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Quality counts for Queensland harvest contractor

Watching harvest crews strip crop in Victoria last year, Jamie Janke had two thoughts.

The first- if it wasn’t for “good old social media” – he wouldn’t have this insight.

And secondly, the harvest contractor briefly wondered if his “tough” decision was the right one.

Jamie made the call to keep his team and his five harvesters in northern NSW, despite the lure of work in drier areas of Australia.

Back then, NSW was soaked.

It was impossible to harvest.

“We got to Moree right on the throat of it being ready and right up until it started raining, we had basically done all we could, the rest was in the hands of the weather gods, to be truthful,” Jamie said.

“We had the opportunity – we could have sent machines south to keep harvesting – but I made the decision to look after our clients in northern NSW.

“Yes, we had a lot of downtime, but I was fortunate with the crew we had. We tried to make the most of the wet. There were plenty of pub days and we got out on the dams and had fun skiing, trying to keep the comradery up with the work crew to keep them hanging around so when it dried-out, we were there – in full swing – to get the crops off.”

This decision to remain in NSW is a glimpse into the principles of Jamie and his wife Monique’s business Deberi Contract Harvesting.

“We really value those customers in northern NSW, and I knew that by hanging around to do the right thing – the right thing by them- we’d hopefully be back there the next year,” Jamie said.

“And we will, this year we will be back there again for them.”

On the cusp on the 2022 harvest, Jamie and his team are rearing-up for another big year – set to begin in his local region near Emerald, Central Queensland, late September.

They have 18,000 hectares “locked-in” for harvesting.

Today, it’s morning smoko at Deberi Contracting, everyone has a cuppa and sitting in the sunshine on this bitterly cold August day.

The hours before had been spent under machines, with one employee grinding and welding a new cutter bar to the comb of a harvester.

All normal pre-season maintenance and all – for the first time- under the shelter of an enclosed Entegra shed.

Developed with local Queensland Entegra Design Consultant Michael Leask, Jamie’s shed is a workshop that includes heavy duty sliding doors with door frames designed to resist high winds that are also “vertically stiffened” for easy sliding.

Like the future-focused decision Jamie made to commit to growers in NSW last year, he approached the investment in this shed in the same considered way.

Jamie ensured the workshop – manufactured at Entegra’s factory – was not only large enough to fit up to six harvesters, he future-proofed the design with its 6.5m height ensuring it will be “tall enough forever”.

The shed also has galvansied trusses and columns to ensure its longevity and rainwater capture with Entegra’s high volume Taperflow™ guttering.

Office space and worker accommodation – to ensure the business is self-sufficient – has been flagged as future investments, built underneath one end of the shed.

is this true? or did his come from Swan Hill?

Building a workshop, as part of working towards a goal

It’s only been four years since Jamie and Monique took the opportunity to merge their “owner operator” business with the longstanding Deberi Contract Harvesting firm.

Jamie and Monique, with their children Lara 7, Kiera 6 and Kayden 4 have owned the nearly 40-year-old Deberi business for one year, following a three-year transition and mentoring period with Deberi founder Bruce Estens.

“A big learning curve” Jamie went from owning a John Deere 9670 harvester he bought at 22-years-old, to owning two harvesters and operating five and then owning the entire Deberi Contract Harvesting business.

“Bruce wanted to see his harvest run, his clients and his machinery keep growing,” Jamie said.

“It’s a good business and I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to buy into that and he’s helped me along the way which I am grateful for.”

Bruce’s business coaching included telling Jamie “things (he) didn’t want to hear, but needed to hear”.

For example, tips about managing finances, strict budgets, the importance of employing and retaining good staff and how this all keeps clients happy.

“We want to be back there next year, so you have to do the right thing this year,” Jamie said.

“Quality is what brings you back next year.”

Jamie and Monique may have refreshed the brand – including embracing social media marketing and building a new website to attract and retain staff – but the essence of the business remains the same.

Deberi Contract Harvesting services growers from Queensland through to Victoria, harvesting wheat, canola, chickpeas, barley, faba beans, sorghum and sunflowers.

This year, at peak, Deberi Contract Harvesting will employ up to eight staff.

Last year, the business harvested for 11 months and it’s on track to do the same this year, thanks to the Central Queensland sorghum harvest across winter.

Business diversification

Alongside the harvesters in Jamie and Monique’s new Entegra shed, sits a John Deere tractor attached to a hay mulcher.

While this machinery has nothing to do with harvesting grain crops, it’s central to Jamie and Monique’s business risk and cash-flow management.

This tractor and hay mulcher is an important piece of machinery used as part of their other business called MineMend.

A mining rehabilitation operation, MineMend provides full time employment for two staff and vital year-round work to offset the seasonality of harvesting.

Jamie’s father Russell started mining rehabilitation work in the mid-2000s as offseason employment and to counteract droughts.

A dry season in 2018 and no summer crops around Emerald meant Jamie was faced with the same dilemma.

“My father got out of the rehabilitation, he was serving one mine, so I had the opportunity to come up to kick that off again,” he said.

“Being fresh in business, I sort of had to, to have some cash flow to keep the family fed.”

MindMend has progressed from an offseason venture to a year-round operation to match demand.

Thanks to changes to government regulation, mines in Queensland are now legally required to rehabilitate the land where they operate.

Jamie said mine rehabilitation is fundamentally revegetation.

It involves spreading gypsum, fertilisers, hay mulch, biosolids, composts, manures, grass and tree seeds.

“We are in a strong position with the harvesting, but with droughts, having a diversified business that’s not agriculture-related somewhat shields us from the same elements that would cause downturns in the harvesting,” he said.

“I’ve got a couple of guys working full time with that, a couple of tractors, a loader and a few spreaders and things like that. It is really starting to take off because there’s a lot of coal mines throughout Central Queensland that are needing to rehabilitate.”

Planning ahead

With an eye on the future and a track record of smart and considered business decisions, you’d be forgiven for thinking Jamie’s had decades in business.

He and his family have come a long way in seven years.

Humble, he credits those that “gave him a go” his upbringing, family, and Bruce Estens – Deberi Contract Harvesting founder – for his position now.

Jamie said he’s learnt through experience and wants to give other young people in agriculture the same opportunity

On the eve of this year’s grain harvest, it’s clear Jamie has many successful years in front of him.

“I just try not to look at being how old or young I am,” he said.

“I just grab the bull by the horns and go for the ride.”

Break out box

Deberi Contract Harvesting snapshot

  • Based in Emerald, Queensland
  • Works from Queensland to Victoria
  • Runs five harvesters
  • Employs up to eight people
  • Quality is key
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