By Callum Ludwig
In its 54th year, Wandin Silvan Field Days is still providing a great opportunity for networking, upgrading and selling in the Yarra Ranges.
Attendees and local agribusinesses and adjacent industries alike turn out in their droves to see what products and services could help them improve their business or home.
Home gardening products business Biolink was back for the second year running, and co-owner Kevin Beecroft said it’s good to get the exposure in the local area.
“We got a few people interested here last year which is really good, a couple of market gardens took up our Biolink Bullet, which is a composted chicken manure pellet, and it’s good to be back to show people what we’ve been up to the last 12 months,” he said.
“We’ve developed another couple of products which we’re showing off into the marketplace and it’s good to be exposed to a different area as we’re based in the Westen Districts.”
Biolink was founded by Mr Beecroft and his wife Leisa, alongside fellow organic dairy farmers Graham and Melissa Clay, selling a microbial-based range of natural fertilisers, soil stimulants, and animal probiotics.
Having only officially started out in 2022, Adaptable Garden’s founder and owner Ben Penberthy “Our speciality is helping everybody grow food. No matter what the situation, no matter what their physical challenge, no matter what their living situation is, we want to help people grow food that is cost-effective and nutrient-dense,” he said.
“For us, the event is great because we are local and the more stuff we can have up in the Hills, the better. I don’t think there’s enough like this around, we’ve got the Yarra Valley Plant Fair which is in November and has started to grow but it’d be nice to have more Council-backed things in local areas.”
Adaptable Gardens combines Ben’s love for gardening and his partner Danielle’s background as a Mental Health Occupational Therapist to help create affordable, accessible garden setups for the less able-bodied gardeners, including the older people in the Yarra Ranges, who would otherwise be unable to maintain a garden.
Water solutions business Irribiz’s Mt Evelyn branch is one of its newest ventures and Branch Manager Justyn Flynn said the event is a good opportunity to build their brand locally.
“We’re a relatively new business in the area, so it’s as much a public relations exercise as it is anything, we’re just trying to establish ourselves in the local market and let people know what our capabilities are,” he said.
“We’ve invested a fair bit of time and effort into presenting here today, and it’s not my first Field Days but looking back on the previous 12 months, there’s a range of customers in different areas that I could attribute to us being at the Field Days last year.”
Irribiz helps find solutions for agribusiness and residential areas that may be struggling with a lack of water or poor-quality water or in developing from traditional styles of irrigation to hydroponics and ‘everything in between.’
Any agribusiness needs a tough vehicle to take to the Yarra Ranges roads and both Genesis Isuzu and Yarra Valley Toyota were on site to showcase their latest ranges.
Sales Manager at Genesis Motors Isuzu Ute in Lilydale Nick Andrew said they always support the Wandin Silvan Field Days.
“It’s great for the local community, and for anything local, we are happy to help out,I’d encourage any business to come up give it a go for a year and see if it suits” he said.
“We are just here to share general information on the cars, most people know what they’re going to buy, so we just show what cars and models we’ve got in stock and when they are available.”
Starting out in Ringwood, Genesis Motors Isuzu Ute has been based on the Maroondah Highway in Lilydale since 2016.
Business and Fleet Sales Manager at Yarra Valley Toyota in Lilydale Geoff May said they talk to a lot of people over the two days every year, and last year they even sold a couple of cars at the event which people were able to drive away with the next week.
“It’s great that people can come and see them all in one spot rather than running around all over town, especially as we can Google anything these days, I think it’s much nicer to be able to come out and put your fingertips on things and have a chat to the people running or selling it,” he said.
“We always go for a bit of an hour-long walk around and meet some of the people in some of the marquees and displays, some of them are in the same spot every year so it’s great to have a chat with them again too.”
