Aussie Ken
Member
Greetings from Goondiwindi Queensland!
It’s hard to believe that I have been here over a year already, amazing how fast time flies! It is still hot and very dry here – we did receive some rain courtesy of thunderstorms on Wednesday night, but only 10 mm – that amount doesn’t help much except for the brown lawns in town. The temperature now ranges from highs of 35 to 40C in the daytime to 20 to 25C at night.. It is a very dry heat, last week I was told the humidity was at 5%. The first day of summer is December 1st
One thing I never mentioned was the road driving, which is on the other side of the road. When we first arrived, it was pretty nerve-wracking, but I was told a simple principle – keep yourself in the centre of the road. I have pulled out several times and drove for a length of time on the other side before I realized where I was and corrected myself. I still have to think about position on the road at corners –turning into the opposite side of the road. I know when I was home in August, that several times I pulled onto the road and then realized I was driving on the other side.
The wheat, barley and chick pea harvest is pretty much finished here. A lot of the yields were way below average; one farmer told me his yield was terrible, the worst since they moved here from the state of Victoria in the early 1980’s. Another farmer told me he harvested 700 tonnes from 1500 acres – works out to about 18 bushels to the acre, very poor yield compared to Ontario standards of 80 to 100 bushels to the acre. Some areas did get rain throughout the growing season which allowed these farmers a decent yield. There is an area around North Star, New South Wales; they call the “golden triangle” which receives more rain than other areas on average.
There were a few combines or headers as the Aussies call them - lost to fire again – due to the chick pea harvest. There is static electricity build up in the machines while harvesting the crop –causes the dust to literally stick to the sides of the machine like it was magnetized. Farmers drag huge logging chains behind the combine to attempt to ground the machine and minimize the static electricity build-up. They also use portable industrial air compressors to blow the dust from the machines after each round of the field to minimize risk of fire. I have heard reports that the dust whirls around near to metal of the machines and ignites in midair! Hard to believe, but true. If there is a rain on the crop at harvest time, the rain washes the flammable substance from the plants, and the fire risk is greatly reduced.
Work has been busy with a few major breakdowns of harvesting equipment. I have heard that farmers have planted cotton, but only 25% of the usual acreage due to the fact that there is minimal water for irrigating. This will impact the service department with much less equipment in the field needing repair work. We have product improvements to do on the cotton pickers –which strengthens the frame of these machines –there are quite a few in our business area –so this will be good for us in the service department.
The house-sitting I was doing for residents in town has ended, so I have rented a house in Gundy a brick, ranch style 4 bedroom home on a large lot. It is one of the few properties in the area that has trees for shade. There is also a 20 X 24 steel work shop at the rear to spend time in. Norm the dog enjoys the property as well.
I have purchased a tractor since I returned from my visit to Canada in August, a John Deere 5020 Standard -1968 model. They were the largest John Deere tractor built in 1968. I purchased this from the original owners that sold their farm. This tractor was very popular here with some farmers still using them regularly. I have been told that when these tractors arrived in Australia, they basically revolutionized agriculture – instead of pulling one planter, now the farmer could pull two or more with a multiple hitch, speeding up all farming practises. It is in great condition, needs a few panels replaced that have gone missing over the years, but it starts great and is fun to drive. I always wanted one in Canada, and now that I have one, I wish I had it when I was farming in Ontario. It has been stored in the “big blue shed” as the Aussie’s call it – basically sat outside for most of its life under the open skies. The paint is faded, but due to the low humidity, there is minimal rust on the machine. There was a large canopy frame installed to drape a tarp or animal skin over to keep the sun off of the operator, which I have removed. The plan is to restore and repaint the tractor in my spare time.
I have spent some weekends with my friend in Helidon, Queensland, that has the Lanz Bulldogs and John Deere two cylinder tractors. I have been working on the 9 restored tractors he purchased from Michigan USA, and now they start a lot better with some fine tuning of the magnetos and a good cleaning of the carburetors. He also has several unrestored tractors that are need of major work. Their house was in the path of the water from the massive flash floods in Toowoomba Qld 2011 – look it up on You Tube on the internet – they had a 6 foot wall of water and mud go through their house and 12 feet through the storage shed where the unrestored tractors were stored – tractors were tossed around and damaged, the wall of water is figured to be 20 metres from the bottom of the creek behind their shed!
I am still working on the 1954 model John Deere R tractor for the local farmer; it is almost ready for a new coat of paint. I have attended a couple of vintage tractor shows and two vintage John Deere tractors auctions recently. The prices for the tractors have slipped a little, mostly due to the drought conditions, but all still fetch a much higher price than the Canadian counterparts.
All the Best
Ken Nicklas
