Government deprecation scheme extended offer

With the Federal Governments extended accelerated deprecation scheme this is an opportune time to upgrade spray equipment and take advantage of operating new equipment at a lower cost base. Call us today and get a quote.

• Extended to include orders received between May 1 and September 30,
• Eligible Quantum Mist sprayer orders will be upgraded to FREE rate control (HV or Bravo),
• The sprayer will also be supplied with a NuPoint data management system,
• This equates to a saving of $8,250 ex GST (*based on QM 2-row model),
• Excludes QM Smart Spray, QM Ultra Tower, QM 1000 Trailed or Linkage).

Under vine plant management systems have moved ahead in leaps and bounds in the last 12 months. Machines have improved in design, speed with which they travel and care to the soil.

But the most advances have been made with operational techniques and timing of operation.

This make all the difference between an affective weeding pass and a costly disaster. It’s important that the first pass you make in the season is one that sets up the ground under the vines for later passes. The smallest adjustment to equipment to get the action right can make a huge difference.

For under vine soil weed management Pridham Viticulture use 2 people to setup the equipment at each site to get it right. We can also advise on how to make minor changes to your vineyard to suit non-chemical weed control. Call us for advice and quote.

In light cropping years, like the one we just had, soil & vine nutrition is ever more important to ensure next year’s cropping potential. 

Long range weather forecasts predict a wetter than average autumn which means opportunity for soils to become active sooner thus incorporating soil nutrients earlier in the season. Soil tests will reveal deficiencies so it’s a good time to get them done now or look over your last year’s soil reports. Not sure what to do? Ask your agronomist for advice.

Pridham Viticulture has upgraded spreading equipment to handle higher capacity loads to improve efficiencies to keep costs low. We also have differential spreading capabilities which are becoming more popular to even out vineyard variability. The results can be seen within a year especially if you have access to NDVI mapping.

Call or email us for ideas and quotes on fertilising and composting your vineyard..

What regenerative farming means to Pridham Viticulture and our people

We have discussed this extensively amongst ourselves and with our clients and continue to evolve our thoughts collectively. It means different things to different people but most of us agree we can’t keep farming the way we do as it degrades the very landscape we live from and in.

There are many existing technologies and methods that can be used in different ways and with better timing as well as new techniques to regenerate our soils.

What it means to our global community

McLaren vale is part of a global farming community network. Many of us have travelled and conversed with farmers in many other countries. We have the WEB to remain in contact and further evolve our relationships globally. Good ecological ideas can spread fast if we want them to.

We are in the age of sharing ideas, knowledge and experience which has been for so long locked up in organisations at a considerable cost. We now have the ability to mobilise change at a far greater pace than ever before, so let’s use it to repair and regenerate our soils for a resilient future.

Our first step -understanding what affect our farming activities have on the ecology of the soil.

The difference ground cover makes

Don’t be fooled, bare soil is not good for the water cycle in our farming systems. We talk about soil water retention, but it cannot be done without healthy plant growth. Plants create a carbon/humu

s sponge that is the most superior method at retaining water thus fuelling soil biology and nutrient recycling, plant growth and vine health.

The photos below show how well ground cover works after rain.

This photo shows a section of soil with no cover. 5 hours after a rain  period the soil surface was dry. Beneath the surface the soil was almost completely dry. Most of the moisture simply evaporated before it could penetrate the surface. No plant matter on or in the soil creates compacted soils.

Soil under vine with remanent plant & root residues protecting the surface. This photo is taken between drippers 5 hours after rain. Notice the colour difference that moisture makes.

Same as above but under vine at dripper outlet. Notice the moisture holding just below surface.  The plant residues are creating the sponge affect so water hangs around for longer with less evaporation to atmosphere.

Vineyard mid row bare surface section. This is 5 hours after rain. Notice how dry the surface is. Most of the rain has evaporated before being able to infiltrate.

Vineyard mid row, next to bare surface area that has surface plant residue pulled back to expose moist soil surface, 5 hours after rain.  Notice the colour difference to photo above.

Pridham Viticulture is adapting to handle compressed vintage harvests.

2019 Vintage lasted for 3 weeks.

Compressed harvests will be more common than not into the future. As a result, vintage resources get stretched causing increasing stress levels and reductions in crop quality.

Planning and communication can go a long way to help mitigate some of these problems.

Understanding that all of us are part of the entire harvest chain will empathise us.

Pridham Viticulture now manage 4 well maintained machine harvesters and a new booking system to reduce bottlenecks, improve efficiency and get fruit to winery on time.

We also run a full logistics service (harvesters(machine & hand), forks, transport, grower liaison) and collaborate closely with many other harvest related companies.

Don’t get caught short… plan now!

Labour laws are ever tightening. As of July 2019 Labour supply providers are now required to hold a license before they can trade.

This is a result of legislative changes that came about from constant complaints from employees (especially at harvest time) being underpaid.

We predict that hourly rates will become the norm over the next few years. The aim is to manage employees to work efficiently and quickly when undertaking vineyard tasks.

This requires good recording and attentive supervising. As a result, Pridham Viticulture are introducing an electronic time keeping program. People can always be let go if they don’t work to a minimum standard.

Communication with clients & wine growers is the key so we all understand that as an industry we must comply with Australian minimum wage standards.

Future Proofing series

Climate change is real and more people now agree than dis-agree that we need to take proper action.

In the vineyard this means reducing our carbon footprint, increasing carbon in our soils (sequestering) and removing chemical herbicides from our systems.

We now have the means with 2nd generation mechanical weed control tools and the knowledge on how to use them effectively while respecting our fragile soils.

Pridham Viticulture now operates two completely new pasture management machines.

Get in contact to discuss how they operate and could be used in your vineyard.

Pridham Viticulture Future proofing

As usual we are changing.

It’s a permanent fixture on our company agenda. Pridham Viticulture has undertaken in depth review on our current business structure and how we deliver on services, products, technology and advice. We have recognised pure and simple human contact still rules supreme. It enables us to listen and learn what our clients want and our employees need.

To remain relevant into the future and for you our customers to benefit from our business offerings we have made some changes and have added some extended services. We essentially have 3 arms to our business.

1. Viticulture & Olive services
2. Retail & servicing -Croplands, Pellenc, Eco trellis posts
3. Local council & SA government Horticultural services

After listening to you our clients we have made some changes that should benefit all involved.

Vintage bird netting.

Vintages like the last one are becoming shorter and more intense therefore straining resources.

We will operate a 2nd fully equipped netting machine and crew from 2020 to relieve bottlenecks and reduce crew fatigue. Result – higher level of efficiency and happier people all round.

Stay tuned for our next update in Future Proofing.

2018-19 herbicide period saw some new challenges that will be more common in future years.

The effectiveness of herbicides is definitely diminishing and have been for a while.

This season for, a number of reasons, exposed some big problems. We over use herbicides.

A classic example is when we spray and a few weeks later we notice the herbicide has had little effect.

The reaction is to go back over it again therefore just piling on even more chemical (one of the reasons why we are adding to chemical resistance). This reaction is becoming commonplace.

As a winegrowing /horticultural community we need to become mindful of how we manage herbicides. The ideal conditions for applying herbicides are when plants are actively growing, conditions are moist (high humidity), cool temperatures and low wind conditions.

The least favourable conditions are when plants are hardened, water stressed, dusty (dust plays a big part in reducing efficacy), high incidence of bare soil, high ambient temperatures and higher wind conditions.

The difficulty is to find the best time to spray between the ideal and not so ideal to achieve the best results-this can be often tricky.

A composite consideration

Herbicide resistance is the growing problem. Some common herbicides will be deregistered within the next 10-15 years. Now is the time to look at alternatives.

The obvious technique is mechanical under vine weed management. It has a number of benefits. We can enliven our soils by massively reducing chemical load and help reduce resistance to chemicals if and when we need to use them.

The technologies have come a long way and are evolving rapidly with mechanical under vine weeding equipment.

Now is the time to plan your vineyard or horticultural enterprise to enable the introduction of new and evolving weed manage techniques that reduce reliance on soil chemical loading.

Challenging growing conditions resulting from a dryer and windy season. Crops will be lighter compared to last vintage.

Based on dates from last season we predict vintage beginning later in February and run through March, weather permitting. This means planning and preparing now.

Talk with your harvest service providers (both machine and hand harvest contractors) to ensure they are available and have backup plans in case the pressure is on to get your crop booked and grapes off. Remain in constant contact with your buyers so you have forward planning time to organise other logistics such as transport, bulk vessels, pickup units, forklifts and loading sites. It doesn’t take long to harvest vineyards so the more organised the timeline the less the overall cost is incurred.

Pridham Viticulture Vintage services

We are easy people to do business with and provide the following:

• Total harvest coordination as required,
• Machine picking operations,
• Fully supervised hand picking crews,
• Bunch sorting,
• Vineyard pick up including tractor and trailer hire,
• Transport to winery,
• Crop maturity surveying and/or sampling,
• Crop thinning,
• Leaf plucking,
• Winery and winemaker liaison,
• Bird netting application and retrieval,
• Forklift hire,
• Differential harvesting,
• Post vintage  – compost/fertiliser spreading,
• Pre pruning –cutter bars & barrel pruner.

Pridham Viticulture is compliant with the following:

• Health and safety regulations, compliance certificates & licenses,
• Qualified supervisors & machine operators,
• WorkCover, superannuation and other government payroll obligations,
• Liability Insurance & business Insurance.

Hourly Machine Rates

Any vineyard blocks under 2Ha will attract slightly higher fees due to higher overheads. Price to be negotiated.

Freighting of harvester, allied equipment & support vehicle

To recoup costs freight will be charged @ $160_/hr for travel time outside the McLaren Vale region.

Hand harvesting

Our business provides the best services around.

(For hand picking we supply buckets,snips,toilet,water,firstaid, and all associated equipment)

Per tonne picking rates will be based on award rates and average bucket weights while taking into account crop uniformity and site specific details.

Transport to winery and/or forklift quotes will be provided on a per job basis as required. (All the above rates are subject to 10% GST.)

Please note weekend over time rates as per industry awards will apply for any weekend work done. Enquire about coast at time of order.