Delivering strong and simple products A trusted brand that has stood the test of time, KEENAN prides itself as being industry leaders in the agricultural manufacturing space in Australia. Renowned for its impeccable customer service, the company prides itself on being accessible to its clients and reliable in providing state-of-the-art machinery.
Inspired solutions for orchard problems When you are getting to the critical end of the horticultural year, it’s time to sit down and do some serious number crunching. If you’re looking for some inspiration as to how you might tackle labour shortages while optimising the value of your crop, you need to see Inspired Ag. The team don’t just have the most innovative gear on the market, they are fifth generation orchardists themselves and know exactly what you are facing in 2022. With the first tip being now is the time for orchardists to plan for their 2022 orchard capital investments. Inspired Ag was founded by growers Chris and Alex Turnbull, working closely alongside product designer and researcher Corey Beecroft. Together, they have drawn on global research and networks, and partnerships built across generations!—!from established fruit growing families in the United States to university researchers in Italy. After more than a decade of small and large-scale trials on their Goulburn Valley property, they have more than proved their systems are a success when it comes to planting, enhancing and protecting horticultural assets. Inspired Ag’s chief operating officer Catriona Saunders said the business had brought together all sorts of innovative equipment to assist horticultural operations!—!from pome and stone fruit to citrus and grapes. With COVID-19 restrictions creating critical labour shortages, Ms Saunders said the Inspired Ag team was seeing a lot of interest in labour-saving equipment, such as platforms. “Our customers are seeing incremental savings from the BILLO platforms; not only in harvest, but year-round,” she said. “Orchardists are finding platforms deliver a really quick return on investment and are looking to add more to their fleets in coming seasons.” BILLO platforms come in either flatdeck models or a conveyor model. The flat-deck models give plenty of scope for supporting yearround orchard activities, while 20
ELMORE FIELD DAYS @ HOME 2021
the conveyor model takes harvest efficiencies to a new level and broadens out the picking labour pool. All models can be custom-built with a large number of add-on accessories and modifications. “A newer piece of labour-saving technology!—!the leaf remover!—!is gaining traction in Australia following success in the US and New Zealand,” Ms Saunders said. “It is being used in the apple industry about 10 to 14 days before harvest to remove leaves that are covering apples and exposing the fruit to sunlight. “For optimal results, orchardists are using the Olmi, followed by our reflective matting to get fantastic colouring.” Inspired Ag also produces a range of retractable hail nets and rain covers, designed by Corey Beecroft. Ms Saunders said Inspired Ag measures each block, then gets the netting made-to-order by its manufacturers.
KEENAN Australia business manager Donal Blackwell explained what services the company provides. “At KEENAN we provide a quality service to our mixer wagon machines in the market,” Mr Blackwell said. “Our machines are of different sizes with two different styles!—!there is the long-standing KEENAN paddle mixer wagon machines (8 cubic metres to 28 cubic metres in size) and the new range of vertical auger mixer wagon machines (18 cubic metres to 44 cubic metres in size). “With all the machines we provide as standard the unique InTouch weighbox technology that allows farmers, operators and consultants to send rations to the weigh-box via the cloud and also takes the operator in a step-by-step loading order of ingredients into the mixer wagon. “We also provide a local region 24/7 maintenance service, which is there to help with emergency mechanical situations as well as a nutrition support program for the first year of machine ownership.” A company that has experienced great success over the past 25 years, Mr Blackwell explained what he believes separates KEENAN from its competitors. “Longevity in the market is the key!—!KEENAN has been in the Australian market for over 30 years and the machine is a strong and simple product that has stood the
test of time and continues to deliver results,” he said. “Reputation is very important in this industry and we fully expect to be around for at least another 30 years delivering a high quality product to our customers.” Mr Blackwell said they had been planning to show-off a number of products to their strong Victorianbased clientele at this year’s Elmore Field Days. “The machines we were planning to feature on the farm were going to be our Mech Fiber MF380, which is a 24 cubic metre bale handler, along with our Vertical Auger VA2–24, meaning it is a 24 cubic metre machine,” he said. “We currently have a wide range of machines on stock with old steel pricing. We are looking to do a 10 per cent discount on recommended retail pricing for the purposes of the field days event, which can be found on our website and quoting #KEENANElmore21.” Despite the online alternatives KEENAN is offering its customers, Mr Blackwell said it was disappointing to not be attending the event this year. “It is a huge blow because one desperately misses being able to press the flesh with both existing and new customers. “We have found at events such as Elmore Field Days new customers will meet us for the first time and purchase our products along with meeting current customers, so it is devastating we can’t be there this year and we are all looking forward to Elmore Field Days 2022.”
“Orchardists save on project costs and it gives them the flexibility to work around blocks that aren’t symmetrical.” Ms Saunders said the company had developed a complementary steel structure system to support the netting. These same steel structures can also be used for trellising. Critically, the steel structures have been designed to be self-installed. The Inspired Ag team provide draughtsman drawings and a comprehensive instruction guide to assist with getting the job done. Ms Saunders said given global supply chain issues!—!from stock to shipping!—!it is critical orchardists plan their capital needs well in advance. “The team at Inspired Ag are here to help orchardists to discuss their future equipment investments.” Contact the team on 1800!224!996 or sales@inspiredag.com.au. View the full equipment range at: inspiredag.com.au
The people at KEENAN are disappointed they won’t be able to attend the Elmore Field Days in 2021.
