Twenty highly regarded local, national and international agribusinesses will gather in Birchip on July 6 to showcase their latest products and services directly to farmers.
Among those taking the opportunity to exhibit at the popular Birchip Cropping Group’s (BCG) Future Farmers Expo are O’Connor’s Farm Machinery, Bayer CropScience and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM).
Long-time BCG supporter O’Connor’s will bring to the Expo its knowledge and expertise on preparing for the harvest season ahead. Birchip branch manager Tom Sheridan said the key to a successful harvest was preparation.
“Ensuring your machinery is right to go is paramount,” he said.
“This is not just the working order of the machine but also the technology including yield mapping and monitoring.
“Often our customers start thinking about the precision ag side of their machines when they are in the paddock ready to harvest. Early preparation and troubleshooting can certainly minimise headaches at harvest time.”
Bayer CropScience territory sales managers Paul Crack and Seamus McKinley said they were looking forward to talking to Expo attendees about some of their company’s latest innovations and how they can be used to improve productivity.
“The Expo is a great event as it allows us to talk to farmers one-on-one and to hear how the season is progressing and about the key challenges they are facing,” Mr Crack said.
Recent Bayer innovations they’ll focus on at this year’s Expo will include Sakura, Poncho Plus, Velocity or the PodGuard shatter reduction trait in canola.
Mr Crack said also of interest to growers will be the canola seed replacement guarantee, which allows growers to get seed replaced if their Bayer hybrid canola needs to be resown due to issues outside of the growers control.
ADM Victorian manager Peter Sidley said the Expo, which specifically focused on the ‘business of farming’, provided a great chance for farmers to learn about crop end-use and the important role farmers play in upholding the premium quality of Australian oilseeds and grain.
“We’re proud to be able talk to farmers about the important part they are playing in feeding the world quality produce,” he said.
“The season is starting off in a positive fashion so hopefully Victoria can once again play a significant role in the export market.
“Awareness of, and managing grain and oilseed quality from the farm gate to customer will ensure Victoria recoups market share from the last two tough seasons”.
Other exhibitors that will showcase their goods, services and innovations at the Future Farmers Expo include Sipcam, Landmark - Birchip, Farm360, Next Instruments, Dow AgroSciences, the Rural Financial Counselling Service, Ridley Agriproducts, WFI Insurance, Agriculture Victoria, AGT, Buloke Shire Council, Knights Norfolk and Victorian Chemicals.
The day will also feature presentations from farming and business specialists who will discuss precision agriculture, enterprise mix, investing off-farm, opportunities to expand the farm, farm boards, Russian wheat aphid management and more.
The Expo will be followed by BCG’s annual industry dinner which this year is being catered for by the Birchip P-12 School’s hospitality students to raise funds to construct a school in rural Cambodia.
The BCG Future Farmers Expo is at Birchip P-12 School from 11am to 5pm on Wednesday July 6. Entry is free for BCG members and $50 for non-members. Tickets for the Expo dinner are $50 and can be purchased by phoning BCG on (03) 5492 2787 or visiting the BCG website at www.bcg.org.au.
