High performance summer 2017-2018

Summer 2017 18

High Performance Magazine

Go on, Thank a Farmer! p04 Sarah gets a kick out of helping others p06

High Performance Magazine Edition 14 Summer 2017/18

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Contents

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Welcome

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Two young farmers showcase Aussie food and fibre

Meet the H&P Group People Specialist

Ronald McDonald House Orange - a home away from home.

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H&P introduces EAP for staff and families

The TecSight team talks yield data.

Welcome

A word from our CEO on a busy 12 months.

New program safeguards wellbeing

Go on, Thank a Farmer!

Sarah gets a kick out of helping others

Take your accuracy to the next level

Keeping families close

Hitting the Switch

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e’ve finally calmed down here following another fantastic Henty Field Days. It was great meeting up with our extended JDNA family and chatting with our clients and supporters, as well as meeting some new people. We really value that face-to-face time with everyone and learn a lot over those three days.

More horsepower, smaller footprint

H&P goes solar for future generations.

Welcome to the 2017-2018 Summer edition of High Performance Magazine.

The 9RX Series - setting the new standard.

Congratulations to all the team for a stellar effort with the stand this year. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into it. I have to admit, my favourite part may have been our special guest, George the Farmer. George made twice daily appearances and while he was a big hit with the kids, he also had quite a few parents and grandparents dancing and singing along. It was good to see families taking some time out to relax and enjoy themselves. Overall, the event felt surprisingly optimistic considering how dry it has been.

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Yes. There’s no denying it – we’ve had another dry year but the last few rain events have been encouraging and the season looks to be shaping up better than first anticipated. Whatever the circumstance on your patch, the Hutcheon & Pearce service will remain the same. Our team is geared up for a busy time and ready to step up and support wherever we’re needed.

Taking care of our clients, each other and ourselves, has been a big focus for H&P this year. For us, it’s all part of the JDNA. Over the past few months, we’ve developed a seven-day-a-week strategy for customer support that will see us providing an even more customised and responsive service. We’ve always prided ourselves on going above and beyond for our clients, but this is about embedding that commitment into a sustainable model of service – to ensure we provide the support when it’s needed most as an ongoing and fully-resourced commitment.

04 For all editorial and advertising enquiries, contact:

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Hutcheon & Pearce

Michael Casey Group Marketing Manager michael.casey@hutcheonandpearce.com.au

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Our staff also benefit from this renewed focus on support.

Although we’ve always known that our most valuable asset at H&P is our people, we recently identified that we could be doing more to look after our team’s emotional, mental, physical and social wellbeing.

The statistics show people’s willingness and ability to reach out is alarmingly low, so we wanted to remove some of the barriers to access and make it easier for our people to seek help when they need it. I am proud to report that we have recently introduced an independent counselling service (EAP) to provide free and anonymous support to all H&P staff and their families. I believe this is a fantastic step and I want to thank Sarah Johnson for her work in driving this project and her commitment to ensuring we maintain a healthy and sustainable business built around a healthy team of healthy individuals.

I am recently back from 10 days in the USA where I spent a lot of time exploring the technology in the 100 horsepower and below category and the ways we can provide a better product and service offering to that market here in Australia. Lifestyle Ag is a growing part of our offer, and I can now see that we’re doing a great job keeping up with global trends.

Our Orange store is buzzing with all things Small Ag, and Store Manager Laura O’Donogue is doing a great job working with customers to find the best solutions for their needs. Laura and her team must also be commended on their efforts showcasing our small ag offer at the recent Orange Field Days.

It was our first national field day since opening the new store in Orange last September and the team pulled out all the stops and brought home the prize for best Agricultural stand.

Congratulations!

I hope you enjoy this summer edition of HP Magazine.

As always, we share a few stories this edition that we think you’ll find interesting. We catch up with Jim Honner and Sam Johnston from Thank a Farmer For Your Next Meal, and check in with Ronald McDonald House Orange. Our resident machinery expert talks about John Deere’s 9RX Series, while our Precision Ag team has us thinking about yield data. In between, we also get to know our Group People Specialist Sarah Johnson and find out about the latest goings on at H&P, including the planned expansion at Temora.

I wish everyone all the best with the season ahead and a very merry Christmas and New Year. We look forward to working with you in 2018!

Arron

Summer 2017/18

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High Performance Magazine Summer 2017/18

Jim Honner and Sam Johnston, the duo behind ‘Thank A Farmer For Your Next Meal’.

Cover story

Go on, Thank a Farmer!

Sam agrees the disconnect between consumers and producers is surprising. “I remember one time I took a couple of mates home and, with Dad, we had a mob of sheep to move. They had absolutely no idea what they were doing but that was the best part of it!

Jim Honner and Sam Johnston have one goal – to showcase where Aussie food and fibre comes from, who makes it and how it’s made.

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hey do this one photograph at a time, using the power of social media to spread their message and have close to 50,000 followers on Instagram and more than 27,000 followers on Facebook.

The pair first met while attending separate boarding schools in Sydney, but it was while studying Agricultural Economics at the University of Sydney that they started sharing farming photos online.

“After the first couple of weeks of semester, we realised we wanted to contribute positively to agriculture and stay in touch with agriculture, which is hard to do from the city,” Sam explained.

“Jim and I put our heads together and thought the best way to maintain connection with the land while studying was to do a bit on social media. While we saw an untapped market there, we didn’t really think much of it to start with. It sort of just evolved.”

The pair started an Instagram account in 2014 to share photos among friends and family. “We had 500 followers just within our friendship group and then we started to get followers we didn’t know,” Jim said. “That’s when we got the hashtag (#thankafarmerforyournextmeal) going so people could show us their photos.

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appear in the supermarket. It’s also important in driving the idea of buying Australian. It helps a lot if consumers can see the people producing their food. Giving a bit of background, a story behind the food, makes it more personal so people think, ‘Oh I will buy Australian’.”

“To see them really engaged and interested in the task, and whipping out the camera to take photos of things that were just part of my everyday life was a real eye opener.

It just goes to show that consumers are keen to find out how their food goes from paddock to plate.”

Showing the positives “We wanted something that could inspire a conversation and it’s all grown from that. It’s the input of our followers that has really made it what it is.”

By the time they had a few thousand followers on Instagram, Jim and Sam knew they were really onto something. “We were getting 10-15 followers each day and then 50 followers a day and people were starting to talk about it,” Sam said.

“We decided to create a logo and send out a few hats to our mates. As soon as we got the hats out, people asked where they could get one. They were asking what it was all about, so we sat down one day at college to discuss our message.

“That was the turning point for us. That would have been about three months after we started the Instagram page.

It didn’t take long.” The pair decided their message had to be about building awareness about agriculture. Growing up in the country – Jim is from Jugiong and Sam is from Forbes – they were constantly surprised how little city folks knew about food and fibre production. “It is always surprising that there is a disconnect between the city and the regional areas,” Jim says.

“We’re trying to give a bit more background about where food actually comes from, the processes involved and the people that produce it. We want them to know that it doesn’t just

Next year, the pair plans to develop more of their own content to share more of the stories behind the photos supplied by farmers. “We are pretty busy at the moment, with Jim working his family property and me still at uni, so we haven’t been able to direct all our time and effort into ‘Thank a Farmer’ but we plan to try and generate some of our own content in the near future,” Sam said.

“We have a few ideas in the pipeline, including doing some videos to try and show the people behind the photos and provide an insight into what they do, how they came into contact with the land, why they took that photo and what it means to them.” For Jim, it’s also about showcasing the positives in farming. “We want to use social media to stand up for agriculture. You can see a lot of negative stuff about farming online, and we’re trying to counter that by sharing stories and removing information barriers.

We want to show the many positive stories out there.”

Supporting ‘Thank a Farmer for Your Next Meal’ is easy.

Just follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

Jim and Sam encourage Hutcheon & Pearce customers and staff to share their own farming photos, either by using the hashtag #thankafarmerforyournextmeal on social media or by emailing photos direct to info@thankafarmer.com.au.

Summer 2017/18

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High Performance Magazine Summer 2017/18

I love when I can see an employee reach their full potential, or I can see they’ve had a win and I have helped them get there. That win might be big or small.

What does a Group People Specialist do?

Sarah gets a kick out of helping others

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or the past 2.5 years, Sarah Johnson has been “our go-to source for human resource advice.

As Group People Specialist, Sarah is responsible for answering all our people management questions… and with more than 275 people on staff, we tend to ask a lot of questions!

My role is to facilitate and manage the Human Resources function for the Group. I collaborate and guide our managers with their human resource requirements and provide advice and support to all our employees in terms of employee entitlements, benefits and staffing needs.

While I’m based at the Shared Resource Office in Wagga, my role isn’t restricted to just Wagga. I support all our branches and departments with their day-to-day people management and am available to answer any questions employees might have about their entitlements, allowances, hours of work and award interpretation.

I coordinate and facilitate the end-to-end recruitment process for the Group, employee onboarding and inductions, staff training and development, and policy and process implementation to make sure we adhere to specific legislation and employee benefit schemes. We also have a staff member who recruits and trains our apprentices and trainees, which is fantastic because there are 55 apprentices throughout the Group.

Here Sarah tells us a little about her role and the one thing she’d like people to know about working at Hutcheon & Pearce.

Sometimes distance makes things difficult, too. Our branches are based in locations that have 2000 people as opposed to 2 million people, so resources aren’t as readily available. We have to do a lot of things internally, like training and staff development, but I think that makes it all the more fulfilling when you’re able to bring something into a rural area that employees would otherwise never have the opportunity to access, such as our new Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

What’s the one thing that you’d like people to know about Hutcheon & Pearce?

It’s honestly one of the best companies I’ve ever worked for. You feel challenged every day and you have that opportunity to realise and push your own potential.

But I think the people make it. I visit branches quite a lot and every time I walk into a branch it’s always, ‘Hi Sarah.

How are you going?’ I’m a bit of a people person, obviously in this career, but everyone you speak to wants to have a chat and wants to see how you are. They genuinely enjoy their jobs.

What’s the best part of the role?

Can you give us a quick rundown of your career to date?

I grew up in Wagga and when I finished school I worked for the family business (Ray White Real Estate) for 18 months. Then I decided as a 19-year-old that Wagga was far too small and I needed a new adventure, so I moved to Sydney and worked for Ray White Rural (NSW) Head Office as an Executive Assistant.

After three years I felt I’d climbed as far as I could without any formal qualifications or training, so I came back to Wagga, moved back in with my parents, and did a double degree in Business Management and Human Resource Management.

I moved back to Sydney as soon as I finished my degree and completed my graduate year with News Corp Australia.

I ended up working for News Corp as a Human Resources Advisor for two years. After a few more years in Sydney my husband and I decided that Wagga really was the best place to be – Sydney was just too big! So we moved home to Wagga on the Saturday and I started work here on the Monday.

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I love when I can see an employee reach their full potential, or I can see they’ve had a win and I have helped them get there. That win might be big or small. I might have coached their manager in how to engage staff and then they have a record month. Whatever it is, it’s always really satisfying knowing that I’ve helped an employee enjoy their job and love coming to work. That’s why I do what I do.

What’s the most challenging part of your job?

The most challenging part is recruitment, which is often very difficult because of our industry. It’s a niche industry and the talent and labour pool isn’t there, so it’s not as simple as putting out an ad and then interviewing the best. It can take months to find a candidate to fill a role in one of our branches. While that can be frustrating at times, on the flip side knowing that you’re able to bring employment and job growth to small regional areas is really rewarding.

What might surprise people to know about the organisation?

I think the size of our business really surprises people. When you tell people you have upwards of 270 employees, most people go, ‘Oh. But I thought you just had the one branch’ or ‘So, you’re not just in Albury?’ or ‘You’re not just in Orange?’. I think it shocks people just how big we actually are.

I think size co-exists well with the family feel of the business. Each individual branch has that family culture, which I think stems from the top down. It comes from Arron himself. It’s not a senior management team that you feel awkward and uncomfortable approaching. The door is always open. You can call any of their phones and have a conversation and they welcome it. It’s very much a collaborative atmosphere.

Summer 2017/18

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This family stayed with RMH Orange for 44 nights over 18 visits. Each round trip they made was 1018 km.

High Performance Magazine Summer 2017/18

Keeping families close R

onald McDonald Houses provide a home away from home for seriously ill children and their families all over the world. Since the first house opened its doors in Australia in 1981, 16 houses can now be found all over the country.

In 2015, Ronald McDonald House (RMH) Orange opened its doors for the first time, marking more than 10 years of fundraising and community work for the charity’s local chapter.

One-time board member and long-time volunteer, Rebecca Walsh was appointed to the Executive Officer position and today oversees the day-to-day operations and management of one energetic full-time House Manager and some 146 dedicated volunteers.

With Hutcheon & Pearce recently committing to support Ronald McDonald House Orange, our own Laura O’Donoghue and Michael Casey caught up with Rebecca to see the facilities first-hand and meet some of the team and families.

They were seriously impressed and humbled by the efforts of this amazing team. Here Rebecca shares a little more about this incredibly important service.

Can you give us a basic overview of Ronald McDonald House Orange?

We provide accommodation for families who have a sick or injured child at the Orange Health Service – in the paediatric ward, child and adolescent mental health ward, ICU, Emergency or Special Care units, and we also support highrisk pregnancy mums. We have eight family units that can sleep families of six. Our families live more than 50kms away from the service and some travel

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huge distances for treatment. With RMH Orange they do not have to repeatedly make those long trips to and from hospital, they don’t have to sleep in waiting rooms, in chairs, in their cars or pay for expensive hotel rooms. We offer free accommodation just three minutes’ walk away from the hospital. Our aim is to keep families close and provide all the comforts of home to these people in a traumatic time of their life.

Tell us about the families you have helped.

Since opening our doors to families in April 2015, we have provided accommodation for 297 families over 2741 nights. Our families have come from across five Health Districts (Murrumbidgee, Western NSW, ACT, Far Western NSW and Southern NSW), and with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health service reached 86% of NSW. We get people from all sorts of backgrounds and we see a lot of farming families too. For instance, recently we told the story of a family from Forbes in a DVD we produced. Mum was a highrisk pregnancy and had to be airlifted from Forbes to Nepean Hospital.

Once bub and mum were ok they were transferred to Orange Health Service and the family stayed with us for a number of weeks. This all happened during cropping season, so it was a pretty stressful time for everyone.

Dad was travelling back and forth visiting but we were able to provide him with that peace of mind knowing that mum and bub were safe and secure while he was busy on the farm.

What can you tell us about your volunteers?

What is your greatest need – funds or volunteers?

RMH is a free service, so we rely heavily on fundraising to supplement the limited funding we receive from the government. It requires a lot of work to raise the necessary funds and keep the house running and we are very blessed and very grateful to have an incredible army of volunteers. We have 146 volunteers on file who have logged almost 33,000 volunteer hours since 2015. We have a great mix of ages and gender. They range in age from 18 to early 80s and include full-time employees, retirees, shift workers from the mines, health professionals, business owners and more. The thing they all have in common is that they passionately believe in the charity and what we do to support families of sick or injured children.

Fundraising is always front of mind but having a strong and robust team is critical to the house. It’s a 24-hour operation so we’re always interested in hearing from people who wish to help or contribute in terms of in-kind service or donations.

How has RMH Orange impacted the community?

When we talk about surrounding districts – more often than not, people don’t think about it until there’s a need and when they find out they have somewhere to stay there is great relief knowing that the family can stay close to the hospital. In terms of the impact in Orange itself – I think the people here can really see the benefit for their country cousins, in terms of families coming in from out of town and having something to benefit from. It’s led to an amazing volunteer and donor base, so I think the community has been incredibly supportive and generous.

What fundraising events should we add to the calendar?

Fortunately, people are independently hosting fundraisers and donating to RMH Orange quite regularly, so it pays to keep an ear out for those. Our major fundraiser is the Annual Gala Ball which we hold in September. We have already commenced preparations for next year which will be held on 8 September 2018 and has a Carnivale theme. It’s always an amazing night with four-course meal, drinks, entertainment, gifts, silent auction and plenty of prizes. Tickets will go on sale late July/early August, so make sure that’s on your calendar.

“As the mother of two children, McDonald’s was the place we chose as a treat meal. The kids would delight in putting coins into the donation box and watching the hand feed it to the bottom.

I enjoyed donating to a worthwhile cause.

It wasn’t until my daughter became ill in 2014 and was sent to Orange Health Service in 2015 that I fully understood the true value of the organisation. Not only does it provide a comfortable, safe environment it also has the most wonderful caring staff and volunteers. The staff and volunteers go above and beyond to help.

When a family member becomes ill there is always increased expenses and possibly a decrease in wages.

To have a place to stay where you could make home cooked meals instead of eating take-away, to be able to do washing, or sit and watch a spot of TV not only keeps the cost down but gives a sense of normality in a world of emotional turmoil.

RMH Orange also made it affordable for several family members to visit with my daughter and be with me during a very stressful time.

What’s the one message you’d like to send to the community about RMH Orange?

I want people to know that RMH Orange is truly owned by the community – they are the generous stakeholders in all that we do and without their support we would not be here today. I want to send a heartfelt thank you from RMH Orange and all the families that have had to use our service and all the future families that may need to.

Summer 2017/18

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High Performance Magazine Summer 2017/18

Peace of mind

New program safeguards wellbeing

Sarah said H&P staff and their immediate family (spouses and children) can access the service by self-referral or by team leader suggestion, with counselling provided over the phone, by Skype or face-to-face at various locations.

“It doesn’t matter how big or small. They help with things like diet and exercise, wellness, mindfulness, smoking and alcohol addiction, career issues, goal setting and even critical incident management support, so many different things. For the employees and their families, I think the EAP gives peace of mind and brings clarity to a lot of situations. It’s knowing that there is someone there and they don’t need to shoulder everything on their own.

At Hutcheon & Pearce, our employees are our most valuable asset. We know that to function as a high performing team able to meet the requirements of our customers and partners, it is essential that our employees put their health and wellbeing first.

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hat’s why we recently introduced an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for all employees and their immediate families. As Group People Specialist Sarah Johnson explained, an EAP is a confidential short-term, solutions-focussed counselling service to assist employees with work-related or personal issues impacting on their performance.

“Our company’s most valuable asset is our employees and we recognise that their mental wellbeing is a major factor in work performance and productivity. It’s easy for us to manage and put guidelines and frameworks in place for physical safety but it’s less apparent for mental safety.

“There are so many elements of industry that make wellbeing vital. We’ve got guys who work on the road and probably won’t see another person for quite a long time, and we’ve got other staff who might be the only person at a particular branch in a particular department. We’ve got many employees who work in towns with a population of less than 3000 people and the very nature of our job is so reliant on something that we just cannot control: the weather. That takes its toll, so having a support network for everyone is really important.”

Coming to Hutcheon & Pearce from the corporate world of Sydney, Sarah was used to being able to refer employees to an EAP. “Anyone you spoke to, if they just sounded like there was something that potentially could be causing them angst, you

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“To Hutcheon & Pearce broadly, I think the benefits are endless. It means we have happy, motivated, engaged staff wanting to be at work. We have staff that feel supported by the company. It’s really important to us to make sure we do everything we can to support our employees, which stems from the genuine roots of the company. We are a family-oriented business and we want to try and maintain that as much as we can. Our staff are our most important resource. Without them there is no Hutcheon & Pearce, so being able to ensure that they’re feeling safe and protected is a benefit to us.” would let them know they could call someone as part of the EAP. When I started here in 2015, I noticed we didn’t have one, but everyone deals with life at one time or another and there have been a few instances where people have called for help all I could do was look up who was available in their immediate area and book an appointment for them.

“Our job is so reliant on something that we just cannot control: the weather. That takes its toll, so having a support network for everyone is really important.”

“We’re all in small country towns and small country towns talk, so there’s a stigma around issues of mental health. But mental health awareness and looking after your mental health is something I’m passionate about. You see how it affects different people and I want to be able to help others and avoid issues where we can.” That’s why Sarah floated the idea of introducing an EAP at Hutcheon & Pearce.

“I had amazing support from Arron (Hutcheon) and Karen (Garnsey) and a lot of the branch managers were really on board because they understood it as well. They can see the physical side of things, but we didn’t really have anything in place to assist with or even identify mental wellbeing.

Along with providing independent, completely confidential counselling by trained psychologists, our provider Assure also provides management support, so if a manager thinks there might be something going on, they can ring Assure and get some help on how to approach it.

“It was important to us that Assure has psychologists located rurally. They’re not just sitting in a high-rise building in the middle of Sydney. They understand our industry and have a practical understanding of our context.”

“I think the benefits are endless. It means we have happy, motivated, engaged staff wanting to be at work.”

Summer 2017/18

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High Performance Magazine Summer 2017/18

TEC Sight Post harvest:

The best time to harness data T

here is no better time than between harvest and sowing to collate and clean yield data, and the team at TECSight® is on hand to help you do just that. Precision Ag Manager Clare Robinson describes MyJohnDeere as the ideal platform to collect and view harvest data.

“The best advice is to collate it now, before the contractors delete it or before you start using that screen for sowing.”

“Yield data is probably the most easily gathered paddock variation data. Most machines have the capability of collecting data; if you’ve had different machines across your paddocks or you’ve used contractors, we’re able to help you gather data from a variety of screens and then collate it on the userfriendly MyJohnDeere platform or whichever platform you have chosen.

“This data gives producers a good indication of what’s actually happening in their paddocks, so they can start to understand if there’s areas of individual paddocks that can be remedied or managed better going into the following seasons. In some areas you might decide that moisture is the issue, or it could be acidity etcetera, but until you start actually developing that map, you’re not getting an understanding of where that variability is across the paddock.”

Once growers can see the variability in each paddock, they can then start planning optimal inputs, make decisions on next year’s activities or start developing a longer-term plan to manage various areas more appropriately.

“MyJohnDeere gives you a visual snapshot of what’s happening out there in the paddock, on a platform that is easy to use and access, and flows into numerous other platforms as well.”

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“Some growers use their data to understand which areas of their fields are more regularly performing so they know they can reliably push them a little bit harder, while others will identify areas that may need more attention. Ultimately, you can either save your way to a profit or grow your way to a profit – identifying the best options for your farm starts by putting real numbers to the variation across the field.

“TECSight® Precision Ag Services wants to help you collect your data properly and collate it onto your preferred platform, and MyJohnDeere is a great option for those looking for a platform with simplicity, accessibility and versatility. Decisions can then be made and implemented using that information.”

Upload prior to sowing Clare urges growers to ensure their data is uploaded onto MyJohnDeere prior to sowing. “The best advice is to collate it now, before the contractors delete it or before you start using that screen for sowing – we all know that if a screen runs out of memory at 5am during sowing, you’re most likely to just delete everything and keep going, rather than search around for a USB or empty data card. Make sure you’ve gathered it all within the couple of weeks after harvest while it’s still fresh in your mind.

“For those running S-Series headers, the telematics are likely already in the machine, so it makes data collection easy.

Others have been retro-fitted with the telematics gateways.

It’s just that few people know about it. The TECSight® team can help anyone identify if their machine has a telematics gateway, and what they need to do to make use of it.

“Whichever way you get your data onto the platform – manually or telematically – the MyJohnDeere platform allows you to see what’s happening in individual paddocks and upload historical data to compare year to year. You can also easily share it with whoever you choose to, whether it’s your agronomist three hours away or an off-farm investor.

“Our team is also on hand to train people if they’re interested in working with the data directly themselves. We are also regularly given a handful of USBs and data cards and asked to ‘Just sort it out and give it back to me in a way I can use it!’

“The main thing we want people to know coming out of harvest is that we are on hand to help you get your data onto whichever platform you need, because once you have it there, you can start seeing trends and managing for maximum profit. Access to the MyJohnDeere platform is free. If you have purchased a John Deere machine (6R - 9R tractors, sprayers or headers) in the last four to five years, it’s likely you already have a machine that is capable of automatically sending data to MyJohnDeere. We can also retro-fit telematics gateways to older machines or to different colour machines running Greenstar systems.”

Contact the TECSight® team to learn how you can make the most of this technology already at your fingertips, and how to start making your data work for you.

For more information visit: www.hutcheonandpearce.com.au/technology-solutions

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High Performance Magazine Summer 2017

Hitting the switch: Hutcheon & Pearce goes solar T aking our commitment to sustainability to the next level, Hutcheon & Pearce has enlisted help to transition seven of our eight stores off the grid and onto solar energy.

As CEO, Arron Hutcheon explains, it’s another great move toward a healthy and sustainable future.

“It’s a technology we are seeing more and more of in our industry and on our farms, so we decided it was time to call in the experts from Wagga Solar Professionals to help us make the leap. We are seeing great benefits, not the least of which is the feel-good knowing that we’re doing our bit for sustaining our planet for future generations.”

Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Karen Garnsey agrees, “There’s a few reasons why solar makes sense. It’s partly about cost savings and partly about risk mitigating and ensuring our electricity supply as the demands on energy suppliers increase. But mainly, it’s about sustainability - for our business and our communities.”

The transition to solar has been in planning for about four years now.

“Our Griffith site already had solar panels when we acquired it in 2014. We were already researching the technology so from there we decided to trial it at our Wagga store for 20152106. We were impressed with the results and have now rolled it out across seven of our major sites where it makes most economical sense.

“Ultimately, our plan is to get every site on board so we’ll continue to install solar where and when it makes sense.

There’s certainly been no adverse impact with the transition and we’ve already seen some great returns - especially in the bigger sites. In one site we have gone from being a large electricity consumer to small, so we’re no longer paying the large demand access fee.”

“We are seeing great benefits, not the least of which is the feel-good knowing that we’re doing our bit for sustaining our planet for future generations.”

According to Karen, on some of the smaller locations it’s a more marginal exercise at present but she will continue to keep a close eye on things.

“We really have to think about our individual site user profile and what suits it best. The Wagga Solar Professionals have been amazing in terms of helping to find the right solution and providing us with flexibility in those systems to suit our changing needs.

They’ve also given us a steer on the ESA (Electricity Supply Agreement) and the best way to manage the capital investment costs.”

Big picture, the plan is to shift to battery technology, but experts suggest we’re a good three to five years away from that.

In the meantime, Karen says, “Everyone is just happy to be using less coal.”

795 Lives Saved!

Hutcheon & Pearce team members who have taken part in the Red Cross show they have the JDNA! With less than a month left this year, we are well on the way to reaching our target of 1000 lives saved!

Join our RED25 team and help support the effort!

Call in to your local branch for more information.

There’s always time to save a life!

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High Performance Magazine Summer 2017/18

John Deere’s 9RX Series tractors set the standard for high performance, exceptional intelligence and power.

More horsepower, smaller footprint E xpanding the 9RX line of high powered tractors, John Deere has introduced the 9RX Narrow Track Tractors featuring a new narrow undercarriage. Group Sales Manager Andrew Sands said these tractors can cover more hectares per day than any other row crop tractor.

With the 9RXN comfort is as important as power.

“With the combination of the new Commandview 111 Cab and 4-point cab suspension as standard, the ride quality is exceptional, so no more jarring from rough field conditions when travelling at higher speeds.

“The 9RXN has more horsepower, AV flotation, traction and stability than any other current wheel or track tractor on the market today. Available in three widths – 80, 88 or 120 inches – the 9RXN features an articulated design with four tracks, which means less compaction and better traction to reduce soil impact and crop damage.

“Inside the cab is a new redesigned Command Arm along with a Gen 4 Command Centre, which allows you to control machine performance and Autotrac functions. Overall, the 9RXN offers a turnkey solution to row crop or controlled traffic farmers, giving greater flexibility with higher horsepower requirements.”

“A proven John Deere Stage 2 Tier 2 engine is standard, providing a single fluid solution (diesel fuel), with improved traffic capabilities. No other tractor manufacturer offers so many choices in highhorsepower tractors, with 420, 475 or 520 HP models available to handle high speed planters, nutrient application bars, large grain carts or other highhorsepower needs.”

Andrew said that during demonstration events held in November, the 9RXN proved first-hand it is the tractor of choice. “The clients who drove these machines at our demonstration days have been our biggest advocates of the 4 track machines.

“I believe the 9RX and 9RXN will be a very popular tractor with farmers in years to come.”.

Contact your local Hutcheon & Pearce sales representative for further information and early bird factory forward order pricing of the John Deere 9RXN.

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Hutcheon & Pearce

Summer 2017/18

17

High Performance Magazine Summer 2017

New workshop for Temora T

emora Branch customers will notice building works kicking off in 2018, with the construction of a brand new workshop facility.

Standing 58.5m long and 18m wide, the new shed will be a significant addition to the existing site. As Temora Branch Manager Russell Menzies explains, the development will increase the productivity of the Temora service department.

“We’re looking to build a 9-bay shed with roughly 1000m2 under the roof, and with the facility to run a full overhead gantry crane from one end to the other.

Post-harvest inspection program

The Hutcheon & Pearce Harvester Inspection includes:  Complete draper front inspection  Feeder house / feed accelerator  Tyres, Wheels and bearings  Threshing / separating drives and

With harvest behind us now is the time to book in your Harvester Inspection and receive our H&P Inspection Guarantee.

components  Cleaning system operation  Elevators, grain tank and unloading system  Engine and hydrostatic drive  Cabin functions including GreenStarTM equipment  Check software update requirements  A detailed written report is provided

For inspections, servicing, parts or finance, talk to your local H&P team.

We’re happy to help.

T inc GS

$

PRICE

600

FIXED

al dition or d a o f N ut fee call o ctions! inspe

After each inspection has been completed, you will be provided with a complete checklist detailing our findings and recommendations.

FINANCE AVAILABLE FOR PARTS AND SERVICE*

“As far as efficiency goes, it will increase dramatically compared to our current facility. We’re continually expanding here at Hutcheon & Pearce. I started in my role with the Temora Branch three years ago and from the outset one of our goals was to increase the service department’s productivity. It’s gone from a team of three guys when I started to seven and, with the facility we’ve got at the moment, we really can’t accommodate any more technicians.

“The end benefit is to give the customer a better turnaround time servicing the product we sell them, the John Deere product. At the moment, we’re at our maximum in providing a good customer experience with the number of technicians we’ve got, but with more technicians on board, hopefully we will not only provide a better service to our existing clientele, but it also gives us an opportunity to increase our market share and bring new customers on board.”

As well as offering a better service to customers, Russell looks forward to providing a new modern facility to his team. “Workplace safety is paramount with Hutcheon & Pearce and if you’ve got a new facility for the guys to work in it’s going to be a better, safer working environment. If they go home safe at the end of each day, it gives me peace of mind because you never stop thinking about your staff.”

“We’re looking to double the team again in the next two years, so this new development goes hand-in-hand with that plan. Hopefully a new workshop area will encourage people to come on board.”

While construction takes place, the Temora service department will work hard to meet customer expectations. “In conversations with the construction company, the plan is to keep working in our current facility and then move into the new facility when they deconstruct the existing one, but that’s yet to be confirmed.

At the time of printing, plans for construction were being finalised and put to council for approval. “The plan is to commence construction straight after the Christmas period in February, and then it will probably take several months to complete the building. Ideally, if everything goes to plan, we’d be looking for it to be completed in May-June 2018.

“There may be a few obstacles for those couple of months during construction, but it’s a matter of shortterm pain for long-term gain. We’ll just manage those hurdles within the team and will probably do more field work as needed. It’s just a matter of scheduling, with customers remaining our number one focus.”

“We’re continually expanding here at Hutcheon & Pearce. I started in my role with the Temora Branch three years ago and from the outset one of our goals was to increase the service department’s productivity.”

*Conditions apply, ask instore for details .

Summer 2017/18

19

Make it a green Christmas.

Hutcheon & Pearce behind you all season long.

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