4Farmers manufacturing site in Welshpool, WA, produced a record of more than 1.2 million litres of chemical products in April - the biggest month in more than 10 years of operation.
"The fact that April was so busy arose out of necessity because supply delays meant we couldn't spread production to earlier months as we would normally," industry veteran and 4Farmers site manager Roger Franklin said.
"But on the demand side, farmers still wanted product urgently.
"The achievement is testament to the great team of staff here at 4Farmers.
"The main products produced were glyphosate, trifluralin and prosulfocarb.
"These are high volume products that boost the numbers. In months when we are making suspension concentrate (SC) products such as Diflufenican 500, Atrazine 600 or Propyzamide 500, the volumes are not so impressive.
"But these products keep us just as busy.
"We have the capacity to produce most of the liquid products that 4Farmers supplies.
"Making products locally means we know what is in the product and have better control over quality.
"It's great to be able to boast that we offer Australian made products and employ local people."
Cooler storage can help extend chemical life
For the majority of products, storage under optimum conditions will ensure shelf life extends well beyond the minimum two years.
But, even the best of products will fail in poor storage.
Elevated temperatures and temperature cycling are the biggest natural enemies of chemical stability.
The standard tests for chemical storage stability use a constant 23 degrees Celsius.
The average temperatures of most farm storage may be around this, but the ranges can cycle much higher and lower.
High ranging temperature in particular can significantly shorten the life of a chemical.
Studies show that degradation at higher temperatures isn't a straight line response but an exponential one.
- Details: Visit 4farmers.com.au