‘All-hands-on-deck’ — AFGRI teams worked overtime to get headers diverted in shipping debacle to WA farms ASAP

WA’s biggest John Deere dealership has broken its silence about the logistical nightmare caused by shipping delays at Fremantle Port, revealing it took more than 40 truck trips to retrieve dozens of pieces of stranded machinery from the Eastern States. AFRGI marketing and small ag manager Jacques Coetzee said he was incredibly proud of staff that went above and beyond to get growers their machines “as soon as possible”. The State’s highly anticipated 20 million tonne harvest was thrown into chaos last month when several ships carrying $50 million worth of farm machinery — including 42 headers — were diverted to Adelaide and Melbourne after being unable to unload in Fremantle. It came amid a three-month stalemate between the Maritime Union of Australia — WA and logistics giant Qube over rostering arrangements. But it was WA grain growers and machinery dealers that were caught in the crossfire. A portion of the machinery diverted — including headers and tractors — was ordered through AFGRI Equipment, by growers across the State keen to get harvesting. When the machinery giant realised what had happened, it was “all hands on deck,” Mr Coetzee said. The moment the ships arrived in Adelaide and Melbourne, there were trucks waiting. “We went into full replanning mode to make sure we could get the equipment on to the farms as soon as possible,” Mr Coetzee said. “We tried to mitigate the impact to the growers as much as possible by keeping back stock to make sure customers could at least start their harvest program before their equipment arrives.” Some growers feared it could be several weeks or even months before they got their equipment, forced to use old gear until it arrived. However, two to three weeks and 40 truckloads later, AFGRI had them ready and delivered to growers’ doors. “We engaged with various trucking companies as well as our own truck drivers to make sure we could get the equipment back in a timely manner,” Mr Coetzee said. “It was a co-ordinated effort to pull everything together to make the process as smooth as possible. “This included a lot of staff doing different roles from their usual and working weekends and extended hours to ensure that once equipment arrived, it was ready to head out on farm for harvest.” It was no easy feat, with the company forced to navigate a number of hurdles along the way, including trailer swaps and machines being driven off trucks coming from the east and on to those in the west so the border did not have to be crossed. “With border closures and truck availability, various challenges were presented that we had to account for and make plans to find the best solution,” Mr Coetzee said. “Many of the trucks had to unload and reload at the WA/SA border because of restrictions that were in place at the time.” The “challenging” operation cost a “substantial amount” of money, which Mr Coetzee said AFGRI and John Deere covered. He said deliveries were based on “urgency in the field” and as soon as a machine was dropped at a branch workshop, service teams “immediately started” pre-delivery to get them ready for harvest as soon as possible. With all machinery on-farm, Mr Coetzee commended the passion of AFGRI staff to assist farmers and “mitigate a bad situation into the best possible outcome”.