FARMGATE NEWS
Written & Published By
SEPT - OCT 2020
Your bi-monthly newsletter that brings community together
If You’re Easily Offended
DONT READ PAGE 7!
Money Making
MEGA HAY SHED P4-5
Honouring Our
The Ultimate
LOCAL LIVING LEGEND P3
BLOKES TOY SHED P4-6 FARM GATE NEWS The Farmer’s Newsletter
PHONE 1800 088 528
GRANT SHEDS PO Box 29, Monash, SA 5342
EMAIL info@grantsheds.com.au
FAX 08 8583 5402 WEB www.grantsheds.com.au
FIELD DAYS
What Makes Country Life So Good?
All our usual field days for 2020 have been cancelled. Hopefully see you at them next year!
COMMUNITY
The new MEGA Hay Shed for the Porter family in the rolling hills of Bundaleer, near Jamestown SA
Covid-19 Bureaucracy Gone Mad
Connecting Farming Communities
First and foremost in this edition we acknowledge the ‘shit’ time and the anxiety and stress caused to our cross-border communities during August when the state government refused entry to SA for farmers living just over the border into Victoria.
Despite the Covid issues this year we’ve managed a number of local farm visits and farmer interviews which we’ll bring you in upcoming editions.
For a health clinic in Pinnaroo to have to close down because 5 out of 7 of its staff lived just across the border is ridiculous. For farm owners and staff at Lindsay Point to be unable to travel to their nearest town of Renmark (SA) to buy food, yet if they travel 2 hours to Mildura to shop, they can’t bring fruit and veg back because they live within a fruit fly exclusion zone is untenable. For farmers to be unable to attend to their livestock on a property across the border from their home farm … f***ng stupid! And the stress put on grain farmers and contractors forward planning for how they will harvest and deliver grain is a mental health hazard. Obviously everyone affected by the stupid decisions would be pleased that their voice was eventually heard and corrective action taken but it put a huge amount of unnecessary pressure on everyone. Congratulations to those community members who set up petitions, contacted pollies and highlighted their community’s plight to the media. You’ve done a great job.
We visited Jamestown a couple of months back and chatted with Anne & Paul Jones (see July-August editon of FARM GATE NEWS for their story). We also caught up with Greg Porter and his son Tom whose story is in this current edition. Future editions will cover Neville Jacka of Jamestown, Jamie Gardner from The Gap, near Frances in the upper South East and Andy Withers of Naracoorte (though we interviewed Jamie and Andy when they called here to collect their new sheds).
Farmers Say
Anne & Paul Jones, “Riverview” Koolunga in the mid north of SA. “The structural integrity of the shed is of an outstanding quality… Well worth the investment.”
We really do delight in meeting and talking with our farming community and we thank every person who has been willing to share their story with us and with you. Some may wonder why we do it. It’s not a... “normal business practice”. But we always enjoy country communities, country spirit and we see it as our way of bringing our country communities together.
And, we’re PROUD to be “A Little Bit Different!”
Tom & Greg Porter, Portlands Nominees, “Glenwood Park”, Jamestown SA.
We hope you continue to enjoy receiving it and we welcome your comments and suggestions.
“Tyler (Stephenson) spoke highly of his Grant shed. He loved it. We’re proud of ours too. It looks brilliant driving down the road.”
Jamie Gardner, The Gap near Frances & Andy Withers, Naracoorte SA
Neville Jacka (right) and his sons (L-R) Max (16), George (12) & Joseph (15) Belalie East, near Jamestown SA.
Come Visit Our Garden We will be opening our garden to the public in mid October. Would love to have you visit. See the back page for more info.
This is Jamie’s 2nd shed from Grant Sheds and Andy’s 3rd.
All the best
P2
Ali & Danny Halupka
FARM GATE NEWS: The Farmer’s Newsletter PHONE 1800 088 528 WEB www.grantsheds.com.au
Speaking of the building of their new MEGA machinery shed, Neville says, “Well done and a top job.”
You Little Ripper... Grant Sheds
LOCAL AUSSIE LEGENDS
Honouring Our Own Monash Legend Here’s your chance to give back to a local legend. Flashback to your childhood in the 1960s, 70s and 80s and the famous (Old) Monash Playground. At its peak, it covered 5 acres, had 200+ pieces of equipment and attracted 300,000 visitors a year… and it was free! It was all built from scratch, for free, by local legend, and founder of Grant Sheds, (& Ali’s dad) Grant Telfer. Sadly, the litigation era of the late 80s saw the playground close, and now, as part of the Monash Centenary year, our Monash community needs your help to raise funds to build a statue to honour his wonderful work. Grant is now 88 and his famous “uniform” … white overalls, bare feet and pushbike - that he wears to this day… can be immortalised with your help. If you have fond memories of the amazing (Old) Monash Playground, please donate to help us build this statue to honour Grant and let the legacy of this true bush legend live on forever. If you want to re-live your memories of this awesome playground, search Facebook for “Monash Playground Grant Park” Thanks for your support.
The old Monash Playground wasn’t Grant Telfer’s only claim to fame.
Donations can be made via Internet Banking: BSB: 015513 Acc: 2215 80897 Acc Name: Monash & LG Community Statue. Please include your Last Name & then send an email advising the date of your donation, amount & name so we can cross-match and send you a receipt. Email: ali@grantsheds.com.au (Ali is Treasurer of our community group) Cheque: Make payable to “Monash & Lone Gum Community Statue” Post to PO Box 29, Monash SA 5342 Crowd Funding: Enter this link in your internet browser to donate securely on-line https://bit.ly/local-legend-grant-telfer
Twin slide - for twice the fun
The smaller wide & wavy slide
One of 3 Tarzan Rope Swings
Figure-8 Spiral Slide
Flying Fox
Inverted Rotary Cone
In the 1980s he also developed the “Gopher” range of 3& 4-wheeled electric scooters for those with walking difficulties. “Gopher” was the brand he trademarked and which became the generic term for these products as other brands later entered the market. Unfortunately the removal of trade tariffs & a flood of cheap imports ended this venture but not before around 7500 were sold Australia-wide.
FARM GATE NEWS: The Farmer’s Newsletter PHONE 1800 088 528 WEB www.grantsheds.com.au
P3
Money Making
A LEGACY FOR THE N “That way you feel if you have an accident, reversing into something, you know the shed’s going to come out all right.” Greg says it was the robust build and speed of service that sealed the deal with Grant’s. “We rang up Grant Sheds and Brenton had a quote to us that night,” he says. “We rang another company too but they took two weeks to quote which annoyed us because it delayed us being able to put our order in and their quote still wasn’t quite right.”
Jamestown, SA. Father and son, Greg and Tom Porter on their “Glenwood Park” property near an average of with area this in distance Rainfall can vary by a significant amount within a short forest area. er Bundale the at away far not 650mm to up 450-500mm on the Porters farms and
Tom’s best mate Tyler Stephenson has a Grant Sheds Mega Hay Shed. Greg says, “We went and looked at that and it speaks for itself. Then we thought, ‘Well why are we wasting time looking anywhere else?’” “Tyler spoke highly of his Grant shed. He loved it,” Tom adds.
On a 2000-hectare cropping farm in South Australia’s mid north, which includes some leased land, the Porters are true multigenerational primary producers.
canola, beans, Lucerne and occasionally lentils. They also run 600 head of Merino ewes, but their primary crop is domestic and export hay.
Brothers Greg and David Porter run their Bundaleer properties, together with their wives Sharon and Fiona and their respective sons Tom and Dan.
Hay has proved a valuable asset in recent years during a period when frost has been a persistent problem due to drought in neighbouring regions.
“And everything was attended to quickly,” explains Greg. “If we had any issues it was attended to quickly. There was none of this ‘Well I’ll get back to you’ and they never do.
The family has been here since about the 1870s, making this a fifth and sixth generation enterprise where decisions are made collectively, and the future is front of mind.
“The last few years we’ve been hammered by frost,” Greg says.
“There was none of that crap”
Greg explains it’s a partnership that works well, with joint farming allowing them the opportunity to expand, while sharing both the wins and the losses. “We’re all here for the same reasons,” Greg says. “For the big picture, we stay together, we farm together, we use the same machinery. If we split up our ability to expand is diminished. We know that and it’s in the back of our minds the whole time. So, we all try and do the best for each other.” When the Porter family first arrived in Bundaleer 150 years ago, their property was part of a former sheep station that had opened up to settlement. These days, the undulating land is overlooked by Bundaleer Forest, which has a footnote in history as the birthplace of Australian forestry. The Porters’ main emphasis on their 2000 hectares is cropping, including wheat, barley,
P4
“It’s been easy to make a decision to cut crops down and we’ve done so big time. There’s no point in trying to reap a three or four-bag frosted crop, so we just hoe into it with a cutting machine and get in there early. The sooner we can make that decision to cut it, the better.” Sheds have been integral to managing this process, and recently the Porters invested in a new Grant Sheds Mega hay shed spanning 18m deep by 40.5m long and 7.3m high. It is divided into 8.1m bays so hay can be quickly unloaded and accessed.
When asked why they bought a Grant shed as opposed to any other brand, Tom and Greg note they were looking for a solid shed that would stand the test of time. “We wanted universal beam columns right round the shed, for structural integrity,” Tom says.
FARM GATE NEWS: The Farmer’s Newsletter PHONE 1800 088 528 WEB www.grantsheds.com.au
The fact Grant’s promised it would be erected before the hay was cropped tipped the balance further.
If we had a question it was dealt with quickly and we got answers that day.” The latest Grant Shed joins a lineup of structures dotted around the property, and both Tom and Greg note this recent shed is unlikely to be their last. Multiple sheds allow them to store hay when they need to but also ensure the risk of losing it all to fire is minimised. Like many areas of South Australia, recent years of drought and bushfires have the Porters on watch. In 2013, a fire in the hills behind the property came right to their boundary. “We didn’t get burned out, but all the hills behind us did,” Greg recalls. “We don’t want to be storing too much hay in one shed, in case we lose it to fire. And spreading sheds strategically around the place means you’re not carting too far, so the turnaround time is quicker.” Domestic hay goes to places like Broken Hill, through the Flinders and even up the Birdsville track, while high-density bales are sold to Gilmac hay exporters.
g Farm Shed Is
NEXT GENERATION Greg notes there’s a financial incentive if primary producers store their own export hay until after January each year, and that covers the interest payments on the new shed. This latest shed is part of the process of constant evolution, and looking back, Greg says a lot has changed over the years. “When I was a kid, we started off with open-air tractors, and that’s all we knew,” he reflects. “Air-conditioned cabs were the best thing that ever happened, and the second-best thing is perhaps direct drilling.” As explanation for farmers who aren’t croppers, direct drilling means minimal tilling is required. Instead, seeds are sown directly into crop stubble. The process reduces water consumption and improves efficiency. The Porters sow their crop with points and press wheels and have been doing so since 1997. “Conventional farming was painful,” Greg reflects. “You’d get your paddocks all perfect and worked, and you’d sow the crop. Then a day later, you’d get an inch of rain putting gutters through it or it would seal off and you had trouble with the crop emerging. “As soon as we went to minimum till, straightaway it eliminated that problem.
The Porter family of Bundaleer, near Jamestown SA understand the value of investing in this 18m x 40.5m x 7.3m MEGA Hay Shed which gives them the ability to make a quick decision to cut crops for hay when seasonal circumstances dictate. 8.1m wide bays are ideal for storing large bales.
“We’re proud of it too,” Tom adds. “We love the shed. It looks brilliant driving down the road and really sets the place off. I’m proud of it.” Ali from Grant Sheds acknowledges this sentiment, saying, “I know some people think it’s funny. It’s ‘just a shed’. But you know, to have you say that makes us feel really proud of what we do too. Thank you.”
Don’t Waste Time Looking Anywhere Else!
nt Sheds
After viewing Tyler Stephenson’s Gra Mega hay sheds, Greg says,
itself, “Go and look at the shed. It speaks for ting and you think, ‘Well, what are we was ” for? else re time looking anywhe
FEATURES OF A GRANT SHEDS MEGA SPAN HAY SHED
“Now you sow a paddock, and if it rains that night you just lie in bed and sleep. Nothing can happen. It’s been the greatest leap forward I think farming has done since I’ve been farming.” There were other welcome innovations along the way like auto steer tractors, and boom sprayers – all of which Greg says have improved the farming process and efficiency. As for the future, Tom and Dan look set to offer a safe pair of hands. Born a week apart, the cousins bring a fresh perspective to the operation along with a lifetime of living on the farm. “We’ve got the younger generation wanting to try a few things, and you know we’ll try them,” Greg says. Tom and Greg note their new Grant Shed will likely be standing long into that future.
“We want our sheds to stand for 100 years plus. Hopefully the family is still going then and down the track will be using this shed,” Greg says.
Larger welded baseplates & 4 footing bolts per column compared with only 2 for many other brands.
Solid, galvanised UB columns for strength in large span MEGA sheds
Strong, galvanised OWJ roof trusses
Bale bumpers to protect the wall iron when storing hay
Grant Sheds 68 years of hard-earned experience building super-strong sheds for respected Aussie farmers puts you in safe hands.
FARM GATE NEWS: The Farmer’s Newsletter PHONE 1800 088 528 WEB www.grantsheds.com.au
P5
Every Bloke’s Dream
THE ULTIMATE TOY SHED Chose Grant Sheds after seeing the quality of their sheds in other locations, and after meeting staff “about the place” over many years. He was also familiar with the Grant name courtesy of the Monash Playground ‘Grant Park’ built by Ali’s dad, Grant Telfer, back in the 1960s to 1990s. “We used to stop in there on the way home from the Barmera pub on a weekend and fall off something and go home,” Kelvin laughs.
This 20m x 30m x 5m Aircraft Hangar & General Business Equipment Storage Shed was built for Kelvin Amos (pictured at right, with Grant Sheds owner Danny Halupka). It has 4 x 5m wide easy-roll sliding doors on bottom roll tracks and has outrigger frames each side for the doors to open out to. This allows Kelvin to fully open the gable end of the shed for access for his plane. The shed also has 3 x 6m wide sliding doors on one side of the shed to give easy access to the back of the building.
For Kelvin Amos, his 200-acre Marion Bay property offers a respite from busy city life. Each weekend he flies his small plane to the property from Willunga, then relishes the opportunity to kick back at a more relaxed pace while enjoying a spot of fishing. His recently constructed Grant Shed is designed to house the equipment he needs onsite.
Kelvin’s shed is 20m wide by 30m long and 5m high. It features bottom-roll doors that open on outriggers so he can easily store large machinery including his light aircraft. “I wanted it to be large enough to put the plane in here, or the caravan which is stored in here at the moment and just a few bits of fishing gear along with boats and tractors,” he explains. He notes he …
At one stage Kelvin also worked on the playground, installing a trench beneath it on behalf of the local council. To this day he a has a photo of his young son on one of the playground’s mini excavators, looking for all intents and purpose like the then four-yearold dug the 100m trench himself. Meanwhile, Kelvin’s thrilled with the final result of his Grant Shed. “I couldn’t fault the workmanship of it. The builders put it up in five and a half days – drive in, drive out!. “
Fantastic Job Guys
“Found builders to be very efficient and courteous. Very pleased overall. Site was always kept clean. Fantastic job guys.”
Kelvin & Marie Amos Willunga & Marion Bay SA
Since 1980, Kelvin has run a business supporting utilities companies with the maintenance of water and sewer mains. “We help SA Water and Allwater with maintenance of the sewer mains, water mains, SA Power Networks with some of their activities,” he explains. It’s a business he has built since the 1980s, but as he looks towards the future, he and his wife intend to one day build a house at Marion Bay and enjoy it as their second home. “I’ll just keep going until I don’t have to keep going. Eventually we’re going to put a house up here. We might spend a week or two here, then go back for a week,” he predicts. “This particular block is really only my hobby farm, and this is my new toy shed, I guess.”
P6
This photo shows the gable end doors in the fully open position (opened onto the outrigger frames so the full end of the shed can be open) and the 3x6m wide sliding doors on the long side of the shed also in their open position for easy access to the back of the shed when the front area is full of vehicles and equipment.
FARM GATE NEWS: The Farmer’s Newsletter PHONE 1800 088 528 WEB www.grantsheds.com.au
Real Love is a Shed. Only Farmers Understand The Love of a Good Shed
Trusted To Match Farmers With The Shed of Their Dreams Since 1952
Life for the man on the land can be so lonely.
The “Sweet Girl Next Door” Hay Shed
All that empty space and nowhere to go with that special shed-someone. Lucky help is at hand thanks to Grant Sheds and our “Farmer Wants a Shed” match making service. And no, you won’t have to go through the humiliation of a TV series just to find your special shed-someone.
The “Ready to Get Down To It” Machinery Shed
You won’t have to sift through the candidates to work out the Stage 5 clingers, the pouting and moody till I get my way manipulators or the weirdo jealous type who doesn’t want you to be with anyone else, even though it’s a show full of anyone else! No, we’ve taken the dating pain away to offer you the best right upfront. Every farmer deserves the long-time love and security of that special structure… eye-catching at a distance, clean lines and a head-turning glint up close… and oh so welcoming… warm when needed and very very versatile (wink wink).
The “Easy Slide In and Out” Fertilizer Shed ...Steady on, we’re talking sheds...!
How can any man with dirt under his fingernails say no? To help make your special shed-someone choice easier than a reality TV show check out the smorgasbord of comely special shed-someones…
Find your shed “true-love” at Grant Sheds.
We’ve been love matching farmers with sheds since 1952, long before reality TV came along!
Call Me … 1800 088 528
FARM GATE NEWS: The Farmer’s Newsletter PHONE 1800 088 528 WEB www.grantsheds.com.au
P7
Open Garden
17th & 18th October 2020 10am-4pm (covid permitting)
Visit Us And Our Garden Ali has always been a keen gardener and last October we opened our garden for the first time as part of the annual Riverland Rose Festival. We have enjoyed visiting other gardens during this annual event and it was time to give back. About 400 visitors attended over two days and we were glad that some our Grant Sheds family let us know they were there. We had a friend stay with us and he made scones which we handed out free to visitors. A funny thing happened … a couple from the Yorke Peninsula spoke with our friend and asked him if he had a brother who lived on the YP because he looked just like a man they knew from there … Yep, it was our friend Rob Higgins they were referring to and here they were talking to him in person!!! Sorry Brian & Brenda Cross, we had to include that! Our garden is described as… 1.3 acres with a wide range of ornamental plants blending beautifully into its native, mallee-scrub location. 200 roses combine with beautiful perennials, grasses, ornamental trees and swathes of
Julie & Geoff Gray, Renmark & farm at Morkalla Vic
Lucy & Barry Fletcher, Barmera SA
spacious lawned areas. Native plantings, rustic garden art, running streams and ponds with fish and tadpoles, plus multiple play areas with playground items for children provide additional interest and plenty of fun! Children welcome. Wheelchair friendly garden. Other Riverland Gardens are also open over the week from 17th October onwards but ours only on 17th-18th. It would be lovely to see you there.
Nancy & Rob McLean, Ridgehaven Enterprises, Taylorville
Andrea Sparnon, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Pinnaroo & Polly Johnston, Alawoona
Brian & Brenda Cross, Wallaroo, Yorke Pen
Rob Higgins, Yorketown, Yorke Peninsula
Are my testicles black?
Man gets hit by a rental car. Said it Hertz
D id yo u k n ow a n ts never ge t sick? ave It s be caus e th ey h .. li tt le An ty B odie s.
A suspected Covid-19 male patient is lying in bed in the hospital, wearing an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. A young student female nurse appears and gives him a partial sponge bath. “Nurse,”’ he mumbles from behind the mask, “are my testicles black?” Embarrassed, the young nurse replies, “I don’t know, Sir. I’m only here to wash your upper body and feet.” He struggles to ask again, “Nurse, please check for me. Are my testicles black?” Concerned that he might elevate his blood pressure and heart rate from worrying about his testicles, she overcomes her
embarrassment and pulls back the covers. She raises his gown, holds his manhood in one hand and his testicles gently in the other. She looks very closely and says, “There’s nothing wrong with them, Sir. They look fine. “The man slowly pulls off his oxygen mask, smiles at her, and says very slowly,”Thank you very much. That was wonderful. Now listen very,very, closely: “Are - my - test - results - back?”
GRANT SHEDS PO Box 29 Monash SA 5342 Email: info@grantsheds.com.au © Copyright New Horizons (SA) Pty Ltd, Trading as “Grant Sheds” No portion of this newsletter may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright owner, Grant Sheds. No part of this publication is intended to provide legal, financial or other professional advice. Where we discuss financial incentives or matters, you must seek your own financial advice, applicable to your personal circumstances prior to making any decisions. We accept no responsibility for the information, advice, recommendations or strategies discussed in this publication and it is up to the reader to sensibly apply any information provided and comply with local, state or federal laws. If you no longer wish to receive future editions of this publication, please contact us using any of the contact methods below and request your removal from our mailing list. We do not wish to offend anyone with our publication and will action your request immediately.
P8
FARM GATE NEWS: The Farmer’s Newsletter PHONE 1800 088 528 WEB www.grantsheds.com.au