Southwest Ag Services to spread the word at Sungold Field Days

TEN years ago Tim "Herman" Grimes started out doing a bit of weekend work for farmers in the Western District.

Field Days

TEN years ago Tim "Herman" Grimes started out doing a bit of weekend work for farmers in the Western District.

He was born and raised at Hawkesdale and worked in rural supplies, fertiliser sales and fertiliser spreading before venturing out on his own.

"By the time I was 24, I realised that I was going to be a whole lot happier working for myself," Mr Grimes says.

"I'd been doing a bit of fertiliser spreading on the weekends, so I decided to go for it.

"I started with a credit card - two actually - and not much else.

"I bought a tractor and a spreader in 2004 and it just took off from there."

He now operates a large machine pool as Southwest Ag Services, working from his base near Minhamite, about 45km north of Warrnambool.

"Fertiliser spreading is probably our main business - we spread about 120,000ha a year - but we have diversified into mowing and baling over the years," Mr Grimes says.

"We aim to do a better job than producers can do.

"In this business, you can't succeed without good gear and good staff.

"The trick is to keep both working throughout the year."

Most of his farm equipment is bought through Claas Harvest Centre at Lake Bolac.

The business operates three Amazone 4200 ZA-M Ultra Profis mounted spreaders, as well as a ZG-B 8200 trailed spreader.

Both feature Amazone's "soft ballistic system" that can spread granular fertiliser up to 48m.

He also runs fodder conservation equipment from Claas, including four Disco 3900 rear-mounted mowers, two 3500RC rear-mounted mower conditioners, two 3100 front-mounted mowers, one 3100 front-mounted mower-conditioner, two Variant 385 balers and a Liner 2700 rake.

He said one of the mowers was written off in the paddock four seasons ago and the dealer supplied a quick replacement.

"I rang them at eight o'clock in the morning and they had a new mower in the paddock that afternoon," he said.

"This kind of service keeps my business going."

In 2012, Southwest Ag added two Arion 600 series tractors - an Arion 630 and an Arion 640.

"I didn't know much about Claas tractors but I can't fault them," he said.

He said the cabin suspension and front suspension was a good feature for operator comfort.

"Our 640 has front suspension but the 630 doesn't and you can really notice the difference," he said.

• Visit Landpower Colac and Claas Harvest Centre Warrnambool at Sungold Field Days site No.E47 to look at the Claas and Amazone farm machinery.