4.00pm
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For years, salesmen and women have used the Elmore Field Days as a chance to make a pitch for how their products can help, or even revolutionise, the way farmers feed the nation.
Alan Stevens knows this very well. he still has the clothing he wore to field days around the country, including in Elmore, during his time working for chemical company ICI.
Exactly 40 years ago this month he moved to Bendigo and started trialling and selling a new system that would transform how most farmers managed weeds and crops.
The use of herbicides in cultivation was rare at the time, but ICI hoped its product Sprayseed would change that.
“ICI had discovered it had a product in its armament that would control weeds – and allow farmers to take control of their weed control program,” he said.
“It didn’t matter if they were wet or dry, as long as the plants were growing it would kill them.”
The best farmers embrace new ideas, but they still needed support if they were to take the risk and give Sprayseed a go.
“It was a different system. You had to understand what you were doing to get the best out of it,” Mr Stevens said.
The stakes could be high. Farmers could lose their crops if something went wrong and they, and Mr Stevens, were learning as they went.
The Sprayseed system and other forms of the “direct drilling” methods that followed would eventually become the standard in farming.
Yet, the transformation would not come swiftly.
“I would say it took a good generation-and-a-half,” Mr Stevens said.
Part of the challenge was to find farmers who were respected as leaders in new ideas, and who were brave enough to try something unknown in their districts.
Even then, Mr Stevens sometimes encountered scepticism.
“The tricky farmer would take me to the worst paddock on the farm and say ‘OK mate, if your direct drilling works here I’ll use it over the whole farm’,” he said.
Mr Stevens would have to politely suggest a different area where the system would have a chance to shine.
Mr Stevens had kept the diaries and other business documents he used to keep track of successes and failures. They would soon be archived by a national library for posterity.
3.30pm
Our roving photographer Darren Howe has been out and about capturing all the colour and action from day two of the field days.
You can see this morning’s pictures here. More will be added from this afternoon soon.
1.50pm
A humble blade of grass has made its Elmore Field Days debut after years of international research and lessons from 10,000 cultivars.
Coolabah Turf’s new Sir Grange grass is one of about 40 new products released in time for the field days, with technological advances made in 10 others.
Coolabah is also talking up its new Tif Turf grass, which it will stock after 25 years of research and development by groups overseas.
Coolabah hopes the new grasses will help Australian lawns be drought-tolerant and be low-maintenance, managing director Suzie Shearer said.
The latest grasses would be used for smaller backyard lawns, which were more likely to be shadier.
For many companies debuting products, the field days are about giving customers a chance to kick the tyres, in a manner of speaking.
At the opposite end of the Elmore Events Centre to Coolabah, Kuhn Farm Machinery was showing off its Merge Maxx 950, which would get to work on Australian farms from 2019.
The unit on site was the first delivered into Australia and would help hay harvests, Kuhn national sales manager Jarrod Maskell said.
“It’s a unique machine for us, we think it is going to be the future of raking, hay or silage production,” he said.
“It’s been getting really good reviews here and at the Henty Field Days.”
That was important for new machines, especially in a country like Australia where potential buyers were so spread out geographically.
Mr Maskell said word of mouth, social media and marketing were also important for a new and unique product in Australia.
11.20am
Farmers are being urged to put their health first as they grapple with the dry and drought conditions gripping Australia’s eastern states.
There are concerns many of those attending this year’s Elmore Field Days may not be prioritising their health.
The National Centre for Farmer Health’s Tracey Hatherell said farmers needed to think about their health just as they dealt with the challenges they were facing with livestock and their farming businesses.
While trends had changed over time, she said it could be difficult telling people it was time to take some time for their wellbeing when they faced water issues or were trying to feed stock.
“They need to understand that there needs to be a balance,” Ms Hatherell said.
The NCFH and Rural Bank have teamed up to offer 20 minute health and lifestyle assessments at the Field Days at site 497, in the fourth avenue.
The assessments have been taking place at field days since 2009 and Ms Hatherell said they they were helping shift attitudes, even if current conditions raised the prospect of more farmers’ health declining.
“The more education we are providing farmers the more focus they have on their health and lifestyle practices,” Ms Hatherell said.
Here is what people can expect when they sit down for the assessments:
- Blood glucose levels measured
- Cholesterol levels measured
- Eyesight checked
- Height, weight and body mass measurements
- A blood pressure test
- Safety practices and protection and
- A wellbeing assessment
Earlier
It is another beautiful day at the Elmore Field Field Days, with just the right amount of cloud cover over the events centre right now.
The Bendigo Advertiser will again be providing rolling coverage today, bringing you some of the stories floating around at the 55th annual field days.
Elmore and District Machinery president Derek Shotton has confirmed yesterday’s crowd numbers were the best for day one in six years.
Related:
It is, of course, too early to know numbers for day two, but there are big lines for tickets out the front of the venue.
Mr Shotton said the best early indication for numbers will be when the teams doing the 10.30am parking shift knock off.
“If they are buggered, you know it’s been busy,” he said.
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.