Showcased at Mystery Creek as a scaled down 1:5 model, the company has developed the silos to let farmers to log in on the internet, place and order then take their own spreader or use a contractor to load up at the silo.
“We developed the system in response to farmer feedback.
“They told us that they wanted to be able to access fertiliser to apply at times when the depots were not always open.
“In the South Island, particularly, with longer daylight hours over summer the opportunity is there to work well into the evening if the product is available,” Ballance supply chain analyst Craig Fitzpatrick said.
The 60t, 15 metre high silos combined automated dispensing technology with silo design developed by Canterbury company IDC. The silos were initially intended to hold urea in installations at depot sites.
Once an order was placed by a farmer or contractor it was released at the site by swiping a card, similar to an airline boarding pass. The load was then dispensed via a secondary silo fed from the larger storage silo.
Both Ravensdown and Ballance had provided silos for onfarm storage in the past but that approach had caused issues with moisture retention.
Fitzpatrick said this system fitted with farmers’ desire to keep farm infrastructure simpler while providing a flexible option for after-hours application of tactical nitrogen fertiliser like urea.
Farmers could ensure a timely application while contractor could maximise their machinery investment over the short window seasonal demands often presented.
The technology was not unlike that used at unstaffed petrol stations.
Fitzpatrick said in the future it could be possible to have the silos separate from company depots and ultimately for farmers to place an order via smart phone app while at the site.
The first installation was at Mt Somers, Canterbury, while another is under way at Whakamaru, south Waikato.
He said expectations were that contractors would form the bulk of demand for the service.
“But in the future we may find there are clusters of farmers who all have spreaders who would be keen to have a site near them. It proves a very flexible option.”
From a supplier’s perspective the remote, automated silos reduced the pressure on staff over peak periods when they were already working longer hours to help meet seasonal order peaks.
