Accessibility boost

Anew agriculture venture in Horsham will improve accessibility of fertiliser for farmers and create more jobs in the industry.

Horsham-based agronomy business Crop Opti is expanding with a new fertiliser depot adjacent to its current site on Golf Course Road, Horsham.

Owner Travis Hair said it was a $6to $7-million project that would be operational in late April or early May.

“It will be a big shed, with a blender facility inside for blending and treating and we also have the ability to make liquid fertiliser,” he said.

“The shed will hold about six tonnes of fertiliser.

“Rather than drive to Portland or Geelong, farmers can come here to pick it up.

“It’s like nothing else we have in the area. Geelong and Portland are where the ports and fertiliser depots are.”

Mr Hair said he would employ more people for the project once complete.

“We’re thinking, going forward, this will create at least another three jobs,” he said.

“We employ seven people now and will look to increase that in the coming six months.

“We were hoping to have the building finished by now, but wet weather stalled it. Hopefully the shed will be up in the next two months.

“The fully stainless-steel blender is coming from the United States, hopefully in April.”

Mr Hair predicted having fertiliser available in the Wimmera would save farmers up to 10 hours of travel.

“It’s a time benefit for clients – they won’t have to travel to Geelong or Portland to pick up their fertiliser, bring it back and put it in a silo,” he said.

“They will be able to come straight in here, pick up their fertiliser in a truck, go back to the farm and tip it straight from the truck into the air seeder.

“We will have the ability to load from 6am to 10pm, and on weekends as well, which you don’t get at the ports.”

Grain Producers Australia southern director and research spokesman Andrew Weidemann said having a depot in close proximity for Wimmera farmers was a plus.

“We use a lot of fertiliser in farming, so it will be a benefit for farmers in Horsham and the surrounding 100 kilometres to have more available,” he said.

“For some farmers, it might mean they no longer have to travel to ports.

“A lot of farmers bring product back to farms from ports, but blends are not readily available, so that will also be quite an advantage.

“The capability to make what is, essentially, a prescription for farmers is really good.

“For example, if I want a nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium blend at a certain ratio, the blender will be able to create what I want.”

Mr Weidemann said it was also important that the depot would create more jobs.

“We want to encourage more people to get involved or stay involved in the agriculture industry,” he said.

“There’s no question that agriculture is a big economic driver here and what we want is more people staying in the area for agriculture.

“This business venture is a great opportunity for that to happen.”

Mr Hair said he hoped it would be a game changer for farmers.

“We think the area needs it. We’re just trying to make growers’ lives easier. If people support it, it should go really well and save people time and, hopefully, some money,” he said.

“We back growers and we listen to growers and a lot of them are telling us different challenges, so it’s important to listen to them and see what we can do to improve things for them.

“Hopefully it keeps us sustainable, too.”

Mr Hair said Wimmera contractors were building the shed and preparing the site.

“Brad Smith at Horsham Steel is building the shed, HED Industries are doing the base and the roads, and Damien Cameron is doing the concreting,” he said.

“We didn’t want to outsource this project – we had a couple of shed businesses come to us, but they weren’t local.

“Our contractors are a good group of young, Horsham entrepreneurs and are the best at what they do.”