BRINGING BACK THE GREAT AUSSIE LAWN WITH ISUZU & BIG RIVER

Aussie lawns have long been a source of pride. For some they are nothing more than an engrossing hobby, for others, an obsession.   

A beautiful lawn is many things to many people but to the people who have dedicated themselves to growing flawless turf, it’s more of a perfect science.   

Big River Turf is a family-owned and operated grower of exceptional-quality instant turf.  

Located on Victoria’s rich volcanic plains around the regional hub of Bacchus Marsh, much of their business comes from supplying commercial and real estate ventures with the turf for ovals, reserves, nature strips and residential lawns.   

SOMETHING TO DEPEND ON 

While Victoria has seen unprecedented rainfall lately, it was only few short years ago that the southern states found themselves in the grip of crippling drought. For a water intensive crop such as the various grass varieties at Big River, a reliable irrigation system is an absolute must.   

Recently, Big River Turf teamed up with Water Dynamics in Yarrawonga to change the irrigation system their growing operation relies upon.   

Big River wanted to optimise the growth they could get from their land and change their system from a fixed spray setup to a more efficient centre pivot irrigation model, something Water Dynamics specialise in throughout the state.   

THE PIVOT POINT  

Big River specified diesel power units to run the centre pivot system, instead of connecting the system to the grid, this due to increasing energy prices nationwide.   

Centre pivot irrigation is considered to be much more efficient in terms of water usage than most forms of crop irrigation and has the added benefit of being functional and dependable year-round. With new technology allowing remote operation of the system, Big River Turf were focused on getting the best system to support their premium product.   

When it came time to find a power source, Water Dynamics turned to the team at Isuzu Power Solutions (IPS), who had a range of suitable power solutions under their Make-to-Stock and Assembled-to-Order product ranges.   

“Working with the IPS team, we shared the power requirements and duty and selected the 3CE for the smaller machines and the 4LE for the larger machine. Both of these models are extremely reliable, quiet, efficient, and able to hold their own in any weather,” said Paul Moat of Water Dynamics.   With a 2.2 litre displacement, the turbocharged 4LE water-cooled four-cylinder diesel-powered unit is designed for low fuel consumption, low noise and low maintenance. The package is designed by the Australian engineering team to effortlessly handle even the most brutal weather conditions and the engine can continue its work regardless of the environment they find themselves in.   

“The Isuzu products are really quiet and because the work the engine does is pretty constant, once the engine's bedded in, they become very fuel efficient. They'll just sit there operating away at the speeds required, not using much fuel at all.  

“Big River Turf have been very happy with the engines,” said Paul.   

KEEPING QUIET  

Keeping the decibel levels low was another key element in the planning process.   

Big River Turf wanted to ensure their operation, which neighbours some busy residential areas, was as quiet as possible. The engines feature ultra-quiet technology, perfect for their requirements.   

Paul went on to say that his experience working with Isuzu had been a pleasure.   

“We know the engines pretty well but sometimes the team at Isuzu and tell them what kind of project we’re setting up and they can make his recommendations from there.”  

Ivi Cicak, Sales Manager at Big River Turf, was a university researcher until he made the change to spending more time outdoors and getting into the family business.   

In managing and coordinating sales for the larger commercial clients that are serviced by Big River Turf, along with performing on-site supervision, Ivi certainly has his hands full.   

“Coming into spring, where the weather gets better, there's a lot of parks and reserves that we supply to as councils look to rejuvenate common areas.   

“In Summer, we get to do jobs where there's big open areas. It's a terrific being on those jobs.”  

A HARD DAYS WORK 

“We go through more than a million metres of turf a year,” said Ivi, explaining that an operation of that size had a lot of moving parts and a lot of customers to keep happy.   

“We really value our customers, and a lot of our customers use us time and time again so it’s important not to disappoint.   

“We need all of our equipment working as hard as we do and so we’ve been so delighted with the change over to the centre pivot system with the Isuzu engines, they just work away all day and it’s not something we have to think about or worry about,” Ivi explained.  

And Paul agrees, “The Isuzu engines built to meet the harsh Australian conditions are outstanding, and you get so much support from the team, which is brilliant.   

“That being said, we haven’t needed too much support because there’s almost no wear-and-tear on any of our engines.   

“They simply just work.”