Australian manufacturer Agridry is helping farmers stay profitable through periods of floods and drought.
It can be tough to be a farmer in a land of drought and flooding rains. In May, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) found record-breaking amounts of rainfall in northern New South Wales.
Meanwhile, the opposite was happening throughout southern Australia. The BoM reported that it was the seventh driest May on record for Victoria, with rainfall below average in most of South Australia, southern Western Australia, and western NSW.
Either end of the spectrum is painful for farmers, who are looking to maximise the value of their grain.
Agridry general manager Joshua Morrison said this weather volatility is one of the biggest challenges facing the company’s customers.
“Farmers are facing rising costs of inputs, taxes, labour shortages, and the pressure of maintaining the high Australian grain quality,” he said.
“Many farmers are dealing with an older infrastructure that isn’t keeping up with the demands of modern farming.
“We offer a practical and durable solution, built for Australian conditions and to Australian Standards.”
Agridry, established in 1976, manufactures drying and aeration equipment.
It focuses on product development for markets including grains, almonds, pulses, nuts, wood chips and other commodity products.
Its equipment provides growers and processors with a way of controlling the moisture levels in their grain.
Without a dryer, in periods of high rainfall, a farmer may need to wait weeks for the crop to naturally dry. During this time, the crop will degrade, losing some of its protein and shape.
Dryers can help prevent this and even allow farmers to begin the harvest process earlier, letting them reap the benefits of greater flexibility and higher profits.
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Morrison said Agridry’s dryers are self-sufficient, easy-to-operate systems that help minimise the effects of inclement weather.
“They allow farmers to be more effective in the field, and so they can harvest at any time of the day. It doesn’t matter if there’s high moisture or humidity, which means they can spend less money on extra staff,” he said.
The company’s range of aeration control systems have also proved popular in areas facing a potential drought. Agridry’s range of silo aeration units are designed to ensure that silo stored grain remains low in temperature, low in moisture and low in insect and mould activity and maintain a germination rate if stored at 15°C or below, Agridry’s silo aeration controllers do all the hard work.
Storing grain for longer periods of time allows farmers to sell grain at the best possible price, improving the profitability of their crop.
Moving on up
Agridry’s customers aren’t the only ones futureproofing operations. The company has recently relocated to a new facility.
Morrison said that the business’s site had served its purpose but had been holding the team back in terms of efficiency and growth.
“Relocating gave us an opportunity to design a facility around the modern manufacturing flow and to give us space and infrastructure to scale our production and innovation,” he said.
“There will be more room to build bulk items in a cost-effective way, and we’ve been looking at using laser welders to increase efficiencies and decrease manufacturing costs.
“A lean manufacturing process means we can reduce waste and deliver our equipment faster.”
The facility is also located along the Inland Rail corridor, which Morrison said was a big strategic win for the company.
“We can move our finished goods faster and more cost effectively,” he said. “During harvest time this is everything.”
“We have been listening to farmers throughout this expansion, and we’re collaborating with key partners to offer them with machines that deliver real world results.”