DRS Newsletter Autumn/Winter 2018

Issue 5: Autumn/Winter 2018 G2

• FECPAK • USC Seed Treater • CRT 2017 QLD/NT Business of the Year • WIN A DRS Garden Pack!

Seasonal Update

BY JOHN CULLEN & ANDREW JOHNSTON

Moving forward to this coming season, as you will read throughout this newsletter, Dalby Rural Supplies is forging ahead and investing in new innovative technology for our growers. One new market opportunity that we are focusing

With the silly season now long gone, it's time to refocus on another year. It seems the summer has again been another cruel one with a continuous period of very hot dry weather, which has curtailed what started as a very promising summer season. Some areas were more fortunate, receiving some valuable storm rain after Christmas, allowing their crops to fare much better than some in our southern regions.

on is the installation of our new state of the art seed treatment plant, which will allow us to custom treat seed for our growers. We have built a strong reputation based on our WEEDit knowledge over the last few years and we continue to work hard on trialling new herbicide combinations. There are currently 3 x 12m DRS WEEDit machines running around that are available to dry hire. Precision ag is another avenue we are actively moving in to and we have been building a strong relationship with Farmers Edge, which will

All in all, 2017 certainly won’t go down as one of our better

take us to the next level in field and yield monitoring.

years as both summer and winter provided very little in the way of farm production. Hopefully we can get a reasonable summer harvest and look towards a better winter, surely our turn is just around the corner!

Dalby Rural Supplies is here for the future with our growers, so we will always be looking at bringing new technology to the market and building infrastructure that gives our growers a competitive edge. All the best for the season.

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

Contents In This Issue ▬ FECPAK G2 The latest diagnostic technology in parasite management, G2

FECPAK tests sheep, cattle & horse faecal samples and provides parasite egg count results via email.

▬ USC Seed Treater The future in seed treatment has arrived at Dalby Rural Supplies! Read about this amazing machine and find out when you can come and view it at our Seed Treatment Plant Launch.

▬ CRT 2017 QLD/NT Business of the Year We were proud to receive this prestigious award for a consecutive year at the CRT Conference held in Perth in February 2018. We would like to thank our customers and staff for their ongoing support and dedication!

▬ WIN A DRS Garden Pack Read on to find out how you can go into the draw to win a Dalby Rural Supplies Garden Pack!

Newsletter Info Articles Written & Co-edited By

John Cullen, Andrew Johnston & the team at Dalby Rural Supplies.

Designed & Edited By

Major Sponsors Of FarmFest Dalby Rugby Union Club Lifeline Australia

Katherine Sims

Proudly Supporting

marketing@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

Our customers and the local community.

Find us on Facebook

www.dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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Community Report

BY JOHN CULLEN Dalby Rural Supplies has again been working hard to support our community contributing donations to a large number of sporting and community groups. The highlight of our community ventures recently was our staff initiative to sell $2 bags of ‘Reindeer Food’ in the lead-up to Christmas, with all proceeds - $150 in total - going to the Dalby Soup Kitchen.

This year DRS will be the major sponsor of the Dalby Teenage Rugby teams, with a sponsorship value of $5000 going towards jerseys for the 4 teams. We have been a proud sponsor of the senior and junior rugby for many years, however we felt it was time to commit to the teenage lads coming through. We wish all codes the ongoing success they had in 2017 and we look forward to more premierships coming home to Dalby in 2018!

Happy Easter!

From JC, Johno & the team at Dalby Rural Supplies.

DRS Easter Trading Hours; CLOSED - Friday 30th March CLOSED - Saturday 31st March CLOSED - Sunday 1st April CLOSED - Monday 2nd April * We will re-open on Tuesday 3rd April.

Helping you grow. Helping locals grow. Helping farmers grow. Helping communities grow.

Easter Vanilla Biscuits COURTESY OF; WWW.MCKENZIESFOODS.COM.AU

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp McKenzie's Baking Powder

225g unsalted butter, softened & cubed

1/2 tsp McKenzie's Bi-Carb Soda

1 cup caster sugar

Pinch McKenzie's Australian Natural Sea Salt

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

2 egg whites

1 large egg, beaten

2 tbs lemon juice

450g plain flour, sifted

3 cups icing sugar

DIRECTIONS: Step 1 - Cream Step 2 - Add Step 3 - Sift

the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and light.

vanilla essence and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

30

Prep Time: 30mins Biscuits

Cook Time: 12mins

together the flour, baking powder, Bi-Carb and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture to form a dough. Wrap dough

in cling film and refrigerate for an hour.

Step 4 - Preheat Step 5 - Lightly

oven to 170oC. Line three oven trays with baking paper.

flour the work surface and roll out the dough evenly to a thickness of approximately 5mm. Using cookie cutters, cut out

shapes from the dough and arrange on the prepared baking tray.

Step 6

- Bake for 10-12 minutes on the middle shelf. Allow the biscuits to cool completely before decorating.

Step 7

- TO MAKE ICING: Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites with lemon juice until combined. Gradually add icing sugar on low

speed until smooth. For coloured icing, add a few drops of food colouring of your choice.

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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Dalby Cattle Market Report COURTESY OF WYATT WRIGLEY - RAY WHITE EASTERN RURAL DALBY Throughout December, January and February,

In February, heavy cows were selling

The rain should also have immense positive

we have seen a large influx of cattle come

anywhere between 215-225 cents/kg, while

effects on the planting of oats crops, which

through the system. Although larger numbers

medium 2 score cows were selling between

will leave us with good feed coming into

of cattle were seen at the end of 2017, the

200-210 cents/kg. Bullocks were selling

winter.

cattle market continued to follow an upward

between 260-275 cents/kg. Heavy export

trend in the early parts of 2018.

feeder steers were on a strong market selling from 275-285 cents/kg. Even with

Widespread rain in January created

the high number of restocker cattle present,

increased competition for restocker cattle,

weaner steer prices remained strong selling

with weaner cattle remaining firm and

anywhere between 320-350 cents/kg.

increasing by up to 15 cents on the previous

Weaner heifers also remained strong, selling

quarter. In recent times we have seen the

between 285-320 cents/kg.

feeder market ease slightly as a result of the large number of feeder cattle available and

With further widespread rain throughout

the continued above average grain prices.

February, we expect that numbers will begin

Slaughter cattle have remained reasonably

to tighten which will further increase the

stable at the end of 2017 and early 2018

market across most descriptions.

stages.

Wyatt Wrigley, Ray White Eastern Rural Dalby

Supplementing B12 In Cattle

BY JESS WEEKS Vitamin B12 is an essential vitamin for all

To prevent deficiencies arising in your

larger birth weights, and when animals have

mammals as it is required for the

herd, B12 supplementation should be

a heavy worm burden - as these animals are

metabolism of energy from fats, proteins

provided during stressful periods of the

at a higher risk of being deficient.

and carbohydrates. It is also vital for tissue

animals’ life so that appetite loss can be

growth and repair, red blood cell

prevented, along with avoiding any loss of

Supplementation can be given orally or by

production, appetite and maintaining

feed conversion. Keeping their appetite

vaccination. When supplementing orally,

normal function & development of brain &

high and feed conversion at its most

cobalt is given to increase the amount of

nerve cells. In ruminants (including cattle,

efficient, allows the animal to maintain

B12 manufactured in the rumen. This process

sheep & goats), microorganisms in the

daily weight gain by increasing nutrient

can take between 7-10 days and there is

rumen can manufacture B12 if there is an

retention and glucose utilisation. This is

only an approximate 5-10% increase in B12

adequate supply of cobalt in the diet.

particularly important upon feedlot

available to the animal. Dry lick or rumen

Pastures can have fluctuating levels of

induction or when putting cattle on a

boluses are the most common oral

cobalt depending on soil type, rainfall,

forage crop for finishing. Other stressful

supplementation methods. Injectable

pasture maturity and the levels of other

and important times to supplement include

supplementation provides B12 so the animal

nutrients, which can be antagonistic to

pre-joining - as B12 helps to improve

doesn’t have to manufacture it, allowing the

cobalt uptake. If animals have low dietary

fertility rates and aids a rising nutrition

B12 to be accessible within 24 hours and

cobalt intake and are not supplemented, a

plane, pre-lambing/calving - to ensure

100% available to the animal.

B12/cobalt deficiency arises. Sheep are

optimal B12 levels in milk and to support

generally more susceptible to a B12 deficiency than cattle, although young and pregnant animals are also vulnerable.

When an animal becomes B12 deficient, signs of weight loss, decreased appetite & feed efficiency, anaemia, diarrhoea, weepy eyes and a rough coat may be observed.

Reduced fertility, birth rates and birth weights are also common side effects. B12 also affects the immune system of an animal, so those that are deficient will be more prone to diseases and worm burden.

If you would like any more information about the benefits of B12 supplementation, don’t hesitate to pop in and see the merchandise guys (and girls) at Dalby Rural Supplies!

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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2018

BY BEN OTTO For the past 12 years, Dalby Rural Supplies has been the major sponsor of CRT FarmFest and due to the success of the event, we have agreed to continue our sponsorship for another three years. This agricultural field day wouldn’t be the success it is without our clients support each and every year. An impressive 70,000 people visit FarmFest over the three days, talking to more than 2,500 exhibitors!

It is an exciting time in our industry at the moment with a variety of new technology and innovation available and FarmFest is the perfect place to display these products. It is a great opportunity for both suppliers and producers to get together and discuss all that is new in agriculture. We are once again running the popular ‘Win a Trailer’ competition for FarmFest visitors, where you can make a purchase from the Dalby Rural Supplies site at FarmFest to go into the draw to win a trailer full of goodies donated by our suppliers. It is an impressive prize, sure to make the winner very happy!

FarmFest 2018 will again be held at Kingsthorpe Park on 5th, 6th and 7th of June. Opening hours are 9am-5pm Tuesday & Wednesday and 9am-4pm on Thursday. The car-park is open from 7:30am daily. Admission is $5 per person, children under 12years are free.

We can't wait to see you at FarmFest 2018! (Like our Dalby Rural Supplies Facebook page to stay up-to-date with all of our events!)

Fleas On Your Pets

BY JOHN COLLINS Fleas, whether they are on dogs or cats, can be a serious issue for your pets health and wellbeing and must be prevented, or treated as soon as they are noticed. Left untreated, fleas can cause severe skin irritation including weeping sores and scaly skin, which can be quite distressing for your pet.

Fleas have amazing jumping skills (they can jump up to 150 times their own body length!) and the most common way for a pet to pick up fleas is directly from their surrounding environment. They are rarely shared from pet to pet. Your dog or cat can pick up fleas or their eggs by simply going for a walk outside, rolling in the grass or brushing up against a bush, so it is important that both your inside and outside pets are treated regularly. Prevention is much easier than a cure!

There are several stages in the flea cycle all of which can take anywhere from 2-3 weeks up to 6 months to complete;

Eggs –

adult fleas make their home on your pet, feed on their blood and start laying eggs.

Though they don’t usually pose a threat, the eggs will usually fall off the pet’s coat and into their bedding, kennel, etc.

Larvae

- the eggs then hatch into larvae that move away from light in search of organic

debris to feed on and moist dark environments to live (such as under your pets bedding, deep in the carpet and in soil). Larvae will then spin a cocoon to become pupae.

Pupae

- pupae have the ability (in the right conditions), to stay dormant for up to 6 months

before emerging as young adult fleas.

Adult fleas

- fleas are not stimulated to emerge from their cocoon until they are in contact

with warm body temperature, movement, shadows and exhaled carbon dioxide. Then, within a second, your passing cat or dog (or you!) could acquire newly emerged fleas. The adult flea will then spread rapidly and can mate on the pet within 8-24 hours. Therefore, it is critical to prevent, treat and control the spread of fleas.

As the saying goes ‘prevention is the best cure’. There are a wide range of products available to prevent, treat and control flea infestations. Products that are designed to prevent flea infestations are generally in the form of liquid spot treatments or tablets (some of which are chewable) that are available in weight categories specific to your pet. Products to treat and control flea infestations include flea shampoo, rinses and sprays.

In order to rid your household and yard of fleas, it is essential to break the flea cycle. It is recommended that all infested items, eg, pet beds, blankets & toys, are discarded where possible, or that they are washed in water above 60oC for 10 minutes and are put in the sun to dry. Carpet should be vacuumed a couple of times each week to remove any eggs. Hard floors (and between floorboards) should be washed with hot water. The house, yard and kennels should also be sprayed with some kind of flea specific insecticide.

For any questions on our wide range of flea prevention, treatment and control products, or for any further information on fleas, please feel free to come in and see myself or one of our friendly team here at Dalby Rural Supplies.

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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Weaning Horses

BY JESS WEEKS

For those who were lucky enough to be graced with a four-legged baby a few months ago, you may now find yourself thinking about weaning time. Weaning is the process of separating the foal from its' mother on a permanent basis and it is usually done between 3-6 months of age. This is a very stressful time for both the foal and its mother (as well as its 2-legged mummy or daddy!) and all attempts should be made to reduce the stress on all parties involved.

There are two methods of weaning; abrupt or gradual. Individual circumstances and facilities will influence which method will work better for you. With the abrupt method, mare and foal are separated entirely and not put back together at all. This works best when the foal has bonded with other horses that they can be paddocked with once mum has been removed. Abrupt weaning can be done in a paddock situation where one mare is taken out of the group at a time, or in stables when all mares are taken and once the foals have settled, they are returned to paddocks. Gradual weaning requires suitable facilities, preferably a stable and yard, or two safe yards. The mare and foal are separated for short periods each day, with the period of time gradually getting longer until mare and foal are not placed back together.

There are multiple other factors to consider when choosing a weaning method. Fencing is undoubtedly the most important consideration to make as foals, when being weaned, tend to act first and think later. Solid fencing and/or appropriate mesh are the safest options for foals during the weaning process. Barb wire, electric tape and plain wire are not suitable at weaning time as they all pose a serious threat, should the foal challenge the fence. Mares are typically safer at weaning time as they are ‘mature’ and have generally learnt not to challenge fences.

Another big consideration is the foals diet. If the foal has already been eating concentrate feed with its mother, it will be an easier transition with less weight lost due to stress. Introducing a concentrate feed to a foal at weaning time can be difficult, as the foal may turn its nose up at the new feed. This can be overcome by introducing the foal to feed, a couple of weeks before weaning. When considering what to feed your foal, choose feeds that are high in calcium, phosphorus, calories and protein to facilitate their requirements while growing. Most ‘premix’ breeding feeds are suitable to feed to foals as they have the nutrients required for optimal growth. It is important to include good quality roughage during the weaning process, however this is one component of the diet that is frequently forgotten.

Unfortunately, the mare often gets forgotten about after weaning until the next breeding season. It is important to keep monitoring the mare to ensure her milk supply dries up without any issues. Cutting back the concentrate in her diet and increasing the roughage will help to reduce milk production. Be sure to keep an eye on her udder to ensure there aren’t any problems such as mastitis.

If you would like more information about weaning or horses in general, pop in and see myself or one of the merchandise team in store at Dalby Rural Supplies.

Problem Solving With...Our Resident Razi

BY DARREN WOLSKI

With hot weather still around for the next couple of months, it is important to make sure your furry friends have adequate access to fresh, clean and cool drinking water. Where possible, try to keep your hoses and water lines out of direct sunlight as they will heat up during the day and make the water about as hot as you need for your cup of tea or coffee at smoko!

We stock a range of automatic water bowls and other types of self filling containers, so pop in if you would like to find a solution to keep your friends suitably hydrated.

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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The Latest In Agricultural Technology

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

7

Agronomy Report

BY STEVE MULLER After a slow start to the summer season, some good rainfall totals have finally fallen in the area over the last half of February. Things are now looking up for the end of the summer season and the beginning of winter!

The spring rain turned up in October last year and many growers were able to take advantage of the ideal conditions for an early summer plant. Sorghum planting was up on last season given the good start and good price available for the commodity. After the extreme heat last year many growers opted not to plant spring mungbeans and decided on more sorghum instead. The season slowly progressed, seeing patchy storms through November and December which were able to keep some crops ticking over. The October planted crops that received minimal in-crop rain have struggled to perform and have only recently been harvested with varying results on yield and quality. This year was definitely a season where cropping history played a big part in the growth of a healthy crop, with long fallow strips handling the adverse conditions far better than the short fallow paddocks.

The Christmas/New Year period once again saw some good rainfall totals achieved in the area enabling some late sorghum and mungbeans to be planted. Some small pockets were even able to double crop beans and sorghum with this rain. At this stage these crops are looking quite promising and if all goes well, they should be quite profitable.

This summer was our first opportunity to view 2 new sorghum varieties that will be available and commercially released in spring 2018.

Pacific Seeds have just released their new Sentinel IG which is a medium-long hybrid and is the world’s first imidazolinone tolerant grain sorghum. With this technology, we can use Intervix herbicide along with traditional weed control methods in order to control grass weeds in sorghum crops more effectively. It enables us to have another tool in the fight against grasses. Pioneer seeds have also released another hybrid into the marketplace with the new A66 for next year’s sorghum season. This sorghum is a mid-maturity hybrid and is intended as a replacement for G22 which will be phased out next year. It could be an option for next year’s sorghum plant.

Given the large chickpea plant over the last two years, the 2018 winter season is shaping up to be more dominated by winter cereals. A strong cereal market, as well as a drop in the chickpea market, has caused many growers to reconsider their winter options. Many growers have also planted chickpeas in quite a large percentage of their cropping area over the last few years and therefore have limited area of disease and pathogen free ground to use for planting. The Pulse Australia recommendation to minimise potential stubble and soil borne pathogens, is not to plant into paddocks which have had a history of chickpeas in the last 4 years. I think this, along with the drop in price, will have a large impact on this year’s planting area with mainly double cropped chickpeas being planted.

Now that we have received some decent rain, the late summer crops are looking quite promising and are the main focus at the moment.

With the continuing weather patterns, hopefully these crops will flourish and become the highlight of the summer, while storing some much needed sub soil moisture for the winter season to come.

If you find yourself in need of some agronomic advice please feel free to call one of the agronomy team at Dalby Rural Supplies.

Staff Achievement TEACHING OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS...

In the last century, there have been many remarkable feats of achievement; man landing on the moon, the first flight, the development of vaccines and climbing Mount Everest, just to name a few. Here at Dalby Rural Supplies we have also had a history making event - when Mark Noller became a member of the group who call themselves Agronomists!

In November 2017, Mark graduated from the University of Queensland, with a Graduate Certificate of Agricultural Science. With these new-found skills, Mark looks forward to being able to further assist clients with their farming enterprises.

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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Report

For the past 12 months, the Rockliff family have been operating a 13m WEEDit on their property. I recently had a chance to ask Noel

BY JEREMY JONES

what he, Jack and Sam view as the biggest advantages in integrating WEEDit technology into their farming operation. Noel explained;

WEEDit continues to be one of the top new technologies for farmers in the region looking to tackle hard-to-kill weeds and combat chemical resistance. Over the past 6 months, we have delivered 11 new WEEDit spraying systems to growers from Meandarra, Dulacca, Pittsworth, Brookstead, Cecil Plains and

The biggest thing has been feathertop control and to a

Dalby. These have ranged from 12m toolbars right up to 30m Croplands trailing machines with dual spray lines. Following some hard work and some skilled assistance from our very own Mark Noller and Rick Lloyd-Jones, these machines have been set up and

lesser extent fleabane. We have seen a huge reduction over the past 12months in those weeds. There was nothing visible in the crop prior to harvest and these paddocks had a large amount of feathertop during last

are operating very well for their new owners.

year’s sorghum harvest.

In December we tailor-made our first WEEDit toolbar with the help of a fellow Dalby business, Rasmussen Brothers Engineering. The bar is constructed by the team at Rasmussen’s, it's then painted in Dalby, the parts are laser cut and coated in Dalby, it's assembled using parts from Dalby businesses and is then delivered to its

We have also received savings of over $40,000 on our chemical bill over the past 12 months alone. That is looking at rates that would have been done as a blanket spray, compared to what the WEEDit has done.

destination by a local Dalby carrier. We are very proud to work with and support local businesses where we can! We now have 2 Rasmussen toolbars in operation, the 18m toolbar was tailor-made and delivered to David and James Bailey of Brookstead, and a

We are having a win getting on top of those weeds, but you have to realise that once the window is there to spray with the WEEDit, you just have to go.

20m toolbar has been delivered to Graham Walton. There are currently 2 more toolbars in production and a few more to be made following those.

Our hire bars have been very busy lately, with growers from as far Great results from Noel and we would just like to thank the

as St George looking to hire these machines. We have just purchased another 12m WEEDit toolbar which will be used as a new dry hire machine. We will soon be looking for a new home for

Rockliff family for supporting Dalby Rural Supplies through the purchase of their WEEDit.

our existing hire bar which is a 13-sensor machine with 500L tank and end tow. It has all the bells and whistles, including the new

would like more information about purchasing a system, please

plumbing with boom recirculation. It has done approximately 5000ha of spraying and will be sold for $110,000 incl GST. This is $30,000 less than purchasing a new one, which represents great value for someone wanting an almost new machine.

If you are interested in a WEEDit system demonstration, or if you

contact me on 0458 626 101. All servicing of WEEDit systems can be done by the team here at Dalby Rural Supplies. We look forward to helping you find the right system for your farm!

18m WEEDit toolbar delivered to David and James Bailey

20m WEEDit toolbar delivered to Graham Walton

EXPERIENCE THE VALUE OF ALL-IN-ONE FARM MANAGEMENT On-farm weather stations Telematics for live field data capture from all machinery High-resolution satellite imagery & crop performance maps

Integrated field management software Variable rate technology services Field data processing & mapping

PUT YOUR DATA TO WORK THIS SEASON

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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A Bit Of Easter Fun! Easter Colouring In!

Win A DRS Garden Pack!

We have a Dalby Rural Supplies Garden Pack up for grabs consisting of; a Bushranger Weedeater (RRP $300), 5L Seasol Plus (RRP $60), All Rounder Garden Hose ($52.50), Neta 16 Jet Oscillating Sprinkler (RRP $38), Professional Rain Gauge (RRP $27.85), 25kg CK88 (RRP $22), 25kg Terra Firma Organic Life Complete (RRP $18) and a Wheelbarrow to put it all in!

Total prize value is over $500!

To go in the draw to win our Garden Pack, all you have to do is complete your details on the entry form below, cut it out, attach it to your next invoice and drop it into the box on the front admin counter at Dalby Rural Supplies.

*Competition will be drawn Friday 13th April at our Seed Treatment Plant Launch. Date of invoice must be March or April 2018. One entry per invoice.

Garden Pack Competition 2018 Name: Phone Number: Invoice Number:

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

10

USC Seed Treater

BY DARREN HOSKIN The future in seed treatment has arrived at Dalby Rural Supplies! DRS’ commitment to its tagline ‘For the farmer, For the future’ continues with the purchase of our USC Seed Treater machine. After identifying an opportunity to provide high quality cost effective seed treatment, our business partners John Cullen and Andrew Johnston, went in search of a quality machine to do the job. Following extensive research, the boys found themselves in the USA - where seed treating is common place in the future of farming - and they soon found the USC machine to be the best choice to suit the Australian market.

The seed treater machine we have imported has the capability of treating all seed grown in Australia with inoculants, fungicides, insecticides and fertilizers. With its ability to create detailed recipes for individual growers, the potential of the USC treater is very exciting! Not only is the seed treated with uniform coverage, it is very time effective with the ability to treat up to 60 tonne per hour in a bulk seed situation. Our preliminary testing of inoculating mungbeans has now been completed and we are extremely happy with the quality of the seed treatment, we found its coverage being of a very high standard.

Interest is already growing amongst growers, seed and agricultural chemical companies, to provide quality treated seed and this new service we can provide is one that is putting DRS at the forefront of farming for the future. We are very excited for the coming winter season, and our new ability to offer quality treated seed to our customers!

Feel free to come along to our Seed Treatment Plant Launch on Friday 13th April, or if you can’t make our launch, pop in and see myself or one of the chemical, seed & fertiliser team another day to have a look at this impressive piece of agricultural machinery.

SEED TREATMENT PLANT LAUNCH! We are excited to show you our new USC Seed Treater!

Come along and join us for an afternoon BBQ & some beers while JC & Johno show off their new baby.

Agenda; Daniel Zinga from Nu-Edge Solutions Australia will be speaking about microbials.

Syngenta will be speaking about seed treatments.

Farmers Edge will discuss precision farming.

We will have a live WEEDit demonstration.

When: 3pm, Friday 13th April RSVP: Monday 9th April to (07) 4660 0400

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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Photo Corner

Because every photo tells a story...

Congratulations to our very own merchandise salesman John

Dalby Rural Supplies sponsored the Dalby Beef Bonanza bull sale

Collins, on receiving the Dalby Chamber of Commerce

event in October 2017.

Exceptional Service Award for December 2017!

Ben, Razi & Sam represented DRS at the

AgSolutions and Pioneer information

Ben & Mark settling some chooks into their

Dalby Triathlon in February 2018 & placed

session in October 2017.

temporary home at DRS.

2nd in the Business House Challenge!

Our team sure does scrub up alright! We finally got to relax and catch-up outside of work at our 2017 Christmas Party at Jimbour House.

2018 Upcoming Events...

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

7/04/18 - Cooranga North Campdraft

7/05/18 - May Day Holiday - CLOSED

5-7/06/18 - FarmFest 2018

13/04/18 - DRS Seed Treatment Plant Launch

13/05/18 - Mother's Day

16/06/18 - Dalby Rugby Union Ladies Day

20/04/18 - Dalby Show Holiday - CLOSED

19/05/18 - SEQ Rugby Union Championships in Dalby

25/04/18 - Anzac Day Holiday - CLOSED

26/05/18 - Dalby Rugby Union Sponsors Day

28/04/18 - Dalby Picnic Races

JULY 7-8/07/18 - Bell Campdraft

AUGUST 18-19/08/18 - Dalby Delicious & Delightful Festival

SEPTEMBER 2/09/18 - Father's Day

28/07/18 - Dalby Rugby Union Jellybaby Day

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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The Next Big Thing in... Wayne's World!

BY WAYNE HORRIGAN

The ClayTech ePump is a revolutionary variable speed pump ideal for a quality Australian home. The ePump provides constant pressure and flow, independent of how many taps are open. It is time to have that perfect shower! The ePump’s state-of-the-art inverter technology ensures energy cost saving every time water is used…saving you money year after year after year!

The ePump also has a fully water-cooled motor making it quieter. There is no need for air to flow over the motor (as with a normal aircooled motor), allowing it to be located in a confined space or even completely covered. The ePump has an easy to clean pre-filter and a unique easy connect system allowing quick disconnection from pipework for maintenance. This is the premium product amongst domestic water pumps and it is now at a price point that makes it economical for all.

To find out more about the ClayTech ePump and other water pump solutions, pop in and see myself or one of our Irrigation team in store at Dalby Rural Supplies.

More time enjoying your garden, less time watering it!

Raindrip is an automatic, worry-free watering system.

Easy 1-2-3 installation: All you need is your hands.

This system is designed to be tool-free and set-up in 3 easy steps. The connections are made to be hand-connected and hand-tightened.

* Available kits include; Flower, Shrub & Tree, Ground Cover & Flower Bed, Pot & Hanging Basket, Vegetable Garden.

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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MAIT Industries Irrigation Control System Review With Laird...

BY LAIRD SELKIRK

MAIT Industries provide innovative monitoring and irrigation control solutions that help growers, horticulturalists, turf managers and other water users & providers to improve their water management practices. The company have been developing and perfecting irrigation and monitoring technologies for the Australian conditions since 1994 and today their products are used Australia wide, by both large and small enterprises.

MAIT iNTELLiTROL® is a cost-effective, flexible and upgradable monitoring and control system, giving you real-time, in-depth information. It can be used as a simple monitor or as a fully integrated solution, with sophisticated data collection and controlling functions. While it’s comprehensive, it is still a simplistic and easy to learn & use system. iNTELLiTROL® lets you measure tank/dam levels in dozens of locations every hour of the day and you can control water delivery to remote parts of your property - all without leaving the home or office.

The MAIT monitoring and control solutions are as follows but are not limited to; Console

Tank monitoring via radio or web

50%

Remote pump monitoring & control Remote pivot monitoring & control Remote tank fill Soil moisture monitoring Flow & pressure monitoring Environmental monitoring

The console view on the MAIT system (right) shows an overview of the water systems including a button where you can turn the pump off on the site itself!

The scalability of the solutions MAIT offers allows customers to begin with a basic system and then add options as their needs grow, which is a popular feature amongst customers as evident in reviews of their equipment.

After doing some research I came across the following article written by Ipswich City Council after they installed the MAIT system into their irrigation systems for local sporting fields;

Councillor David Morrison explained that they started looking into smart technology and irrigation control systems because "Drought and water costs were placing pressure on sports field managers everywhere to reduce consumption regardless of the water source. We had to look outside the square; get away from continuous irrigation of fields, especially when the region was in drought and rate payers were themselves on level 5 water restrictions.”

Cr Morrison said the installation of smart technology into its sports fields has now allowed Ipswich City Council to better manage irrigation water use. "In a six month trial, Council saved an average of 1ML and over $1,800 per hectare in comparison with what we could have used under the Queensland Water Commission's allocation allowance. The savings in water alone as well as the efficient use of staff resources will quickly pay for the infrastructure and ensure these systems combined are one of the most environmentally friendly things we have done for our city and our sports people," Cr Morrison said.

For the full article visit; https://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/about_council/media/article-archive/2008/sporting-groundsflourish-with-smart-technology.

Satellite images on the MAIT system show where

There are many ways to view the water levels, including this pump flow graph,

water systems are on the property.

where you can see the total volume of water for any given date.

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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2017 QLD/NT Business of the Year RURALCO PRESS RELEASE Dalby Rural Supplies has again been named the 'Queensland & Northern Territory CRT Business of the Year for 2017' at the CRT National Conference held in Perth in February 2018! After taking out the national title last year, our team are thrilled to have had another stellar year, securing the Queensland title again.

“Their achievements over the year simply couldn’t be overlooked. The level of professionalism, outstanding culture and high level of service delivered by the team at Dalby Rural Supplies makes them an excellent business and sets a fantastic example for other businesses across the CRT network,” said Greg O’Neil, Executive General Manager of CRT on behalf of Ruralco Holdings Limited. CRT Queensland State Manager, Sharon Dew, couldn’t speak highly enough of the team at Dalby Rural Supplies. “John and the team are relentless in their pursuit of success not just for the business but for their clients and community. To deliver the best service each day requires a huge amount of dedication and commitment and the team at Dalby Rural have demonstrated this over a number of years, reflected in their continual success,” said Ms. Dew.

John Cullen, Director of Dalby Rural Supplies, explained the award was a great way to recognise the hard work put in by his team throughout the year. “To compete with such a huge number of highly successful businesses across Queensland and to come out on top is a great honour. We challenged ourselves to continue to improve the quality of our offering to our clients after winning last year and this award shows we have continued our efforts throughout 2017. I am very proud of the team,” said Mr. Cullen. After enjoying success for the last few years, the team have already been hard at work in 2018, ensuring they are serving their community to the best of their ability. “The awards are great but the true measure of our success is being able to satisfy our clients’ needs and helping them succeed in everything they do,” concluded Mr. Cullen.

We would also like to congratulate our fellow CRT FarmFest store Farmcraft, for being awarded 'Community Member of the Year for 2017'. Great work FarmFest team!

Get To Know Our TEAM...

Greg Hartwig Agronomy

Sam Johnston Merchandise

Greg also runs Warra Rural

Sam is becoming known as our

Supplies with his wife Alyshia. He

“chook-wrangler”. Here he is with a

has just ticked over 10 years with

bird under each arm!

Dalby Rural Supplies. Well done Greg!

Candy Lomman Irrigation

Darren Wolski Merchandise

Candy is part of our Irrigation team

Razi is our longest serving staff

as Project Manager & Sales. It’s

member and our most popular...he

true, she’s as sweet as her name

gets the most likes every time his

suggests!

photo appears on our Facebook page! Go Razi!

James Wreford Irrigation Don’t be fooled, Jim is not always lying down on the job!

Helping you grow. Helping locals grow. Helping farmers grow. Helping communities grow.

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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For the farmer, for the future.

BY JOHN CULLEN Following on from our last newsletter, we have finally completed our major shed works down the back! It will be a great asset to the business and clients, with a further 1000m2 of pallet space giving us the ability to store and hold larger quantities of winter seed. This will help to minimise waiting and turnaround time for seed, particularly with the narrow winter planting window.

The shed has also become home for our newly installed USC (United Seed Coating) Seed Treater.

"Because of their connection to the land, farmers do more to protect and preserve our environment than almost anyone else. They are some of the best environmentalists around."

In early November, our new seed treater arrived via 2 x 40ft shipping containers from its home in Kansas, USA. This is the first large seed treatment plant imported from USC, which is one of America’s leading seed treatment machine manufacturers. It is only early days, but the machine is living up to expectations and after inoculating a moderate amount of mungbeans, we

- Ike Skelton

have ironed out some early teething issues. We should be ready to tackle this years’ winter seed, with a variety of fungicide and insecticide treatments and the inoculation of all chickpea varieties.

We have recently been doing some trial work with a company called Centor Oceania seed coatings and their inoculant Rhizobium Life Extender, which we hope will give the grower a longer planting window than is currently in practice. Unfortunately with our first batch of inoculated seed, we sent a sample away for testing and there weren’t any rhizobia alive after 6days, as the bacteria in the water we used had effectively killed all the live rhizobia off.

Since then, we have installed a carbon filter in conjunction with an electronic black light filter and we are now using rain water, so we hope to get some more favourable results with a wider time frame in which to plant and still achieve quality root nodulation. We will keep you posted as these results come through.

2017 was a busy year in the capital expansion of our site! What started out as setting up a small on site diesel system for our own use to reduce fuel costs and wasted time spent fuelling vehicles, has now escalated into a mini diesel service station being installed at the front of the drive through. Cheap diesel will now be available to all our clients and with an easy-to-use self service diesel system, we hope to be a cheaper, more convenient alternative to the major national fuel suppliers that currently operate along the Warrego Highway.

Pop in sometime and check out our new and improved premises for yourself!

*Disclaimer - Every care is taken in the production of this newsletter, however we would like to remind you that the articles contained within it are the opinions of our staff members and article contributors and therefore Dalby Rural Supplies will not be held liable for any errors or subsequent effects.

Dalby Rural Supplies Pty Ltd 18080 Warrego Highway, Dalby QLD 4405 / Ph: (07) 4660 0400 / Email: admin@dalbyruralsupplies.com.au

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