Farmlink Rural

Growers continuously strive for improved yields and overall increase in profitability of their crops for a sustainable horticulture business.

Farmlink Rural, a renowned agronomic service company, is facilitating growers with services from planting to harvesting, to grow better crops and earn higher dollar return on their crop per hectare. It is redesigning the landscape of the horticultural industry by introducing its innovative turnkey approach for rural growers in Western Australia.

“We design the farm irrigation system, install it, plant and grow the trees, and even harvest and sell for the growers. They don’t have to do anything,” says Zac Starkie, agronomist at Farmlink Rural.

The company initially focused on irrigation services in response to water scarcity challenges in Manjimup. It implemented top-of-the-line, water-efficient irrigation systems that consume minimal electricity, significantly enhancing irrigation efficiency and resulting in higher yields.

Farmlink Rural’s solutions cover various irrigation methods such as centre pivot, micro sprinklers, and drip irrigation. It focuses on maintenance, watering time, scheduling irrigations, soil moisture monitoring, rooting depth irrigation, and water infiltration rate.
Going beyond irrigation services, Farmlink empowers growers with horticulture guidance and technical expertise in irrigation, crop nutrition and agronomy services.

“We combine the agronomy and the crop services role with irrigation,” says Terry Starkie, manager at Farmlink Rural.

Its agronomy services include, soil, leaf and crop testing to provide optimal nutrition at the right time. Custom designed programs monitor the soil moisture to provide effective services right from crop planting to harvesting. Integrating customized soil and spray programs with irrigation services bring ample opportunities for continuous improvement in all aspects of farming.

Integrated one-stop solution includes imparting technical advice on linking irrigation, nutrition, crop management along with supplying farm equipment, chemicals and fertilizers. It designs fertigation systems that automatically fertilizes and nourishes the plants.

An instance of one of its clients highlights the implementation expertise. When a local vineyard was facing difficulties of dry climate with declining rainfall for over 20 years, it sought assistance from Farmlink Rural to implement an effective irrigation system for their dry vineyard. It employed an innovative solution, which involved subsurface drippers into the centre of vineyard rows and irrigating only three or four times a year to simulate a rainfall event in the dry spells.

The idea was to keep the vine's roots alive and in stress, without supplying excessive water. This strategic irrigation technique enables the client to maintain a consistent yield in their dry-growing vineyard while preserving the vines' resilience to drought. Initially vines had no leaves and no yield, but post Farmlink Rural’s solutions the grower harvested the highest yield, which increased from one tonne per hectare to four tonnes, a 400 percent increase.

Driven by decades of knowledge and experience, the team is motivated to exclusively employ top-quality products from leading irrigation and agronomy companies. Using its private farms as a testing ground, it ensures growers receive the finest solutions tailored to their needs.

It has gained a competitive edge through its status as the sole locally owned rural merchandise and irrigation business. This advantage stems from its swift responsiveness to growers' needs, facilitating quick decision-making and optimizing investment returns.

A deep-rooted dedication to crafting unique irrigation designs to harness the power of soil drives Farmlink Rural toward helping growers achieve sustained growth. A small and nimble company, it establishes itself as the guardian of growers' farmland, transforming the arid landscape into a thriving ecosystem through its integrated solutions.