Replacing pine posts for trellises and end strainers with steel has proven to be a time and cost saver for one Victorian winery.
For Andrew Peace Wines, located in Victoria’s Mallee region, the need to regularly replace the necessary pine posts in their vineyard, plus the difficulty associated with physically removing them, led them to look for an alternative solution.
The answer was in steel – and a pioneering project that involved Trimble GPS technology and a Vermeer PD10 solar pile driver taking on an Australian-first use.
Using the Trimble GPS technology, the winery is able to have its vineyard mapped out without the need for a surveyor and, crucially, the Vermeer pile driver has been customised to work with the GPS system.
The winery’s viticulture grower liaison Rod Duffy says the new combination of equipment and technology will reduce the total installation time for all the posts from 100 days to 70.
“Previously, we’d work with a consultant to build a farm map to give us an idea on where to place the posts and the topography of the field and would then pass that to the surveyor for them to map out the best spot for the posts to be placed,” he says.
“It would need a team of about 10 people to help put the pine posts in over the course of around 100 days.
“Now, with the Trimble technology, we place the farm map into their program, and it tells us where the posts should go.
“Then the Vermeer PD10 uses that data to place in the steel posts, and we only need two labourers to help with the install.
“The GPS technology with the steel posts is going to be a real time and cost saver for us.”
 |
|
Replacing pine posts with steel is tipped to be a winner for Andrew Peace Wines
|
Duffy also says the winery lost about 12,000 posts last year due to bad weather and spent about $250,000 per year on replacing broken posts, even without factoring in disposal costs for treated pine.
Kevin Gilbert from Vermeer Australia says this is the first time a PD10 has been used for this type of job in Australia.
“This is a big opportunity for the viticulture industry to see what the PD10 is capable of, and that it isn’t just suited for solar panels and posts, but Vermeer Australia can manufacture guides for any type of post,” he says.
“Plus, the PD10 has been customised to work with GPS systems, which will save a whole lot of time, money, and effort when it comes to installing trellises each year for vineyard operators.”