Victorian farmers and rural property owners all have one thing in common during the hot dry season: risk and exposure to bushfires and grassfires.

Fire is a very real threat to all of us, and awareness has obviously increased hugely since the Black Saturday disaster. But are those of us who are subjected to risk doing all we can to improve our fire plan and preparedness?

One simple method, often overlooked, is to ensure our assets are protected by a steel frame shed. Steel is sturdy and fire-retardant, and regardless of the nature or intended use of the shed, it ensures your assets are stored in a central, landmarked location.

Whether its machinery and equipment, feed or stock, the advantages of having your assets stored under a roof are huge:

1.   Should your property become subject to the thread of fire, it’s so much easier to protect a central, pinpointed location and confined area.

2.   It is easier for you to maintain the surroundings, keep the grass slashed and immediate area clear of fuel, and ensure adequate water storage nearby.

3.   There will be easy access for vehicles to gain entrance to and protect the location in adverse circumstances.

4.   Your assets are also protected from the conditions a fire can produce; ash, embers, smoke and heat that can all cause excessive damage. A roof and/or walls offer a certain shield from these elements, and can also help to keep stock calm.

5.   Furthermore, a sturdy steel frame and cladding have a much higher fire-retardant rating than many of the older style timber frame and beam sheds that can be found around Victoria.

If you can fit yourself into the group of Victorians that live under the summer fire threat, and are interested in increasing your chances of protecting your rural assets from risk of fire, you can contact Central Steel Build for advice and assistance.

Contact Central for a free consultation, advice on your property setup/possible site location for a shed, and an obligation free quote. 1300 955 608, or visit centralbuild.localdev.highbrow.com.au

We’re here to help protect Australian farmers.

Farming is known as a traditional form of producing food for the wider population’s sustenance. However as the human race has grown and evolved, so has farming. Here are three modern farming techniques that are reshaping the agricultural industry.

Sundrop Farms, South Australia 

Sundrop farms is located in the arid salt plains of South Australia. Here a huge solar tower stands over 24,000 mirrors which produces thermal energy to power 20 hectres of adjoining glasshouses to grow tomatoes. About 350 tonnes of tomatoes are reaped from these glasshouses every week. This method of farming is extremely clean and sustainable, relying solely on solar power. Also it makes use of ground considered unfit for traditional methods of farming. As CEO Philipp Saumweber comments, “if you can farm successfully here, you can farm almost anywhere in the world.”

Bowery Farms, New Jersey

This method of farming takes industrialized farming to another level. Here vertical farming is practiced showcasing increased automation, reduced emissions and all round reduced costs. FarmOS is a software used to efficiently move water around plants, adapting new data to adjust environmental conditions to the warehouse. Trays of crop are stacked vertically and produced all year round. With these techniques the Bowery Farm company claim to have the capacity to grow 100 times more per square foot than other industrial farms.

Aeroponics 

Areoponics describes a method of farming by which plants are grown while being suspended in mid air. The way this crazy idea works is plants are suspended in a reservoir or something that can support the plant, but minimal contact is made with this device and the plant, making the plant 100% grown in air. The dangling roots are sprayed with nutrient-rich solution to ensure healthy growth. Nearly any plant can be grown using an aeroponics system.