Hydrosmart: helping farmers make the most of their water supply

Enter the Adelaide-based water conditioning company Hydrosmart, which has been working at the forefront of the water treatment space for almost 25 years, with CEO Paul Pearce at the helm.

The company’s core technology is a computerised, chemical- and fi lter-free water conditioning system that softens hard water that’s high in salt, iron, calcium, and other minerals.

Water is a high-value asset to farmers – but its value depends on its quality. Substandard water can cause big problems for crops and stock, not to mention irrigation infrastructure. Anything that can improve the quality of the water we draw from bores, wells, dams, and rivers, then, is great news for Aussie agriculture.

A microprocessor unit is attached to the outside of a pipe and directs resonance frequencies onto the water inside, breaking down the bonds in its minerals and in any existing mineral deposits in the pipe. That sounds complex – but the devices are easy to install, don’t require maintenance, and only cost around $10 per year to run. The benefits they can bring include improved growth rates, reduced scale layers and corrosion in pipes and troughs, decreased water use, and stock that fatten more quickly.

Hydrosmart, which found early success working with South Australian winemakers, has helped everyone from strawberry, olive, and citrus growers to broadacre and

Noflex Sewage Digestor from DunnyDoo Solutions

livestock farmers. Other satisfied customers include large-scale commercial miners and small-scale domestic gardeners.

The results speak for themselves. In trials on young lemon trees in California, for example, Hydrosmart-treated water increased growth by 30 per cent over the fi rst year.

Advertiser note

The main problem with septic systems and other holding tanks for sewage is that over time a sludge layer will build up at the bottom of tanks thus displacing part of the total volume needed for a Septic to work efficiently. There are products that spruik adding bacteria is necessary. However, there is plenty of bacteria in human waste and it is unnecessary to add more. The solution is to tickle up those dormant bacteria in the sludge layer. This is what Noflex Sewage Digestor, (made in Canada) for DunnyDoo Solutions achieves. It also kills off the nasty smells that are present when a septic is not

With water security being a key challenge of our time, we need to make the most of every drop of our water supply – and an investment in a Hydrosmart conditioning system is a step in the right direction.

For further details please visit hydrosmart.com.au properly digesting solids before they flow out into the soak away lines. If the smell is coming from those areas, then introducing Noflex directly into the outflow pipe will clean the soak away pipes. Simple and economical to use, it’s just flushed down the toilet, so it goes into the bottom of the tank. If you have a smelly grease trap, then Noflex flushed down the kitchen sink will eliminate the smells and clean the pipes. If you have a boat or an RV the same principals apply.

Available on-line from www.dunnydoo.com.au

A new online sales concept streamlined to benefit not only the nation’s lamb processors but also producers and stock agents is due to be launched on the FarmGate Auctions platform on October 2. Abblamb is the brainchild of fourth generation Binda prime lamb producer Rob Fraser, who could see new technologies were being underutilised in the prime lamb value chain.

“I felt lamb producers needed a platform where marketing costs can be reduced. That platform could also allow my property’s credentials around biodiversity and carbon management to follow my lambs,” Mr Fraser said.

“Abblamb mimics the saleyards on-farm and gives produces the advantage of passing in the lambs with only the cost of the Abblamb listing. “Physical markets can be so erratic on the day with one pen of the same article differing $10 side-by-side.”

Mr Fraser described Abblamb and FarmGate Auctions as a natural fit and welcomed the joint venture. “We are not reinventing the wheel, but buyers can push a button and purchase a lamb with more information at their fi ngertips. Agents are vital for the supply chain and have a role in linking producers together to do business in the marketplace – the system offers a fair marketplace for everyone in the supply chain. “I wanted a system where the lamb producer could reserve their product when at auction that didn’t come as a massive cost or biosecurity risk to the farm. As a lamb producer I wanted to be more of a price maker not taker.” As Abblamb director, he has worked with independent online livestock