The race is on between now and the opening rains, and the FPAG team has never been better equipped to service the wider Fleurieu Peninsula.
With continued investment into agronomy, no problem is too big for the growing independent business.
Its six-strong agronomy team covers industries that include broadacre, pasture, viticulture and horticulture.
FPAG’s origins are in pasture agronomy, since Greg Mitchell was a founding member of FPAG 10 years ago. He continues to be a leader in not only FPAG’s pasture agronomy but the state over.
Working in conjunction with Dairy SA and Dairy Australia, Mr Mitchell is providing fodder management plans to sectors that include dairy, high intensity beef and sheep production.
Adrian Clarke is another pasture agronomist.
As three FPAG stores are in the pasture heartland, Mr Clarke is flat out preparing grazing management plans on the Central and Lower Fleurieu Peninsula.
Nick Thring and Zac Taylor are FPAG’s two broadacre agronomists. With generational origins to the area and experience in cropping systems from all over the state, and western Victoria, Mr Thring and Mr Taylor understand the region’s unique requirements that often involves rotations that incorporates both cropping and dryland pasture phases, which gives the region such great diversity.
Warren Burgess is FPAG’s senior viticulturist. With a passion for Viticulture Mr Burgess is setting a new existing platform in viticulture for FPAG.
Viticulture being a new frontier for FPAG, having quality agronomy in this field will be critical.
The now five-branch business, FPAG has added to its Yankalilla, Victor Harbor, Mt Compass and Strathalbyn branches with a branch in the diverse growing region of Langhorne Creek.
It’s an exciting time for the region, with more water confidence building over the past few years. It has brought a well-balanced productive ag region and as one of SA’s largest wine producing regions it is providing year-round primary production.
FPAG was drawn to this diversity, and with its strong offer in agronomy, FPAG felt it could provide the region with a high quality service it has delivered in existing markets.
To match up with agronomy, the thing that sets FPAG apart is its commitment to delivery.
Whether it be through a state-of-the-art fertiliser spreader, or packaged goods on flat bed delivery trucks, FPAG compliments its agronomy team with fast efficient delivery of fertiliser, ag chem, seed, fencing and rural merchandise.
With free flatbed delivery to the FPAG branched regions, no sooner have farmers worked with their agronomist on their product needs, it can be loaded and delivered to the farm gate.
FPAG has identified that the modern day farmer understands time is money.
“We believe if we can offer strong agronomy and delivery to our regions it gives our customers more time farming,” FPAG director Rob Lyon said.
No more does this ring true than in FPAG’s fertiliser spreading business.
The ability to go from soil test to spreader truck means FPAG can offer an integrated system for its customers.
The agronomy team can identify the nutritional requirement and no sooner the application of that nutrition can be applied by one of FPAG’s state-of-the-art fertiliser spreader trucks.
Having the agronomist and spreaders together means FPAG is developing offers of variable rate technology. Through the combined use of drones and grid soil testing, FPAG can offer customers specific nutrition applications based on crop health and soil type.
The agronomy and spreader teams are supported by on site fertiliser blending and coating that makes sure FPAG are one of the few businesses that can truly offer the right product applied the right way at just the right time.
Old-school values and services like on-farm delivery mixed with modern agronomy gives FPAG a great synergy between the services-based business and a cutting-edge agronomy service utilising the latest online platforms to assist the agronomic process.
The team at FPAG is excited about the future, as they celebrate its 10-year anniversary this year.
“On reflection a large part of the work done in the past 10 years has been about developing these two key pillars of agronomy and delivery,” Mr Lyon said.
We believe if we can offer strong agronomy and delivery to our regions it gives our customers more time farming.
- FPAG DIRECTOR ROB LYON
“We believe this will continue to take us forward for the next 10 years.
“We are now at a point with our agronomy and logistics offer that we genuinely feel we can help the region’s farmers big and small to be as productive as possible. We are proud to have come this far as a true independent and we are pumped up for whatever happens next.”
From humble beginnings, the now five store rural business employs more than 30 people on the Fleurieu Peninsula, making it one of the region’s largest independent employers. FPAG continues to show a high service model in rural business is not a thing of the past but is ensuring a bright future.
