A long-time leader in breeding Australian Red dairy cattle, the Hamilton family of Hamilton’s Run near Mt Gambier, is reinforcing its commitment to sustainable farming with its latest use of solar technology to uphold its enduring values and product quality.
A long-time customer of water management and irrigation specialists Water Dynamics, Graeme Hamilton and his family have bred the robust, high-quality Australian Red cattle since 1964 with outstanding results.
Their investment in the genetics of the breed led, in the late 1980s, to their role benefiting the dairy industry by incorporating Scandinavian genetics into their herd breeding plan.
A recently purchased property of the Hamilton family required a number of infrastructure upgrades to achieve their high standards.
One of those was a project to completely renew the stock water system, about which Graeme contacted Water Dynamics in Mt Gambier to provide a remote bore pump solution as the foundation of his stock water system.
Water Dynamics Mt Gambier sales manager Matt Eland says to understand Graeme’s intent, the sales team went to site and gathered the facts to provide the best solution .
“The service team completed a bore test to determine the capacity of the existing 60m-deep bore,” he says.
“The agreed scope included a requirement to be able to extract a minimum of 40,000 litres a day, using solar energy to fill a stock water tank which sits on the highest point of the property.
“The sales team engaged trusted solar pump supplier Solar Pumptec to provide options to meet the minimum daily water requirement and the environmental demands of the site.
“Marc from Solar Pumptec was prompt in coming back with a 12 x 440W panel, single phase 4” stainless pump system, complete post mounting kit, AC/DC changeover switch, and shut off switching for when the tank is full,” Matt says.
Challenges overcome
He says given the site’s locality, Water Dynamics had to consider high wind loads and heavy vehicle access for construction and maintenance.
This led to going beyond the manufacturer’s post footing requirement with a full concrete slab poured under the panel set.
Which did bring additional benefits to the customer, including under-panel weed control, stabilising the soil structure around the site and reducing the impact of any site erosion, given its sandy hilltop location.
“When he saw the completed solar bore pumping system, Graeme was impressed with the general neatness of the install and simplicity of the system,” Matt says.
“Graeme and his family can now rest easy knowing their new property has reliable stock water supply with reserve capacity.”
Footnote: All of South Australia's agricultural areas were in a severe drought by the arrival of winter 2025, with many locations receiving record-low rainfall over the past 12 months.
Solar energy is providing many with a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional diesel or electric pumps, especially in areas with limited access to electricity or where diesel fuel is expensive or difficult to transport.
