Clever ideas and innovations that have been incorporated into day-to-day feedlot operations are encouraged to enter the ALFA Innovation Competition, proudly supported by Integrated Animal Production (IAP).
The winner and runner-up will be determined by popular vote and announced at BeefEx, held in Brisbane on 15-17 October 2024.
To vote for your favourite entry, simply click the 'heart' button on the post (this indicates a like i.e. vote). The top four most 'hearted' entries will be offered a complimentary full delegate ticket to attend BeefEx 2024.
The entry with the most votes will be announced as the winner. The entry with the second highest will be awarded the runner up. Voting is open from August 10 - September 23. The decision made will be final.
Reid River Export Depot's 'Quick Release Shade Tensioner' Innovation
What is your innovation?
Our Quick Release Shade Tensioner allows tension to be released from shade sail cables to allow the shades to be retracted quickly & easily.
The bracket is bolted onto the beam the shades are based on. There is another piece of flat steel welded onto the end of the beam where a large piece of rod with thread on it is attached.
This then can be screwed in and pushes the bracket and the cable in towards the middle of the beam, taking the tension off it, making the shade sail loose and easy to slide back along the cable to the beam where is can be strapped and secured.
What issue/challenge is your innovation solving?
Our feedlot, Reid River Export Depot is located near the coast line in North Queensland where cyclones and severe thunderstorms are a threat for us during the wet season. As we live in the tropics, shade sails over the feedlot is essential and vital to the success of feeding cattle through the summer for us.
This year we had a cyclone heading straight over the top of us coming west from Townsville. We spent three days will all hands on deck to pull the shade sails completely down.
Even though the cyclone was a slow moving one, we still didn’t have enough time to get all of the shades down and some were damaged. Considering the fact that we will have over 120 individual shades up, we needed a way to secure them quickly without having to pull each one down.
Hence our little invention where tension can be released easily and the shades can be slid along the cables and secured on the main beams and posts. This is now a three person job and the shades can be saved and looked after during any severe weather event that will damage them.
Cost of Innovation:
Our innovation didn’t cost us anything as it was made with scrap metal and supplies we had on hand. If we had to buy materials, it would be only $100 to make.
Decided by popular vote, the top four most popular innovations will receive a full delegate ticket to BeefEx 2024 in Brisbane this October. The overall winner and runner up will be announced at BeefEx, receiving a prize of $2,500 and $1,000 respectively.
Vote for your favourite innovation!
To vote for your favourite entry, simply click the 'heart' button on the post (this indicates a like i.e. vote). The top four most 'hearted' entries will be offered a complimentary full delegate ticket to attend BeefEx 2024.
The entry with the most votes will be announced as the winner. The entry with the second highest will be awarded the runner up. Voting is open from August 10 - September 23. The decision made will be final.
With thanks to our long-term supporter of this award, Integrated Animal Production (IAP)
