Murray Now

Who would have thought Neil and Wendy Phillips would make the journey from being farmers to becoming inventors and then travelling and feeding the world in just a few short years. Neil and Wendy Phillips believed they were going to be farming forever, their Robinvale farm had been in the family for three generations.

After much thought they sold up and started with a fruit block in the same region, then after years of contracting work with farming equipment and redevelopment of fruit blocks, freight carting of sultanas, dried fruit, wine grapes and harvest contracting, Neil and Wendy decided to move from the Robinvale region and set their sights on a 4 thousand acre property at Gerogery.

Neil & Wendy continued the harvest contracting business with their son Brett and became involved with silo bags when he purchased an In-Loading machine from Silo Bags in 2004. The machine was used for contract filling and storage of grain, and assisted with their contracting business. During this process Neil developed a business relationship with Ian Metherall a Silo Bags proprietor who was the first person to bring the product from Argentina.

Neil and Wendy became retailers of the Silo Bag and machinery, travelling around to field days selling the product throughout the Murray, Riverina and Lodden Mallee regions. With Neil’s farming and mechanical skills he started advising on design changes for the equipment in Australia.

As Neil explains, “we have actually designed a machine for out loading bags that is totally different to anything on the market. We then got Vennings – a bulk graining manufacturer involved with the further development of this system, so they now manufacture our product."

“The machine that I have invented started with ideas that came from using other out loading machines that I believed could be improved upon. My first thoughts were to achieve a way of emptying a complete bag as there was nothing like this on the market. So I came up with an idea of using two roller systems to externally out load a bag. This machine can then be fitted with a conveyor system that then can be used to unload food products, like nuts, dried fruit etc.”

“The main point of difference with this machine is the way that it can completely empty the whole silo bag, where all the other types of roll up machines that I’m aware of can leave up to 1 ton of grain in the last of the bag that needs to be shoveled into the machine. I see this as an unsafe area to work near augers and unhealthy amongst the dust.”

Wendy and Neil have a number of awards under their belt and are proud winners of the “Machine of the Year award” won at Henty Field Day in 2005 & 2009. Neil and Wendy also have involvement with Silo Bags International (SBI) another side to the company. SBI have been selling the system around the world and setting up sites internationally where there is a need for large storage areas. Last year SBI set up a 250 thousand ton site in Sudan with over 1,000 60 metre silo bags which is the largest of it’s kind in the world.

SBI supplied the grain, equipment and expertise, and 50 thousand ton of the grain was sourced from Australia. With Neil being a part of these major grain operations, he explains they had 140 guys working on a project called “Red Camel” where they put five shiploads of grain into Sudan over a period of a few months. “We used Silo Bag machinery to shift five thousand ton a day to an area of 250 acres full of sand which then had to be resurfaced, it was a mammoth undertaking.”

Combating sandstorms, heat and directing 80 road trains pulling away from the ships, with loads of up and over 100 ton of grain Neil had his work cut out for him. Neil helped set up a work shop, trained locals (who had never seen farm machinery before) to assist with the unloading and filling of the bags and storage. The grain will be distributed throughout Sudan and other African countries.

“Now they have strategic stock to keep them going forward. The Sudanese government wants to stay ahead with their stock and will keep replenishing as they go along. They will be due to import more grain in the very near future.” Neil says. “It’s just amazing five years ago I hadn’t been outside the country. I will be travelling to the Ukraine this year and who knows where else!”

Vacuum packaging of perishables is a proven method of marinating freshness for longer. The silo bags use this simple concept in designing one of the most advanced state of the art mass storage devices of our time. The silo bag is air tight prohibiting the survival of any bacteria, fungi and insects and the bags make it cooler preserving the content for longer periods. The loaders have the capacity to fill 280 tons of grain in one hour; the bag is sealed removing respiratory oxygen from the grain, bacteria fungi and any insects. The oxygen is converted into an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide eliminating the survival of organisms in this anaerobic environment ensuring optimum conservation of the grain.

It enables on farm storage of grain with increased capacity, allowing you to sell your grain when you are ready. It can be stored at higher moisture percentages than normal while keeping its grade, moisture and colour without having to add chemicals. These features provide farmers with greater control of the supply chain process and makes this a very appealing commodity to sell.

Neil and Wendy say they have more ideas and other things on the drawing board, so we will watch and wait to hear about their next venture!

To view the Red Camel project click here:

For any further information or to talk to Neil and Wendy direct, please contact Nicole Doughty at the Murray Now office.