His name is synonymous with innovation in the world of agriculture, so a chat with John Ryan always leaves us feeling uplifted.
The Owner and Founder of Ausplow has designed revolutionary agricultural mechanical systems which have improved soil structure and crop yields for farmers across Australia, and we’ve proudly worked with John and his team for many years.
It’s no surprise that he was globally recognised with both the Prince Phillip Prize for Engineering Excellence and an AM from the Queen for services to primary industry, particularly in the promotion of environmentally sustainable cropping and soil management practises; not to mention his genuine passion for the field which makes him a pleasure to deal with.
“I spent many years looking at ways to improve the structure of soil via the concept of Deep Tillage — the act of ripping the soil to remove hardpans and create fertile, porous, deep soil with plenty of organic matter.”
Originally working with veggie growers, the results quickly spoke for themselves as we saw significant increases in plant health due to increases in soil minerals and nutrients. This led to developing todays DBS Seeding system and allowed us to take the concept from vegetable growing and adopt it to broad acre farming.
In 2004, John was awarded an AM for his services to agriculture. “I was very proud to get this recognition, but most of all, I’m happy that I can help people and improve farming. I’ve always seen my role in farming as using my engineering skills to commercialise agricultural technology.”
Although it’s been a rocky road at times, John’s work has gone a long way in combatting the challenges of the Australian climate and geography.
“Working with Ramsey Bros has been exciting and our great relationship started when I met Eddy Ward and began looking at the work we could do on the Eyre Peninsula. We’ve made a lot of changes to suit the South Australian conditions and I’m proud to say our work has improved soil health and increased yields, even in SA’s limestone country”, John says.
Even the challenges of Deep Tillage faced globally haven’t escaped John, with a memory of a trip to Bali etched firmly in his mind.
I went out to see how the locals were working in the fields and there was a farmer ripping the rice paddies with a bullock and a modified mouldboard plough. Wanting to share the benefits of what we’d worked on, I called out to him to “go deeper”. He looked at me in all seriousness and said “I’ve only one cow power”, John fondly recalls.
As for what lies ahead in farming, John says it’s a time full of promise for what he calls, “the most exciting business you could be in”. When you look at how much the world has been impacted by COVID, health has been put on the table like never before. Creating healthy soil leads to healthy plants, healthy animals and humans. Learning how to improve the nutrients and improving the overall quality of our food can only lead to good things.
We have no doubt that John’s incredible work has laid the foundation for an even brighter future in agriculture and we’re honoured his legacy is part of our history.