THERE’S an overnight success story almost a decade in the making that is quietly working its way through the Duxton vineyards near Balranald.
In layman’s language, it is a farmhand. But a farmhand like no one has seen before.
And the Oxin is on the verge of revolutionising the grape industry – especially in wine grapes.
If you are looking for context, think what Gutenberg did for printing, or the Smith brothers and their stump-jump plough.
Because Oxin, which won’t just spray vineyards, but also mow, mulch and trim them in a single pass, is billed as the ultimate employee.
Duxton general manager Wayne Ellis can see it, co-creator Andrew Kersley passionately believes it and the industry desperately needs it.
“Just take the past two seasons, when we have been rocked by some extreme weather events,” Mr Ellis said.
“They hurt everyone, with mildew and some pretty hefty production cuts.
“But that’s farming and we all know it can – and will – happen.
“The bigger problem our industry, and many farming industries, have been facing – and it’s getting worse, not better – is accessing labour where and when you need it.
“An innovation such as Oxin … isn’t about replacing humans, it’s about filling gaps we no longer can.”
A real machine, nuts, bolts, wiring, incredibly intricate technology and all mounted on rubber tracks, Oxin is the employee business owners dream about.
The autonomous viticultural vehicle is happy to work all day and night without any complaints, and always turns up on time.
Oxin will hardly ever have a sick day – called maintenance moments, which can be scheduled – and never needs a holiday or has no pay demands.
And speaking of rain, short of biblical proportions, Mr Kersley said Oxin had the answers.
He said its novel rubber track design actually reduced ground pressure below compared to the impact of walking through the vineyard.
Armed with hi-tech sensors, Oxin allows growers to review real-time data and video streams, to make faster and better decisions in vineyard management.
Oxin began its life with Pernod Ricard Winemakers in France, and Duxton is the Australian connection.
Mr Ellis said he couldn’t help but be impressed by what he has seen a single Oxin unit doing in his vineyards.
Duxton’s aggregation, which has 2400ha of grapes across the company’s NSW properties, is about to go into harvest and was looking at an almost normal year after the traumas of 2022 and 2023, with about 52,000 tonnes expected to go through the system.
“At Euston we have 900ha under vines and it is a delightful property with about 16km of Murray River frontage,” Mr Ellis said.
“This time last year I recall that was about 50km of Murray River frontage, so you can imagine the impact that had on our numbers.”
At its production peaks, Duxton will have as many as 230 people on the payroll, compared with about 85 throughout the year.
It has an impressive 74 per cent return rate of its seasonal staff, better than many, but this still leaves a lot of holes which need to be filled.
“Industries such as mining and large-scale almond production, with deeper pockets, are attracting people from every aspect of our operations, from people working in the vineyards through to truck drivers,” Mr Ellis said.
“Let’s face it, agriculture has a labour problem and if we can use technology to solve a large part of it, then bring it on.”
Don’t miss a major report on Oxin in February’s North West Farmer
