Grant Sheds: Farm Gate News Apr - Jun 24

What Makes Country Life So Good?

The serenity of still water & beautiful cliffs upstream of Renmark. Houseboat holidays or any time on the river is always delightful. Danny says it’s always his “Happy Place” having grown up water skiing on the Murray.

How’s the Serenity...?

In October last year, we invited friends to join us on a 5 night River Murray houseboat holiday, from Renmark. If you’ve never done it, we highly recommend it. Such a beautiful waterway and in a houseboat you’re “glamping” with all modern conveniences and even spas on some. If you are an active family with a boat your kids will love flat-out water activities. If you enjoy nature, you’ll be in paradise, and take or hire a canoe to explore the backwater channels. Houseboat holidays are one of our all time favourites and we reckon you’ll love it too.

If you’re with city friends, just remind them there isn’t a coffee café on every bend!!

COMMUNITY

What do you think happened?

Yeah, so Danny was doing his blokey thing … cleaning the gutters at home when rain was forecast. For a change he was doing it while it was still dry. Often he’s up the ladder in his undies after the rain has set in and the gutters are overflowing (sorry if that image scars you!).

I knew what he was doing but I was inside and suddenly heard some loud swear words and cursing! I thought it wise to stay inside. Keep out the way. But then the noise turned to a deep, guttural growning and I thought , “Heck, I’d better go and see what’s up.”

There he was, sprawled on the concrete of the verandah, blood pouring from a gaping wound on his eyebrow. “Holy sh*t!” … Well you know what I mean.

I helped him carefully to a sitting position and whacked (yes ‘whacked”) some tissues against the wound to stop the bleeding … before thinking, “Oops -that probably hurt!” He needed stitches but before I drove him to

FREE OFFER: Saving Your Farming Family History

If you know that you have old photos, film etc in your family’s belongings, I encourage you to get them sorted, scanned and digitised soon, before they get lost or damaged.

Many of the old black & white photos are absolute gems and graphically tell your

family and farming stories of days gone by. It can take a fair bit of time, but get started by setting aside a period of time to scan and name a number of photos each week. Or get them scanned by a local photo shop. And of course… share them with other family members so there’s more than one digital copy in the family. Some will be so grateful for you doing that.

I was going to include my system for doing this, that includes naming process for each photo, but it will take too much space.

Instead … if you’d like to get my method, give me a ‘hoy’ by emailing ali@grantsheds.com.au or phone our office on Freecall 1800 088 528 and I’ll send you a copy for FREE.

My Gift To You!

hospital I said, “You just sit there, I’ve got a few plants to water.” Kind, aren’t I? Well I figured it could be a long wait in ED when it was just for stitches, so better get the pots watered. It was only a few.

There were a number of others in the ED waiting room but as soon as we mentioned he’d fallen off a ladder, we were whipped in fast. That surprised us … but … as we then learnt, ladder accidents can be very serious. They checked for spinal damage, concussion etc. Something I hadn’t thought about.

Turns out he needed 5 stitches, had 2 cracked ribs, a fractured wrist and possible shoulder damage! And he was a lucky one after a ladder “incident”. He was in quite a bit of pain. But the worst was the pain done to his pride as the medical staff told him repeatedly … “Men over 50 should not climb ladders!!”

What the heck? What country bloke doesn’t use a ladder?

Lesson to share: A. Don’t climb ladders or use something to secure it. B. Consider the possibility of spinal or brain injuries before you move a ladder accident victim and use first aid treatment appropriate … even calling an ambulance and don’t move the patient!

From The Mouths of Babes

One of our 4 year old twins gave me a compliment yesterday …

“Oma … I like your old skin.”

Some years ago, another granddaughter said to Danny’s mum … “Old Oma … Why do you have stripes on your arms?”

Turns out it was horizontal wrinkles!

Gotta laugh and not be too sensitive !!!!!!!!!!

As always, sit back with a beer, wine or cuppa and enjoy reading this new edition of our farming families favourite ... Farm Gate News. And if you’re looking for a new farm shed, join the Grant Sheds family with one of our Aussie Tough sheds, built right, built on time and no hidden nasty surprises that have unfortunately caught others out when they’ve bought something else. We promise … we’re here for you!

Bye now

Ali & Danny Halupka Owners - Grant Sheds

Captain Danny steering through the lift-span of the historic Paringa bridge, near Renmark.

You Little Ripper... Grant Sheds

LOCAL AUSSIE LEGENDS

Appreciating the Efforts of Farmers Past 1952

Years

The Power of Country Connections

I (Ali) was scanning old photos and negatives belonging to 86 year old Dick Telfer. He is a cousin of my father, Grant Telfer. I want to get his old photos scanned and be able to ask Dick questions about family photos before that opportunity is gone.

Amongst these photos was the old shed photo shown above here and on the cover of this edition of Farm Gate News. Having been involved in our family shed business since I was 16, it’s natural that I have a great interest. So I delved into the history of this shed. I had no information to start with as it was from a

Stooking

1928 Stooking hay at Sherlock Farm

(Source: State Library of South Australia B-59148)

Writing the story on page 4-5 of this edition made me wonder exactly what “stooking” was in connection with farming in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. So I looked it up and share this with you now.

A stook, is an arrangement of sheaves of cut grain-stalks placed so as to keep the grainheads off the ground while still in the field and before collection for threshing. In the

negative so nothing was ‘written on the back.’ Luckily I was able to ask Dick about it.

Quick as a shot, he was able to tell me that he took this photo on Christmas day 1958 when, as a young man of 21, he decided to go for a drive rather than stay home. He remembered where it was but not the name of the station it was on.

We love our country communities so old photos of country people, places and landmarks are of great interest. We tracked down information about this old shed via a number of Facebook pages until I found and got info’ from current station owners nearby and 70-75 year old Smith brothers who grew up on this station.

Here’s the web address if you’d like to search for old photos. It’s a great resource.

https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au

See page 4-5 of this edition for more information.

era before combine harvesters, stooking was necessary to dry the grain for a period of days or weeks before threshing, to achieve a moisture level low enough for storage.

Source: Wikipedia

Hay was cut by hand with sickles in the early days, but horse drawn twine binders were developed around 1885. These machines made sheaves of directly cut cereals, wheat, oats and barley.

The binder would cut the herbage with a knife bar mower, a reel and canvas elevator would convey the stalks to a binding platform where they were tied by a knotter with twine to form a sheaf. This was dropped on the ground for initial drying.

After a few days drying, sheaves were ‘stooked’ with pitchforks and final drying and curing occurred before carting to the stack.

c1928 Hay Wagon at hay shed, Pt Victoria

Source: State Library of South Australia B-29515

Stacking was a skill and great pride was taken in forming a symmetrical haystack. Often salt was added to each layer of the stack to retard mould growth.

With the advent of tractors, especially the small grey Ferguson in the 1940s, horse drawn binders were adapted to be towed by these machines.

Source: www.pir.sa.gov.au/aghistory

Boy … can you imagine the intense physical effort required by farmers back then?

1910 Hay stacks at Pinnaroo

Source: State Library of South Australia B-17838

The photo below here (not the same shed) shows how the old ‘Warrakoo’ hay shed may have been filled. I found this photo on the State Library web site.

1958 Old hay shed on Warrakoo Station NSW

THEN: Men forking hay from a hay wagon on to a large covered stack c1910 (src State Library SA PRG-280-1-43-610)

… continued from page 2…

This wonderful old shed was situated on Warrakoo Station, near the Cal Lal district, not far south of the old Renmark to Wentworth road, north of the River Murray.

• It’s a hay shed built in the 1890’s by Thomas Smith who owned Warrakoo at that time.

• They had a crop/cultivation paddock of about 100 acres nearby to produce hay for working horses, house cows and stock (not cropped for grain at that time).

• Growing and storing hay was for droughtproofing the farm (& no tax incentives back then)

• The crop was cut, tied into sheafs and then ‘stooked’ (see P3). Then it was loaded onto a wagon that was about 8’ high, using a pitch fork.

• This shed was purpose built for hay storage. The shutters on the side would be opened for airflow, especially if the hay was still at all green. Drying the hay properly prevented mould. Stock, especially horses, cannot tolerate mould in their feed. Those shutters may also have been used to toss sheafs of hay in through them, via pitch fork, from the wagon that had transported them there from the paddock.

• Doing this would have alleviated the need to reverse the bullock wagon into the shed to start filling it from the centre. Access from both ends would allow using oldest hay first.

• This shed has a large swing door on each end.

• The poles are Australian native pine which is not attractive to white ants.

• The wall iron is attached to the inside of the poles, giving the exoskeleton or inside-out appearance so that the weight of the hay pile against the walls would not ‘’pop’ the nails and cause the walls to bow out.

Paul Hansen of Kulcurna Station remembers seeing the poles only standing when he was a child in the 1970’s.

Brothers Graham & Barry Smith were the last generation of Smiths to live on Warrakoo Station. They told me that they remember sleeping on the hay (bales by then) about the time this photo was taken, with mice running over them and under the tarpaulin they slept on. They knew that where there are mice, there are snakes … so they hardly got any sleep!

‘Warrakoo’ also had orchards near the river in the 1890’s and supplied fruit and vegetables to the new Renmark settlement, transported via paddle steamers.

LOOK HOW FAR Lessons Learnt Comparing

SWING-UP WALL SHUTTERS

Large, swing-up shutters high on the walls. For airflow, especially if hay still at all green, to prevent mould because stock, and especially horses, cannot tolerate mould in their feed.

May also have been a way to fill the shed with the stooked hay by tossing stooks (sheafs) in from the back of an 8’ high wagon, using pitchforks. This would allow a high pile inside the shed, much like using an roof inlet or auger to pile grain high in a grain shed today.

GUTTERS

Then: Small (if any) gutters

Now: Grant Sheds high volume gutters & downpipes designed to suit the roof area & expected volume of water. At right, rainhead & dual 6” downpipes on Mega hay shed to drain storm water fast!

Hay shed for stooked hay on Warrakoo Station NSW, south of the old Renmark-Wentworth Rd near Cal Lal. Originally built in the 1890’s, it was photographed here in 1958, but is no longer standing (photo src Richard ‘Dick’ Telfer collection)

COLUMNS

Then: Native pine poles sawn in the bush & branches lopped off.

Now: Super strong UB columns for MEGA hay & machinery sheds (18m+ spans) and substantial galvanised C-columns for our Super-C sheds, 15m span & under.

At right, UB columns & open web joist roof trusses in a MEGA shed. Note the horizontal stiffener plates, a deliberate design feature that transfers stresses through the roof to columns & into footings.

FOOTINGS & BASEPLATES

Then: Pine poles dug into ground & likely secured with hand-mixed concrete using local sand & gravel carted in themselves.

Now: Grant Sheds use heavy duty, welded baseplates & four large footings bolts to key into deep concrete footings

WE’VE COME Comparing Old & New

SPECIAL BRACING FOR HIGH WIND LOADS

Then: Likely no wind bracing

Now: Grant Sheds cross bracing in the roof and walls of all sheds is solid RHS steel, unlike others who use only flimsy strapbracing. Flybraces, between roof trusses & purlins prevent purlins twising.

HAY SHED WALL IRON PROTECTION

Then: Likely none

Now: Grant Sheds unique, vertical bale bumper system prevents wall iron damage if hay bales fall against the wall.

DOORS

Then: Large swing door each end

Now: Grant Sheds heavy duty sliding doors specially designed so they won’t blow in during immense wind forces AND they roll open easily for you.

WALLS

Then: All iron on the inside so framing and wall girts support the hay pile on the inside. Now: Grant Sheds grain sheds have the inside out appearance for the same reason, - the weight of grain against the wall is supported by stayed columns & closely spaced wall girts to withstand the weight of grain. Hay & machinery sheds don’t need this.

BOTTOM ROLL SLIDING DOORS

Now: Grant Sheds unique, easy-roll sliding door system for Mega doors on MEGA sheds, ‘locks’ doors to ground tracks and prevents door blow-offs in high wind situations.

Still applies on sheds for fodder storage, including hay & grain sheds. *Conditions Apply.

100% TAX DEDUCTION

Above: 15m x 18m x 6.3m Grant Hay Shed for Andy Withers, Naracoorte SA. By coincidence, Andy who owns 7 Grant sheds, previously owned Belmore Station not too far from ‘Warrakoo’ and helped me with info for this article.

WHY ‘GRANT SHEDS’

At Grant Sheds, we pride ourselves on doing what we say we’ll do. So we don’t make wild promises just to get a sale and then let you down later. And doing that isn’t always easy. We might lose a sale due to price or availability times. There is always someone who will promise the earth to get your sale and your commitment and deposit, but then not stay committed to you! Here’s a few recent items of feedback we’ve received from farmers who are cheesed off (polite way of saying it) that they fell for such a conniving tactic from other shed companies.

Frustrated Farmer #1:

Danny spoke with a man from the Yorke Peninsula about his experience buying his shed from a competitor. He’d have preferred to buy a Grant shed but at that time our supply time for building was 8 months (middle of a super-busy period due to steel rice rises) and another shed company said they could build in 5. Our price was also a little bit higher, but not significantly more. Well it’s now 12 months down the track and his shed from the other shed co is still on the ground! And, to add insult to injury, with multiple steel price rises around that time, he was forced to wear several price increases! So what was promised as quicker and cheaper became far slower and much more expensive.

Had he bought a Grant shed, it would have been cheaper (because we don’t pass on price rises after you order), built quicker and with far less frustration.

Frustrated Farmer #2:

A person from the Eyre Peninsula told us that there is another state-wide shed company that has at least 10 sheds just in his area alone that are either delivered but building not started or the sheds are partially built but not completed. Things like the shed is up but doors not fitted, or gutters not finished, or accessories not installed. He says,

“That bloody company will promise anything to win a sale!”

Again, Promise Not Kept, Shed not yet usable and the likelihood of shed materials getting damaged sitting in piles awaiting builders

Frustrated Farmer #3:

Another farming couple have always been advocates of the strength and quality of the many Grant sheds they’ve invested in, as well as with the design and shed layout assistance and regular, clear communications between ordering and building of their sheds

But they took to social media after frustrations with their new shearing shed which was supplied by another shed company. “It was supposed to be built in February 2021.

7

The company only delivered it in May , 3 months late, and then we had trouble with the builders not coming when they said they would be.”

What annoyed them the most was that there was never any phone calls to keep them informed, a stark contract with their experience with Grant Sheds. “OMG we won’t ever build a shed with anyone other than Grant Sheds, ever again!!!

“It’s not just about the shed. Grant’s service is amazing.”

And here’s another example (in box below). This time a comparison of how a competitor supplies a kit of sliding doors versus what Grant Sheds supplies.

How do YOU compare VALUE?

It was Sir Henry Royce of Rolls Royce fame who said…

“The quality will remain long after the price is forgotten.”

Well he could have been talking about farm sheds if these recent comments and examples are anything to go by.

At Grant Sheds, we won’t let you down.

Plus, right now is a great time to confidently invest in your new Grant farm shed. See the special offers and Tax Deduction information in the enclosed “EOFY Creative Shed Ideas” booklet that includes ...

3 ‘Most Popular” Shed Specals And EOFY Early Bird Bonuses!

3

3

To Help You With Your FARM SHED SOLUTIONS Ideas Have A Look At These Beauties...

Still applies on sheds for fodder storage, including hay & grain sheds. *Conditions Apply.

100% TAX DEDUCTION

12m x 24m x 5.1m Combination Grain - Fertiliser - Machinery Shed

Built for David Kumnick, Booleroo Centre, SA

Many farmers are moving away from storing fertiliser in silos which can be dangerous and ‘hangs up,’ meaning it doesn’t come out of the silo evenly. For this reason, and to have a versatile asset that he could use for different purposes, David chose a shed that he could use to store his fertiliser, grain and machinery at different times of the year.

This shed for David has

• Strengthened walls engineered to withstand the immense weight of grain or fertiliser when full;

• Wesboard Aquatite lining suited for both grain and fertiliser as it won’t corrode;

• Zincalume exterior wall iron (a) behind the timber lining to protect that from weather and (b) above the grain lining height.

David has 250 tonnes of fertiliser stored in the shed at present and it’s only one third full. He used a tubulator to fill it which he said was easy.

15m x 45m x 6.3m

MEGA Machinery Shed

Built for Peter Beard, Lock, Eyre Peninsula SA

Bought as a machinery shed, this same shed could also be used as a large hay shed with bale bumper rails being an option.

In Peter’s own words … “It was amazing to see the shed erected so quickly. The builders were friendly and efficient and easy to work with. Very happy with our new shed.”

15m x 40.5m x 6m ‘Opportunity’ Shed

5th Grant Shed

for Andrew Whitehorn

Built for Andrew Whitehorn, Koolunga, SA

This shed has

• 5 x 8.1m bays (ideal for 3 large bales wide per bay & for all but the super-wide farm machinery), super-strong UB (universal beam) columns across the front to prevent accidental damage when manoeuvering with hay bales in this high-traffic area;

• Bale bumper rails to protect wall iron;

• Grant Sheds fast, high volume, stormwater evacuation system.

Bought as a machinery shed to protect much of his farm equipment, Andrew is also using this as his ‘opportunity’ shed. As can be seen in this photo above, this season he had some excess hay stored in it and some lentils that needed to have deer faeces cleaned out of it. Yes … deer poo!

Andrew is now the proud owner of 5 Grant sheds over 10 years and has consistently appreciated the sheds, service and building work with comments like these...

2023: “Clear communication was made prior to arrival..”

2013: “Very pleased with builder’s workmanship ... he was quick to erect it and left the site tidy.”

= “ACTION TIME”

Join Respected Farmers with these Great EOFY deals & FAST ACTION TAKER Bonuses...

EOFY 1: 3 Most Popular sheds discounted til June 30 (See page 6)

EOFY 2: Plus FAST ACTION TAKER Bonuses til May 31 only (see below)

EOFY 3: Tax Deductibility*

ACTION TAKER

Wife: can you stop yawning when i'm talking to you" husband: yawning, I'm trying to say something APPRECIATION EOFY

It’s EOFY and ‘ACTION MONTH” so you need to ACT

*Reward yourself for all your hard work and get your New Shed

BeQuick

2 Great Immediate 100% Tax

2. $20,000 Instant Tax Write-off may apply on any sheds*

*Conditions Apply - Seek advice from your own independent advisors on how the tax rules may apply to

If you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut! Life and beer are very similar … Chill for best results! I’m not bossy. I just know what you should be doing.

And an email from a good man who has been receiving Farm Gate News for years & owns a Grant shed. This was in response to an email from us advising that we were starting our Friday Funnies

You do so many great things through your newsletter & you’re so honest about every- thing that you’re simply a blessing to us all. Wishing you a terrific time with your family

Take care & God Bless, Lee Robbo

immediately.