Director's Brief

By Byron Wolff

Welcome to the Summer edition of our Newsletter.

2020 has been a very challenging year for many of us, however we are very thankful that COVID-19 lockdown restrictions have had a lesser impact on the agricultural sector than many other industries. Whilst it has limited our ability to visit various parts of the country at certain times throughout the year, we have managed to work with our clients remotely in many instances to achieve successful outcomes.

It has been good to see a turnaround in the season with Southern Australia enjoying good winter rainfall. We look forward to our friends in the Northern regions also receiving good rain this Wet season and trust that the forecast La Nina will deliver for many who have had only below average seasons in recent years.

The year has been extremely busy for our workshop and we will continue at a hectic pace right up to Christmas, in an effort to complete several more big orders before the break. The production schedule is already fully booked well into 2021, so if you are considering upgrading your yards, please call us to discuss your plans sooner rather than later. We anticipate that the production window for the remainder of the financial year will close very quickly.

Wishing all our valued clients and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
Byron

Specialised Product- Sheep Drafter

While many of you may associate the Thompson Longhorn brand exclusively with cattle handling equipment, we have recently completed two Longmaster Auto Sheep Drafters for export to clients in Uzbekistan.

The pneumatic sheep drafter is positioned either permanently or on a mobile trailer and functions to restrain sheep for a variety of processes, including weighing, vaccinating and veterinary procedures. It consists of 3 sections: the lead-up race, weigh box and 3 way draft.

Animals can be tipped onto their side in an elevated position for procedures such as pregnancy scanning while in the weigh box. Weigh scales and sensors in the equipment send messages to the control box, where a series of switches control the operation of the draft gates, in order to auto-draft mobs into pre-determined weight ranges.

Product feature - adjustable curved lane

By Shelly Barnet

The parallel curved lane has been a part of the Thompson Longhorn products for many years, as well as the option of the curved Vee profile lane for those producers running breeding operations. While the adjustable lane has also been on our product list, 2020 has seen some refinements made to this design and operation. We wanted to make this a more cost-effective option for those running stock with a large range of weight, to suit weaners right through to breeders.

The width is adjusted using pneumatic rams, so with the press of a remote transmitter button the width is quickly changed to suit the stock at hand. At full opening width the lane is 760 mm wide, narrowing down to 430 mm. The outside of the adjustable lane is always fully sheeted, to minimise sight distractions and baulking as cattle flow around the lane. The operating side can be either half sheeted or fully sheeted. The addition of catwalk on the fully sheeted option enables easy access for an operator moving from the crowding yard to the curved lane and back again.

We are pleased that following the updated design of the adjustable lane, 3 of these units have been manufactured since October, one for export to Uzbekistan, one for a QLD backgrounding operation and one for a NSW feedlot. The customers are impressed with the ease of operation and how it can accommodate different size animals.