Rutherford-based National Stockyard Systems has been named runner-up for its cattle crush in the prestigious Henty Machinery Field Days Machine of the Year Award.
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The Top End Plus 200 cattle crush trumped national and international tillage and spray machines worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ten machines at the pinnacle of agricultural technology were judged for Machine of the Year by a panel of primary producers.
The Rutherford business has won two industry awards at the AG Quip Fields Days and four at the Australian National Field Days, for innovation, manufacture and design.
National Stockyard Systems principal Murray Schaefer was thrilled with the success.
“We are one of a handful of companies that supply livestock-handling equipment that is manufactured in Australia,” he said.
“Most other suppliers source their product from China.
“The only way we can survive is to be truly innovative and constantly improve our products and range.
“We have spent more than $100,000 on product development and patents and registered designs to protect our market position.”
Mr Schaefer said the locally made product was up against cropping machinery developed overseas, including self-propelled spray rigs, headers, tractors and cultivators.
“Livestock equipment is rarely entered [in the field days awards] because of the standard of technology that goes into cropping machines.
“When the judges arrived on our site I asked them to think of it as a cattle processing machine instead of a cattle crush.
“This crush has elevated the ease and safety of all animal husbandry from the mouth to the tail.”
Gerald Hicks is the crush manufacturer and is based in Coffs Harbour.
He spent five years designing and producing the cattle crush.
“Similar to most other Australian manufacturing companies, we are under increasing competition from China,” Mr Schaefer said.
“If Australian manufacturing companies develop and manufacture a product that will fit in a container, then cheap imports will quickly put them out of business.”
