtney Gersbach with their children, Eden and Theodore. At ‘Kurrajong’, Capella

Filling the planter with fertiliser at sorghum planting time this year at ‘Kurrajong’, Capella

John Deere header fronts, tractors with RTK Guidance and GreenStarTM

displays, sprayers and planters, including a DB 90 precision planter. We have a close relationship with Vanderfield Emerald Branch Manager Corey Colthup, and with the branch’s Parts Manager, Dave Sheridan. It’s a great partnership.’

The farm supports the locals in several other ways, including employing a full-time worker and a casual employee from the Capella area to help with maintenance tasks. During harvest, they provide work for operators, bringing them in from the local area as much as possible.

Tim is married to Courtney, a school teacher originally from Rockhampton. Courtney came to Emerald as a second year graduate teacher doing a couple of years’ service in the Western district, but then she fell in love with ‘the farmer’ and decided to stay. Tim and Courtney have two young children: a daughter, Eden and a son, Theodore.

LIFE STORY



Darryl Doyle is a third generation sugar farmer in the Maryborough area, where his maternal grandparents settled in the early 1900s and developed a mixed sugar cane and cattle farm. Darryl grew up on his parents’, Colin and Daphne’s, farm in Hervey Bay, where he lent a hand from a young age. Darryl eventually went on his own and now he and his wife Cheryl farm around 1000 acres of their own, and also leased, land throughout the Maryborough and Hervey Bay district. ‘Having farms in different locations has disadvantages,’ reflects Darryl, ‘but it can also be one way of minimising risk, for instance when facing natural disasters.’

Sixty or 70% of the land is irrigated using either centre pivots or hard-hose travelling irrigators, and soybeans are planted on the fallow land. ‘The legume crop does the soil good, and it also generally allows us to decrease some of the fertiliser amounts a bit because of its soil nutrition benefits. We are currently in the process of changing from 1.6

to 1.9 dual row spacing, which will match our newest harvesters.’

The Doyles have seen many changes in the industry over their lifetime, from hand cutting through whole stick and chopper harvesters to the modern precision agriculture equipment. ‘Our tractors and harvesters now have GPS steering. We first installed GPS technology in two of our tractors with the help of Reef Rescue and Rural Water Use Efficiency funding, and it soon became apparent that its

Adam and Sandra with their daughters, Sophie and Emily

DARRYL AND CHERYL DOYLEKeeping Up with the Times

use increased the efficiency of our operations, for instance by allowing us to confidently use wider implements. It was also much better for the drivers. We have not looked back.’

Darryl is a long-time Vanderfield Bundaberg customer. ‘We have a very good relationship with Sales Representative Leith Raines and Branch Manager Allan Cooper, and we’ve purchased a range of John Deere tractors, harvesters and precision ag equipment from them. Although we

Darryl’s JD7820, the best tractor he has ever owned

LIFE STORY


Cassandra with her partner and harvester driver, Zac DavisDarryl and Cheryl with their new harvester

initially had issues (which were solved) with the transmission and steering of one of the tractors we purchased, I can honestly say that one of our best tractors, in fact probably the best tractor we’ve ever had, is our JD 7820. We also have two 6195R haulers, and two cane harvesters, a CH570T and a 3520W. We are very pleased with them.’

Darryl and Cheryl have two sons

The Doyle’s John Deere 6195R cane haulers making their debut

and two daughters. Their daughter Cassandra helps on the farm during the cane season, operating the haul-out tractors, while her sister Rachelle is a chartered accountant who owns her own firm, “Optimal Chartered Accountants”, in Maryborough. Their sons, Nathan and Adam, also work in the local sugar cane industry. Adam and his Wife Sandra own and lease

a number of farms in the Wide Bay Region, along with contract cane planting. Nathan also has a cane mulch business, “Doyle’s Cane Mulch”, which he started in 2004. Doyle’s Cane Mulch supplies mulch directly to the public at competitive prices and delivers bulk orders around Queensland. Find them online and on Facebook, or call on (07) 4128 2831.

LIFE STORY


VALE, GORDON VANDERSEE

Gordon Christian Vandersee was born in Crows Nest on the 6th November 1925 to parents Brenda and Christie Vandersee. The youngest of five brothers and two sisters, he was brought up on the family dairy farm at Glenaven, not far from Crows Nest.

Gordon exhibited the usual interests of a farm boy, and when his dad installed bulk grain storage bins on the farm, possibly the first ones of their kind ever installed in Queensland, Gordon and his older brother Claude rigged up their own bulk grain transportation vehicle, a trolley with a tank on top. It seems obvious that entrepreneurial and innovative traits, with a flair for engineering, were present from a young age.

Resilience and respect for his elders were also exhibited by Gordon from a

very early age. When he was 5 or 6, he fell off a pony and broke an arm, but he stoically walked all the way back home and endured the ordeal for a few more hours until he finally got to the doctor at Crows Nest. Once the arm

was on the mend, Gordon obediently followed his mum’s instructions and carried around a little bucket of sand to straighten it… changing the bag over to the other hand when the mending one became too tired.

Claude taking Gordon for a ride; even from the earliest age, Gordon was highly engaged in agriculture


Gordon completed his high school education and the Toowoomba Technical College in Margaret Street, and as a young man took on a cadet engineering position at the Toowoomba Foundry. In that capacity, he was responsible for designing some of the components in the gear box of the Southern Cross windmills which are still dotted across farms all around Australia.

While working and living in Toowoomba, Gordon met and fell in love with a young telephonist, Betty Wilson. Gordon had learned to fly at the Toowoomba Aeroclub, but he found he had to choose between his love of flying and the love of his life, Betty. He chose Betty, with his last in command flight being a one hour flight from Toowoomba to Archerfield in a Tiger Moth on the 27th of October 1947. It proved to be the right choice, with Gordon and Betty celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary on the 15th of November 2017.

At the time of his marriage to Betty, Gordon worked for an engineering firm in Brisbane that produced saw benches. He combined his honeymoon with attending a trade show in Cairns, a creative initiative befitting those frugal times. Another such initiative was taken when a house came to the market in Mount Gravatt. Thinking of what a great improvement the house would be on the thin-walled flat the young couple were sharing in Shorncliffe, Gordon bought it without consulting his bride. Betty could never really love the place, but, as Gordon explained, houses were in very short supply back in 1948 and he felt he had to jump at the chance.

Gordon’s entrepreneurial skills began to develop in earnest a bit later on when, in partnership with his brother Claude, he took on a pineapple farm near Caboolture. The brothers cleared the land by blasting huge Bloodwood trees out of the ground with Gelignite. With safety in mind, they decided that one would carry the detonators

while the other carried the Gelignite through the barb wired fences. Happily, there were no casualties. During the 18-month adventure there was no pineapple crop, though, but only a small yield of pumpkins. Gordon hated pumpkins ever since.

One achievement of the brothers at that time was winning a contract with Council to open up a road through the swamp at Beachmere. They did it with a little David Brown tractor borrowed from their brother Ken, fitted with a rear mounted three point linkage quarter yard scoop. It took a lot of loads of dirt to complete, but allegedly the road is still there.

In 1951, the brothers went on to their next project, a pig farm on the banks of the Logan River in Beaudesert sure to make the young partners a fortune. But Gordon yearned for grain farming, so in 1953 he nominated for a land ballot of 5,000 acre blocks in Central Queensland. Claude followed suit, and, amazingly, both brothers were allocated a block, with Gordon’s being 20 miles north of Clermont. Betty and Gordon named it Bungara, and that became their home for the next nine years. The initial infrastructure in the

property consisted of a windmill and a tank, and, with immediate occupancy required, the couple erected some shelter with 44 gallon drums, corrugated iron and some hessian bags while they built their house with the help of Gordon’s brother in law, Eric Reinke.

Many adventures took place during those years, starting with the epic move of the tractor Gordon bought to help him prepare the land: a Chamberlain Super 70, the most powerful he could find at the time. Gordon and Claude drove the tractor, with a cruising speed of 20 ¼ miles per hour, on its own wheels the 750 miles (1200ks) from Beaudesert to Bungara. Legend has it that this may be the only time Gordon ever drove below 70mph.

At Bungara, Gordon and Betty had to cope with many a drought, the occasional flood or cyclone and regular bushfires. Although Gordon had many funny stories of those times, it was a very tough life, and he yearned for an easier life for his wife and five children. So in 1963, the farm was sold and the family moved to Toowoomba, where Gordon had been promised the Chamberlain franchise.

Gordon and Betty - 15 November 1947


Claude (left) and Gordon receiving an award from Peter Griffiths (former Managing Director of John Deere Ltd in Australia)

By the time the farm had sold and he actually arrived in town, the franchise had been given to someone else, so Gordon focussed on manufacturing the Dynathrust, a front–end loader that he had designed. He initially operated under the name of Farm Equipment Pty Ltd, later changed to Vanderfield. The company did become the Chamberlain and New Holland dealer in Toowoomba, though, and his brother Claude, and Gordon and Betty’s five children all have had an interest in the business overtime.

In 1969-1970, John Deere bought into the Chamberlain dealership and Gordon began to sell John Deeres. Gordon recalled one of his early Chamberlain mechanics, Noel Zeller, a strong Chamberlain supporter, famously declaring at the time that those John Deeres were ‘all circlips and O-rings’.

Gordon had two heart attacks in the 70s, the first one when he was 46, which killed part of his heart muscle. With a change of lifestyle that involved a drastic change in his (and the whole family’s) diet, implemented by Betty, and a marked increase in exercise, he went on to live for another 46 years.

Although there have been hard times, Vanderfield has expanded

significantly since the 1970s. The Vanderfield St George building opened in 1982, followed by Gatton in 1993, Warwick in 1994 and Kununurra and Darwin in 1999. There have been further expansions since that time, and there are currently 13 Vanderfield branches across Queensland, the Northern Territory and the Kimberley, something that Gordon was very proud of.

Gordon loved technology and innovation, and introduced many business firsts. Two examples are introducing a computerised parts system in 1980, a time where computers were still almost the stuff of dreams, and using aircraft to service his customers wherever they operated. Forward thinking and positive, Gordon was always looking for new opportunities and ideas. He also had an honest, positive and empathetic way of dealing with people that made him widely respected and trusted.

Always entrepreneurial, Gordon was involved in many other ventures, including the establishment of Greenridge and other long since sold businesses. There were many ups and downs, many great stories along with many opportunities for him to become discouraged, but Gordon kept going and he kept encouraging

VALE, GORDON VANDERSEEthose around him. An amazingly positive influence, Gordon led by example while letting others tread their own path.

Gordon retired from full-time work in 1991, handing over the reins to his sons Bruce and Rob. He kept being interested in the business, though, and continued to offer wise advice and be an inspiration. In 1993, Gordon and Betty began building a home at Marcus Beach in the Sunshine Coast, eventually relocating and beginning a new chapter in their lives. This new home was the location of many family events that created some very happy and cherished memories. Some of Gordon and Betty’s younger grandchildren and their great-grandchildren were born during this time.

All the while, Gordon remained an avid reader and interested in the latest in business, agriculture, aviation and politics, taking up the role of unofficial Research and Development department at Vanderfield.

Gordon and Betty later moved to a unit at Golden Beach, a lovely spot with a great view right on the water at Pumicestone Passage, and later still back to Toowoomba to be closer to their family. In early 2018, Gordon experienced some health issues requiring hospitalisation, including some heart problems and a painful cancer in his tongue. After a week in hospital, Gordon passed away peacefully in his sleep at 6am on the 12th of March, having had a visit from Betty, and even responded to a text message from his son Bruce, who was overseas for business-related matters, the night before.

A man whose main aim in life was loving, caring and providing for his wife and family, who had earned the respect and affection of employees, business associates and customers alike, who walked in integrity and kindness, Gordon Vandersee will be missed by many.


Brothers Neil, Tony and Raymond Arcidiacono are third-generation farmers based in the Stanthorpe area. Their grandparents, Nunzio and Lucia, came from Sicily and originally settled in the sugar cane growing regions of Queensland, where Nunzio chopped cane by hand. Looking for a cooler climate, they ended up moving south to Stanthorpe, where they worked on apple, pear and grape farms. In the off season, Nunzio still travelled up north to cut cane.

‘My grandparents bought their own farm,’ explains Raymond, ‘and when my father was old enough he started to grow vegetables commercially along with the fruit, mostly Brussel sprouts. They grew capsicums for the household, but it wasn’t a widely used vegetable back then.’

Things have changed a bit over time, though. ‘Nowadays, capsicum is our

ARCHIE’S PRODUCEGrowing the Rainbow in the Granite Belt

Left to right: Neil, Tony and Raymond Arcidiacono from Archie’s Produce

Preparing beds for planting broccoli, wombok and cabbage at Ballandean

main crop. We also produce broccoli, and most recently we’ve started on cabbage. We operate under the name Archie’s Produce, and ours is a family operation, involving our parents, Santo and Nancy, and the three of us. The original block of land for our horticultural operation is on the Severn River. It was purchased following the sale of the original farm so we had water security, and now our crops grow in drip irrigated beds.’

Archie’s Produce work from a few locations in the area, and they have their main packing shed in Ballandean, with its own cold room facilities. They also have a state of the art grading shed from Holland. Their produce is transported by road to the markets in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, and the operation employs five full-time workers plus an additional 60 staff, mostly backpackers, during the peak season.

The Arcidiaconos rely on John Deere for their machinery and precision farming needs, and have several tractors, a gator and StarFireTM RTK equipment. They work closely with Vanderfield Toowoomba Sales Representative Ben Collins. ‘The Arcidiaconos are a great, hardworking family’, says Ben. ‘They have adopted innovative technology and have their own RTK base station. Apart from equipment, we also supply parts, filters and oil. I generally drive down with the parts when they need them, and for service they liaise with Service Advisor Darren Bentley. We either send a field technician out to them or they can bring their machine, especially the gator, up to the Toowoomba workshop. Archie’s produce supports the Stanthorpe Show and their capsicums have won a number of prizes, plus they usually drive a John Deere tractor from Vanderfield in the parade. We are proud to be in partnership with Archie’s Produce.’

LIFE STORY

Capsicum field at Ballandean, one month from harvest




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LIFE STORY

The Deguara family are on the third generation of sugar farmers in the Mackay area. Gerry Deguara’s father, Thomas, arrived to Australia from Malta when he was 14, and in 1950 bought a farm with his wife, Theresa. They became sugarcane growers, and brought up their five boys and two girls on the land.

‘I went straight into farming with my father as soon as I finished year 12,’ explains Gerry, ‘and all my brothers have also stayed on the land. Farming is what I’d always wanted to do, and my two sons, Sam and Joe (who is married to Annette and has two children, Dylan and Jayda), are in it with me on the home farm now. We have around 600Ha all up.’ Gerry and his wife, Barb, also have two daughters: Fleur, a vet, and Jane, a lawyer, who is married to Robbie and has a daughter, Maeve.

Farming practices have changed markedly through the years for the Deguaras. Gerry remembers how a very wet harvest in 1998 became


the incentive for the introduction of controlled traffic on their farm. ‘Everything seems to have evolved from there’, says Gerry. ‘We have minimum tillage on controlled traffic, as I mentioned, with 2m row widths. We also have a crop rotation system, having learned that monoculture doesn’t produce optimal results. We irrigate our crops, using central pivots, flooding and traveling sprinklers. Our goal is to hover around the 100 tonne/ha yield.’

The Deguaras initially had a 12 month fallow length, rotating with soybeans. However, they have recently introduced an extended fallow of 18 months that allows them to also grow a chickpea crop in the winter without delay in cane planting. ‘We adopted this practice after a trial we carried out with Project Catalyst, of which I am a founding member,’ explains Gerry. ‘The Project is a collaboration among several bodies, including growers, Natural Resource Management Groups such as Reef Catchments, and the Australian Government, among others.’

Gerry is very passionate about the Project’s goals. ‘There were 78 growers involved in the Project last year, on about 20,000 ha of farm land all up, and we are all working together to reduce our environmental footprint, enhance crop production and increase farm viability within sugarcane production systems in our Great Barrier Reef catchment area. The trials are conducted with those goals in mind, as they allow us to find ways to move faster towards identifying, validating and adopting innovative farm practices.’

‘Having different cropping options has also allowed us to spread cash flow and risk, and there are also health benefits including breaking the disease and pest cycle and improving the organic matter in the soil, and the addition of nitrogen to the soil that comes with growing legumes can reduce our input costs. These factors can translate into improved plant cane yields in the subsequent crop.’

The Deguaras rely on GPS technology and have a number of John Deere tractors, including a 5100MH spray tractor, 6175Rs for cane hauling and some 7- and 8-series tractors, a couple of John Deere harvesters, a second-hand header for harvesting soy beans and an XUV855D Gator. ‘We have a very good relationship with Vanderfield Mackay and work closely with (sales representative) David Pace at the branch when we have machinery needs. They also provide parts when we need them, and we know they are there for us.’

At Vanderfield we’d like to support your operation also; contact us on 1300 VANDER. To learn more about Project Catalyst, visit their website on www.projectcatalyst.net.au.

LIFE STORYGerry Deguara

It’s the daily ‘tool box’ meeting as Gerry (behind the Gator) and sons Sam (left) and Joe take detailed instructions from grandson Dylan


Greg Smith grew up in Darwin, and as a child he was always close to water: swimming, sailing, windsurfing or scuba diving. He completed his Diesel Mechanic apprenticeship and initially worked in the road transport industry, mostly based around road construction in the northern part of Australia and across Western Australia. He eventually obtained a position with Gulf Transport, a company with an impressive reputation in the mining and road transport sectors. This job, which was mostly related to cartage of ore and concentrates, as well as underground

Enjoying the sunset from the water during a Lake Argyle cruise

Freshwater crocodiles, at an estimated 25000, can often be seen in and around Lake Argyle

road trains, took Greg to multiple locations on the northern part of Australia as well as the United States.

One of those locations was Lake Argyle, where Greg crossed paths with someone who was looking for an investor to buy a boat for a business idea about 20 years ago. Greg became that investor and also carried out the boat maintenance for a number of years. Ultimately, though, he decided to try and make a living out of it and now he is the owner of Lake Argyle Cruises in Lake Argyle village, about 70Ks away from Kununurra.

Lake Argyle, Australia’s largest freshwater man-made reservoir by surface area, filled to capacity for the first time in 1973, and it sustains a thriving ecosystem. ‘The Lake is designated a RAMSAR Wetland of International Significance’, explains Greg. ‘It is home to an amazing array of wildlife, including freshwater crocodiles and other reptiles, various marsupials, 26 species of native fish, and approximately one third of Australia’s bird species, which at times can number in the tens of thousands.’

LIFE STORY

EXPERIENCE THE JEWEL OF THE KIMBERLEYGreg Smith of Lake Argyle Cruises


Beautiful Lake Argyle on a still afternoon

Common (Euro) Walleroos on the shore of Lake Argyle

The best way to take it all in is from a boat, and Greg and his right hand man, Matt Kelly, have over 35 years combined experience on the lake and offer a selection of tours catering for both individuals and groups. ‘We specialise in observing wildlife, although what species visitors will actually encounter on the day is something that, naturally, we cannot guarantee. Birdwatching is my passion, and we welcome birdwatchers from all over the world, with groups from the US and the United Kingdom featuring prominently amongst our customers.’

‘In addition, our clients can choose to do some fishing with us in some very reliable spots, and to engage in water activities such as kayaking, canoeing or paddle boarding. We also offer dinghies for hire, and we are very excited with our newest project, which we’ve named the Jaliwang Journey. This tour will be a striking combination of wildlife, scenery, history and cultural awareness, and we have teamed up with a local aboriginal tourism operator to give our customers a unique experience.’

Greg and his partner, Anne Richards, who is a doctor in Kununurra, have two daughters. Anne purchased her

Toyota Prado from Lloyd Morley at Vanderfield’s Kununurra Toyota. It’s not their first Toyota, as Greg and Anne have found them to be great vehicles that fit their needs well, and they appreciate having a local dealer. ‘We also purchase our Toyota spare parts from Lloyd and his team,’ says Greg’, ‘and it’s good to know they are not far away.’

When asked about what makes the Lake Argyle area such a special place,

Greg mentions its unique scenery and the immense size of the lake, with its very healthy ecosystem and abundance of wildlife. There’s something for everyone to enjoy in and around the lake, and Lake Argyle Cruises offer a variety of tours at different times of the day that cater for every preference. Please visit their website, lakeargylecruises.com, or call them on (08) 9168 7687, to organise an unforgettable leg of your next trip.

LIFE STORY

LIFE STORY


Brothers Andrew and David Moon are fifth generation farmers whose parents, Jeff and Pam, arrived in St George in 1979. Commercial cotton cultivation had started in the area in the late 1950s, at the same time as the intensive irrigation scheme was being developed, and Jeff and Pam started growing cotton in the 1980s on what had originally been a cattle and sheep grazing farm, Gillebri.

‘Five generations back, my family started off farming just outside of Brisbane, but there was a slow and steady move towards the west, first to the Lockyer Valley and now in St George’, explains Andrew. ‘I imagine

that for my parents this was the new frontier, and the prospects found in the new cotton industry were exciting.’

Andrew had always wanted to be in agriculture. When he left school, he first worked for growers in St George, and then he had his own business for a while before working for an agronomist. He ended up studying Ag Science at the Dalby Agricultural College. ‘Horticulture was part of my heritage, you could say, with the family having come from the Lockyer Valley. It’s in the blood.’

‘We had developed some of the sand blocks at Gillebri for farming native Geraldton Wax flowers back

MOONROCKSThe Power of the Data You Already Have

Some of the beautiful Moon Rocks onions grown at Gillebri, ready for the supermarket

Coles Onions, Moon Rocks QLD Coles Garlic, Moon Rocks QLD

in the 1980s, mainly for the export markets. The market was tough, and production is very labour intensive, so as a family we decided to switch to rockmelons alongside the cotton. We did this for about 18 years, and we also experimented with pumpkins and table grapes, but now we have a rotating system that includes cotton, onions, garlic and broccoli on 2m spaced irrigated beds.’

Andrew and David’s vegetables are commercialised under the trade name Moonrocks, and the operation has a very strong focus on quality. Moonrocks is Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)


LIFE STORY

Moon Rocks also grow great garlic at Gillebri

David (left) and Andrew Moon

certified, and it’s accredited under the Freshcare Food Safety and Quality Code of Practice and HARPS (Harmonised Australia Retail Produce Scheme), a new, retailer-led scheme that assists with compliance to food safety and legal and trade legislation. The Moons also manage their land and water resources to maintain sustainable, environmentally friendly farming practices, and they follow the cotton industry’s Best Management Practices.

The family has a strong connection with John Deere machinery, having bought the first new JD tractor, a 4640, in 1979. There have been many Deeres since, and nowadays they are RTK steered. ‘We like to use all the newest technology that is going to benefit us’, explains Andrew. ‘We started with StarFireTM and GreenStarTM as soon as they became available, and we tend to keep up with the updated models. At the moment, many growers, including ourselves, have a large amount of data readily available, and the next step is to put it all together and make it really useful for yield and efficiency increases.’

One recent example of how precision ag is helping Moonrocks relates to a project headed by Vanderfield’s Precision Farming Specialist Mick Kennedy. ‘Mick does an amazing job for his customers’, says Andrew, ‘and we know that if he cannot solve a problem directly, he knows someone who can help out and it gets done. We had a 20ha undulating field, quite unusual here in St George, and we wanted to put it under a lateral move irrigator. We had to get rid of the depressions first, though, to avoid water pooling all over the field and to have the excess able to run off properly, and because of the nature of the field it was quite a complex job for us.’

‘My son Jake, who was the bucket operator, and I went to see Mick. He used elevation data collected during normal farming operations that had been sent by wireless data transfer (WDT) to our MyJohnDeere operations centre. We got Precision

Cropping Technologies’ Irrigation Engineer Jay Choral on the phone. Jay was also able to remotely access and view the data we were working with, and the four of us just had a productive conversation on speakerphone while developing the plan. The field was divided into individual fields, so that water could move in whatever direction it needed, and a T3rra CuttaTM control file was created. The whole thing took about one hour and, back home, we set to work using T3rra CuttaTM and our levelling bucket. We are very happy with the results.’

Moonrocks have excellent packing facilities, including a sizing shed and a finishing shed, and extensive storage, including climate controlled storage,

which allows them to carry out their packing operations all year round. As the business has grown, they have become a significant source of local and international employment, with permanent staff being about 10 on the farm and 30 in the sheds and the peak season attracting scores of additional staff, many of them backpackers on working holiday visas.

Next time you buy onions, garlic or broccoli at a Coles supermarket, there is a very big chance that you are buying Moonrocks. For additional information about their products, or for employment opportunities information, please visit their website, moonrocks.com.au. And for all your precision agriculture queries, give our team a call on 1300 VANDER.




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LIFE STORY

Grant and Fiona Borchardt run a mixed farming operation not too far from Tara in the Western Downs, helped by their son Scott with his wife, Elisa, and daughter Kylie (an agronomist) and her husband, Pieter. They run merino sheep and crop dryland wheat and sorghum. This is also their second year growing dryland cotton, with some chickpea, and there are a few Angus cattle on agistment, run by Elisa.

Grant’s parents and uncle used to farm in the Yorke Peninsula, which lies west of Adelaide across St Vincent Gulf, and they migrated to the Darling Downs nearly 50 years ago. It took them, particularly Grant’s father, some time to get accustomed to the different farming conditions, but they got through. The younger generation has the advantage of having been born and bred in the area, and they also make sure that the operation keeps up with the times. Grant is very proud of his

GRANT AND FIONA BORCHARDTGrizzly Ploughs, Happy Team

team, and acknowledges his son’s keenness, daughter’s professional skills, and everyone’s knowledge, abilities and willingness to work both hard and smart as key assets.

The family have been working on ways to make the operation profitable for everyone involved, and to that effect they do contract work on 2,000 acres on a neighbour’s farm, mostly ploughing and planting but also doing a bit of spraying. They also expanded not long ago, purchasing 960 ha that are on worthwhile soil but have been neglected and need a lot of work.

Grant has been using several machines to get the land ready. He has a CAT D8R and two John Deere tractors that he bought second hand, an 8345RT and an 8520. The 8520 is used to pull a 9 tine Grizzly Deep Digger, a heavy duty parabolic tine machine that can go as far as 660mm deep, ripping and

lifting the ground to ensure a good bust of the soil.

More recently, Grant has purchased two more Grizzlies from Rohan Aitken at Vanderfield Chinchilla, one being a 36 plate Tiny 290, which can be fitted with either 36” or a 32” discs and is especially suited to cutting out suckers, working up old pasture ground or going into new country. It fits in perfectly with Grant’s requirements where other machines would have proven to be too wide and light. The Tiny is pulled by Grant’s D8R, and folds up to 3.5m for road transport.

The other Grizzly, a Heavy Duty Field Boss, is heavier and more suited for hard soil and broad acre operations, also leaving a better field behind. Grant has used many of the Field Bosses over the years, including the 40, 48, 56 and 64 plate models, and his latest acquisition is the 76 plate. He couldn’t be happier, crediting the plough with being his best ever, and brilliant at handling melon holes and other significant unevenness in the terrain. Either of the John Deeres are used to pull the Field Boss.

Grant and his family are getting their new land ready, and they look forward to moving on to the next phase of its exploitation.

Scott Borchardt - Deep Ripping in Moonie

Shift change on contract country: Grant (right) and Pieter


WORKING AT VANDERFIELD

JEFF HANSEN40 Years StrongJeff was born in Rockhampton. His father worked for the railway and got a transfer to Toowoomba when Jeff was six years old. His first job was for a farm machinery dealer called Plant and Plant, working as a junior parts assistant and helping in the service office for about nine months. Then he moved on to a car dealership, where he started still aged 16 doing clerical jobs and then progressed to serving customers. Jeff eventually became the parts manager, and it was when he had accumulated over ten years’ experience in parts that he saw an ad for a parts Interpreter position at Vanderfield Toowoomba.

Jeff knew Gordon Vandersee, who had founded Vanderfield about 15 years earlier, as a customer at the car dealership, and he decided to apply, being the last person to be interviewed by Gordon for the position. Jeff did get the job, and, having completed 40 years of service on the 7th of February 2018, is currently the longest-serving employee at Vanderfield.

Jeff has a sense of urgency regarding customer requirements and responsibility for getting the job done to a high standard, which was instilled in him by Gordon and by his first supervisor, Russell Kirkwood. Besides this, Jeff is a great team player and his team members know that there is no job that is beneath him. These qualities, coupled with his ability to maintain a consistent, steady pace for long periods of time and keep acquiring knowledge in his field, led to a promotion to Parts Manager in 1993. In that role, Jeff credits Bruce Vandersee with inspiring him to aim high, striving for constant improvement and taking risks to promote innovation.

Jeff has always enjoyed being in touch with the nuts and bolts of his job and in control of stock, but also helping his staff understand the reasons behind the Vanderfield values and

Jeff Hansen - before and after

standards. He’s also always enjoyed studying and applying business success factors and understanding what drives businesses in general, and is a big believer in embracing change and being at the forefront of his industry.

In December 2012, a small group of the Toowoomba staff were sent to the RDO Equipment headquarters and key dealerships in the US. While there, the team saw an agricultural parts call centre in operation, with about ten employees taking all the overflow calls from the different dealerships in the group. Everyone got very excited by the concept, but the technology was not available in Toowoomba at the time. Jeff did trial his own version, having some of his staff concentrate on assisting customers with parts phone enquiries in order to free up other staff for face to face customer service, but that did not work the same. In March 2017,

though, with the technology finally available, the vision became a reality. Jeff now supervises a small team of knowledgeable Parts staff who take customer calls and support staff across all the Vanderfield branches.

Jeff and the Parts Support Centre team are based at the Vanderfield Support Office in Toowoomba, and his current role still includes managing stock orders for Toowoomba and Darwin, taking phone orders for any of the lines Vanderfield carries, and meeting customers’ parts needs either directly or by assisting staff. Very importantly, though, Jeff’s focus also includes looking at the possibilities of the Parts Support Centre and taking it to the next stage. To achieve this, he is also developing a strong team of highly motivated staff who contribute their own ideas and are driven by a desire to offer a very high standard of customer service.

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1300 VANDER vanderfield.com.au

Please update your systems with the new numbers. The old numbers are slowly being decommissioned.

TOOWOOMBARECEPTION: 07 4631 4800 PARTS: 07 4631 4810

SALES: 07 4631 4830 SERVICE: 07 4631 4850 FAX: 07 4631 4807

ST GEORGERECEPTION: 07 4570 9500 PARTS: 07 4570 9510


CHINCHILLA RECEPTION: 07 4570 3500 PARTS: 07 4570 3510


ROMARECEPTION: 07 4578 8500 PARTS: 07 4578 8510


EMERALDRECEPTION: 07 4843 8500 PARTS: 07 4843 8510


GATTONRECEPTION: 07 5460 2500 PARTS: 07 5460 2510


GYMPIERECEPTION: 07 5480 6800 PARTS: 07 5480 6810


BUNDABERGRECEPTION: 07 4331 8500 PARTS: 07 4331 8510


BILOELARECEPTION: 07 4993 8500 PARTS: 07 4993 8510


MACKAYRECEPTION: 07 4966 3300 PARTS: 07 4966 3310


DARWINRECEPTION: 08 8924 8600 AG PARTS: 08 8924 8663


KATHERINERECEPTION: 08 8974 0000 PARTS: 08 8974 0010


KUNUNURRARECEPTION: 08 9169 4900 PARTS: 08 9169 4910


VANDERFIELD

1300 VANDER vanderfield.com.au

Please Update Your Phones and Systems

with Vanderfield’s New Phone Numbers.

We have updated our phone systems...Why?

• So you speak to a person... not an answering machine.

• So you get through to who you want sooner.

> Dedicated Lines for each department (Sales, Service, Parts)

> After hours calls diverted to ‘on call’ staff.

THE FIELD · 2018-06-07 · The Field Winter 2018 3 In this edition of “The Field” we honour...

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Transcript of THE FIELD · 2018-06-07 · The Field Winter 2018 3 In this edition of “The Field” we honour...