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INDUSTRY NEWS<br />
Left: Credit card and Paypal offer more secure online<br />
payment options than bank transfers, WA ScamNet says.<br />
Image courtesy Alamy.<br />
tangled web<br />
Fake second-hand<br />
machinery sites have<br />
scammed thousands from<br />
unsuspecting buyers –<br />
here’s how to make sure<br />
you’re not among them<br />
Three websites claiming to sell discounted second-hand farm<br />
machinery have been reported to the Western Australian<br />
government website WA Scamnet, after products were paid for<br />
but never delivered.<br />
WA ScamNet (www.scamnet.wa.gov.au), which provides<br />
information on scams operating in the state, says consumers<br />
have reported losing almost $45,000 to the following sites:<br />
www.tqg-farming.com.au; www.coad-machinery.com.au; and<br />
www.boramachinery.com.<br />
All three websites offered discounted tractors and other<br />
machinery, using postal addresses that were either those of<br />
other legitimate businesses selling similar kinds of goods or<br />
empty parcels of land.<br />
They also requested payment via bank transfer only, which<br />
WA Scamnet says online shoppers should consider a red flag<br />
The payment systems of credit card and PayPal provide greater<br />
protection under consumer law.<br />
“Bora <strong>Machinery</strong> referred victims to Australia MD Transport<br />
(www.australiamdtransport.com) to arrange for payment and<br />
delivery of the goods, claiming the funds would be held until the<br />
tractor had been inspected with the promise of a full refund if<br />
the customers weren’t satisfied<br />
“Both websites reference legitimate ABNs (Australian Business<br />
Number), which they appear to be using fraudulently. WA<br />
Scamnet has alerted the real owners of the ABNs.”<br />
WA Scamnet says anyone who has ordered goods from these<br />
websites should immediately report the transaction to their<br />
bank as fraudulent.<br />
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission-run<br />
website ScamWatch (www.scamwatch.gov.au) says: “The biggest<br />
tip-off that a retail website is a scam is the method of payment.<br />
Scammers will often ask you to pay using a money order, preloaded<br />
money card, or wire transfer.”<br />
Another warning sign is when an online retailer does not<br />
provide adequate information about privacy, terms and<br />
conditions of use, dispute resolution or contact details on<br />
their website.<br />
WA ScamNet has provided the following tips to help avoid<br />
fake websites:<br />
• beware of sites using insecure payment methods such as a<br />
direct bank transfer or wire transfer<br />
• if an ABN is provided, check the Australian Business Register<br />
to confirm that the ABN is actually owned by the company<br />
referencing it: https://abr.business.gov.au<br />
• if making big purchases online, do your research. If a vehicle<br />
is interstate, arrange for a locally-based company to do a<br />
mechanical inspection of the vehicle before purchasing<br />
• search online for reviews of the website<br />
• consider the risks if there is no physical address or contact<br />
information. If there is, search for the premises on Google<br />
Maps.<br />
Left: The news could mean a change of pace<br />
for chickpea growers. Image courtesy Alamy<br />
chickpea boost<br />
Improved chickpea yields<br />
have been achieved through<br />
using subsurface drip<br />
irrigation<br />
Researchers from CQUniversity and the Queensland<br />
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) have found<br />
that aerated subsurface drip irrigation can boost chickpea yields.<br />
By analysing data gathered during a 2006–07 crop trial, it<br />
was found that areas irrigated with aerated sub-surface drip<br />
irrigation (oxygation) had yields between 10 per cent and 27 per<br />
cent higher than conventionally irrigated plots.<br />
While sub-surface drip irrigation has previously been<br />
considered as too expensive to be a viable option for inclusion<br />
in many Australian production systems, higher yields and an<br />
expected 30 per cent rise in global demand for plant-based<br />
protein by 2050 may change the economic equation, they say.<br />
“These results provide evidence that oxygation has the<br />
potential to contribute to increased chickpea yield and wateruse<br />
efficiencies on a broadac e irrigated scale,” the research<br />
findings stat .<br />
“The increased yield and improvement in water-use<br />
efficiency could improve the profitability of cotton-chickpe<br />
farming systems.”<br />
The key difference was the ability of sub-surface irrigation<br />
systems to add oxygen to the soil, to help chickpeas overcome<br />
their susceptibility to waterlogging.<br />
The oxygated trial plots yielded between 2.05 and 3.24 tonnes<br />
per hectare compared to the long-term national average of just<br />
1.13t/ha.<br />
“These results were consistent with those for cotton on<br />
the same site, providing further justification for the capital<br />
investment required for oxygated subsurface drip irrigation<br />
systems,” the report states.<br />
And with chickpea becoming an increasingly important<br />
part of crop rotations – national chickpea production has<br />
been expanding at a rate of 21,000ha per year since 2000<br />
– the researchers recommended industry now undertake<br />
a full cost:benefit analysis to e-evaluate the economics of<br />
incorporating subsurface drip irrigation into cropping systems,<br />
in order to provide growers with clear guidance for adoption of<br />
the practice.<br />
22 Trade<strong>Farm</strong><strong>Machinery</strong>.com.au THE TRACTOR YOU WANT IS NOW EASIER TO FIND
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