Murphy Family – Capella (QLD)
Paul and Cherry Murphy are certified organic grain growers from Central Queensland, they head up a dynamic team, which includes daughter Hannah and son Sam near Capella. It was great to be able to speak with Paul and Hannah about their on-farm storage, they were hopeful this would be their last year using silo bags, though they acknowledge that silo bags have played a vital role in their storage system journey.
Paul started using on-farm storage back in the 1990s as a way to manage grain marketing and have more control over prices, to place themselves as a price maker rather than a taker.
“But it’s not just a matter of storing the grain and waiting for prices to go up, there are a few hoops to jump through to get grain storage right and make a profit,” Paul said.
Having organic status, the Murphys need to be able to trace their grain back to the specific paddock it came from.
“Paddock traceability is really important for us as certified organic grain growers, Kotzur silos provide the ideal on-farm storage capacity for grain segregation to achieve this,” said Hannah.
They’ve tried out different storage options over the years, but none have held up as well as the Kotzur silos in the tough Central Queensland climate. Gastight sealing has been especially important for disease and pest control since they are unable to use chemical treatments with their certified organic status.
“We need silos that can stand up in a storm, we have been impressed with the sealing and durability of the Kotzur silos, which has motivated us to increase our storage capacity using further Kotzur products over the year.”
The drying and aeration technology used by Kotzur has also been a real game changer for the Murphys in managing grain quality. With the help of locally sourced aeration control systems, they’ve been able to further improve the efficiency of their on-farm storage. Hannah stated that reliability was a top priority for their operation, so they were excited to hear that Kotzur’s transportable range will soon be manufactured closer to their home in Toowoomba.
They spoke about the advancements of controlled atmosphere storage, which is becoming more accessible in the agricultural sector. But for now, they’re focusing on moving their grain and starting to plan for the next crop, which will most likely be sorghum and mung beans.
