1MG FlippingBooks
Solar pumps and improved planning the key to on-farm cost reduction
Staff writers
Rod Ennor of Irrigation Warehouse Group is a successful self-made rural businessman, conscious of business realities and numbers. But beyond that he is passionate about farmers, water and the potential of solar pumps. He deals daily with the farming community nationally. Maybe that is where his plain speak comes from – some might call him blunt.
“I had to call a customer an idiot the other day, with good reason,” says Rod. “After talking to me for six months about new solar pumping, he called in a panic because his system had broken down. He needed a new pump in one day!”
Rod worked over time, fearing it would take a week, but managed it in two days.
“There are two types of farmers in Australia, I reckon,” says Rod. “We have a growing number of serious business-like farmers who plan, think and run their farms as businesses. Then we have the rest, in various degrees. I call them the emotional farmer.”
“The ones who just wing it, do things as they have always done it, won’t analyse and don’t know numbers. Believe it or not, I encounter a lot of farmers who don’t know how much they are paying for electricity each year, or they calculate it incorrectly. Though they do generally know how much they pay for fuel. This makes no sense, especially in our current environment where energy prices are escalating.”
Where is this going, I wonder? I had called by to enquire about solar energy and the predicted rise in use, said by many to be near a tipping point. So I push the point.
“Yes, I think we are set for significant growth. Power prices are going up, and solar panel capacity is going up – with prices remaining the same. A panel that cost the same just a couple of years ago generated 175KW. Today the same panel gives 300KW. In another year, at the same cost, it will be 350KW.”
I ask Rod what the farmer needs to know about solar pumps.
“First, buy quality – a Grundfos pump, which we recommend, will last 10-20 years and is a great product. Avoid cheap imports, many of which might make it only two years. One firm which was importing such rubbish for $200 and selling them for $800 went bankrupt.”
Then he leaps to his computer and pulls up an excel sheet. “Look here, I’ve laid out the figures, and spend a lot of time educating people on this. It’s based on a reasonable 5 per cent per annum increase in energy – some say it will be higher, but I keep it conservative.”
I peer onto a sheet of neat columns spread over 25 years.
“The point is getting the farmer to think in timeframes of at least 5-25 years. The business-like ones will do this, the others maybe not, at their cost.”
He points at a bottom line. “On this sheet, with a farmer, I can change the costs and inputs to explain his or her precise situation.”
I read a 25-year saving of $269,000 from solar versus grid electricity costs of over $10,000 a year as the balance for what Rod describes as a middle size farm operation.
“Planning, thinking and accurate numbers are what our farmers need most,” says Rod. “Solar power is provably excellent and we are selling well, but my bigger concern is the farmer’s overall approach, especially those in the emotional category. Adequate planning and thinking can be applied to a lot of things and will make a big difference.”
NEWS
Prodoz, a Proudly Australian and family-owned agribusiness, based in Melbourne, is strengthening its positions as national/international leader in advanced crop – science solutions through a growing portfolio of global innovation partners and a distribution footprint supported by all major distributors - includes Nutrien Ag, Elders, Lindsay Rural and Independent Rural stores.
Australia’s climate is tougher than ever. Heat spikes, dry periods, salinity, waterlogging and sudden frost events are becoming an everyday part of farmers lives.
Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
Find out why the first summer drench can be so important in protecting your flock’s health, plus what to look for in your summer drench of choice.
A NSW-based innovator has developed a patent-pending, front-mounted firefighting and utility system for tractors, giving farmers instant, in-cab-controlled fire suppression, water and fuel on hand, and safer solo operations.
Barko Security is bringing drone technology to agriculture while building on a decade of security and a lifetime of agricultural know-how.
