HMFD Review by Karen Jolly

HE Silos Forbes once again attended the Henty Machinery Field Days this year, and a second time for me, so I was finally able to have a comparison from my first year.

Having spoken to many regular exhibitors this year, it was agreed that numbers were definitely up on previous years.

The first day was the surprise, as we were almost run off our feet with visitors to our site, with the enquiry level very high. Day two and three carried on in the same vein. The general consensus was that the drought is – of course – playing a major part in decision making for many farmers, with “drought proofing’ their farming enterprises as a main driving factor.

The introduction of the latest government Drought Packages was an incentive to get along to the field days and see what products were there that could assist them to do this and take advantage of the government incentives. Several producers that I spoke to were looking for more on farm storage to combat their leaner times, seeing a way to better utilise on farm storage silos that we produce, along with our award winning fumigation (TICS™), saving themselves warehousing fees and other changes through the bulk handling system, giving flexibility to store the feed on farm for future use.

It was also gratifying to see that the countryside, while not outstanding, was a long way from the brown dirt landscape we have been living with for some time now, and it was a beautiful green oasis we all found ourselves in for a few days.

And it was great to see everyone having a catch up, joining in conversations with neighbours and friends they haven’t seen for a while, taking a break from the dust and feeding of stock, and generally enjoying themselves. We are looking forward to next year, and along with it, a better season with more rain.