BURTUNDY STATION, NSW: AN OPTIMUM SILOS PROFILE
At Optimum Silos, we understand that every primary producers’ needs are different, and every property will require something a little different to achieve its goals. We work closely with our growers to ensure we design the most efficient and effective solution to meet their needs.
The Optimum Silos team recently completed the design, manufacture and construction of a grain storage and handling system sixty kilometres north of Wentworth New South Wales, at Burtundy Station.
The brief:
Given they had previously been driving grain 100 kilometres each way to Mildura or beyond, and waiting even longer still to offload the grain at storage sites, the owners required a sophisticated grain handling system to speed up logistics at harvest time. In addition to this, they are in the process of setting up a small scale cattle feedlot, and were faced with buying processed grain or feed to cart back to the property.
Speed of harvest intake, and a way to process grain for cattle through a feed mill on-site in order to utilise their own grain for feed, were the two key requirements of the new setup.
The Optimum solution:
Being in a remote part of the country meant some out-of-the-box thinking was required to tick off these key needs.
The grain storage system features three 1300 tonne Cyclone Silos by Optimum Silos, one 200 tonne elevated silo, and one 800 tonne silo.
The handling equipment was designed with the specific operation requirements in mind, and manufactured in-house by our team in Young, NSW. It included a 150 tonne per hour pit auger, from a 30 tonne intake hopper, drag conveyor and bucket elevator, 30-metre high tower, 360-degree turn head and spouts.
Feedlot operations:
The feedlot system incorporates a 200 tonne elevated silo acting as a surge bin, which keeps the feed mill operating, running at approximately 20 tonnes per hour. The grain flows steadily through a robust, custom-designed electric auger at the bottom of the silo gate, allowing full control of the input speed.
The processed grain is then carried away through a similar auger, into a feed shed: simplifying the operation of the owner’s small scale feedlot, by processing all feed for livestock on-site.
Grain storage and handling system:
Another key consideration for this particular grain handling setup was to ensure the maintenance that would be required was minimal, given the remoteness of the location. Cattle need to keep getting fed, and the equipment needs to keep working day in, day out, to ensure the livelihood of the growers is protected.
The grain storage system we designed comprises 150 tonne unloading and outloading equipment, all designed and engineered in-house, by the team at Optimum Grain Silos and Augers, at our manufacturing facility in Young, New South Wales.
A 30m high RHS tower was fully welded in three parts, using precision laser cut components and millimeter perfect welding jigs. This meant the tower and bucket elevator, also fully designed and manufactured in-house, went up seamlessly, thanks to some assistance from WJS Welding, Charlie Carrol and Inland Crane Hire. From the first moment of operation, this setup ran perfectly true, due to the precise manufacturing processes followed in the engineering of this equipment. The 360-degree turn head, or distributor, atop the tower also features some top-secret components that ensure it is built to last a lifetime.
To bring it all together, the system is controlled through a PLC, including an aeration controller to maintain maximum grain quality year-round for the grain stored following harvest.
If you’d like to know more about how we can custom-design and engineer a solution for your operation, get in touch with our team today.