Positive Shift from Wood to Steel in Vineyards

The Problem

A property between Penola and Coonawarra in the heart of the vineyard area was experiencing an issue with discarding wooden posts once they broke. Since machine picking and pruning has increased in many vineyards, the lifespan of wooden posts has decreased from roughly 30 years to between 3 and 5 years for some posts. This is mainly a monetary problem due to the cost of replacing and installing new posts so often.

The property between Penola and Coonawarra used the infamous green-tinged posts. The major issue with these post is that they are soaked in arsenic and several other chemicals. Recent research has shown that these chemicals can leach into the soil, therefore post are unable to be buried or burned. To correctly dispose of the posts, they must be encased in water-proof containers or sent to a waste retrieval depot that is equipped to deal with them. Many farmers have been stuck with stock piles that they are unable to discard due to the cost of disposal.

The solution

To counteract the breakages of timber posts, the farm owner opted to proceed with steel posts. The fence line used a combination of 2.4mtr Jio posts and 2.4mtr MaxY posts. The increased strength of the posts allowed for machine picking and pruning to operate smoothly without the risk of breakages. If posts needed to be removed or disposed of, owners have the option to recycle them.