PETER Burey has been in the agriculture machinery game for more than 40 years, and this season’s harvest is the biggest he’s seen.
And it’s not just Mr Burey saying that, either – plenty of older customers in the game much longer than Mr Burey echo his thoughts.
As general manager of Kenway and Clark’s nine branches across New South Wales and southern Queensland, Mr Burey has experienced seasons laden with perfect weather and bumper crops as well as times of devastating drought and dry gullies.
But, he says, without hesitation, the 2024 harvest is setting new benchmarks.
“At the moment, it’s the biggest harvest I’ve seen and a lot of the older guys I’ve spoken to are saying this is as good as they’ve ever got – there’s been some really good crops,” he said.
“I’ve been with the company 40-odd years and this is easily the best harvest I’ve seen in that time.
“We used to talk about six-bag crops and 12-bag crops. Now we’re talking about six-tonne crops in some places.
“It’s just huge, it really is, but it’s really testing the machinery. The harvest is working the machinery hard, and working the people harder.”
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With the extra workload comes the demand for extra staff, and with the harvest in full swing, longer hours and extra workdays enter the equation.
“We’ll be running seven days a week for the next two or three weeks at least,” Mr Burey said.
“Currently, we employ 140 staff across nine branches, and need 25 more straight away. We need qualified staff – short-term and long-term.”
Kenway and Clark’s chief objective is to keep the wheels turning and combines rolling.
“Downtime” is a dirty word at harvest time and with branches at Moree, Goondiwindi, Inverell, Wee Waa, Walgett, Gunnedah, Tamworth, Young and Cowra, Kenway and Clark can get parts to the client at the drop of a spanner.
The company has about $12 million worth of spare parts across all branches ready to collect or deliver.
“We can get the parts to the customer one way or the other, generally overnight which limits downtime,” Mr Burey said.
“From Goondiwindi down to Young, there’s a pretty good chance we’ll have the parts needed – in the off chance we don’t, we can get parts overnight out of Sydney.”
At harvest time especially, the bulk of Kenway and Clark’s workload is on-farm.
“The machines are getting bigger, so we made a conscious effort a while ago to have a smaller, faster fleet of utes and service trucks, which we keep updated and fresh – we believe nothing should be older than three years,” Mr Burey said.
“Rather than try and bring a large machine to town, which is difficult, it’s easier to go on-farm, pick up an engine, transmission or final drive and bring them back to the workshop to rebuild.”
Kenway and Clark, established by Harold Kenway and Ted Clark in 1960, specialises in Case IH and Case Construction and also sells and services Grizzly, Kelly and Agrispread products.
“The construction side of the Case IH offering was added several years ago and has been an important part of our business,” Mr Burey said.
“We moved from being an International Harvester (IH) dealer to Case IH, with transitions in the manufacturing of agricultural machinery globally, brought about by the purchase of IH by CNH – a process that started in 1984.”
Meanwhile, Kenway and Clark continues to grow.
Branches at Young and Cowra were recently added to the company’s portfolio.
“Both branches are going well, and the harvest hasn’t yet started down that way,” Mr Burey said.
“The crops are still quit green, so we’re not seeing too much activity in that neck of the woods . . . yet,” he smiled.
Kenway and Clark: https://kenwayandclark.com.au/.
Employment: https://kenwayandclark.com.au/careers/
Moree: 02 6750 8300
Address: 363-379 Frome Street, Moree
Other branches: Goondiwindi, Inverell, Wee Waa, Walgett, Gunnedah, Tamworth, Young and Cowra
Email: admin@kenwayandclark.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kenwayandclark
