Two Fendt tractors are powering a NSW South Coast business which is transforming organic waste into fertilisers.
Loop Organics Pty Ltd, which is based in Berry, was founded by Lisa Rawlinson in 2012.
Ms Rawlinson, who is managing director, has a long background in soil and crop sciences and a Master's degree in wastewater recycling.
A Churchill scholarship allowed her to explore what other countries were doing with wastewater solids and effluent.
"These by-products are great when done properly but things can go wrong if they are not," she said.
The company's name refers to closing the loop by returning biosolids and waste food to the soil to grow more food or pasture.
The Fendt tractors are providing the muscle for injecting liquid fertiliser into soil.
Loop Organics collects waste from food manufacturers in Sydney - dairy processors, poultry producers and vegetable processors.
The liquid by-products are injected with an 11,500-litre vacuum tanker.
The rate of application depends on soil tests and the needs of the following crop.
Loop also runs a beef cattle operation and produces hay and silage.
Team leader for this process is Tom Scott who has a tattoo of a Fendt tractor on his back.
"I think they are magnificent tractors. Everything about them is designed for the future and traceability and ease of working. They are also very fuel efficient and comfortable," he said.
In November 2019 Loop bought a Fendt 927 S4 tractor.
The Fendts pull the injection unit and their other main job is to run a four-metre power harrow with an air seeder. It allows Loop Organics to fertilise, level and incorporate seed in two passes.
"Our soil now holds more water and nutrients. We are injecting sub-surface and the crops' roots are finding that moisture deeper down and we were getting high yields even in a drought," Ms Rawlinson said.
"Everything we do is trackable. We are able to integrate the Fendt GPS system into the process so we can see all the runs in the paddock."
One Fendt feature Mr Scott likes is the ability to program any series of actions.
"You can push one button to record all the things you do - all the buttons you push and levers you pull to make it work. Then you push the button again to stop recording," he said.
"Then at the start of the paddock you just hit that button again and it will do all those actions you recorded.
The operator can concentrate 100 per cent on the plough or power harrow so it does the best job possible."
Fendt's Vario transmission gives a low speed of 0.1 kph and Loop Organics' tractors can have four different speeds pre-set.
The hydraulic front suspension can be pumped up or down from within the cab.
With central tyre inflation the operator can change tyre pressures from within the cab for more or less traction.
There is also an option to reverse the controls and look out the back window.
"If you have triple mowers on the rear, it takes two minutes to reverse the seat and controls, and then you are facing the mowers. The clear view is a definite plus," Mr Scott said.
