Two Wimmera farmers set to compete with large-scale hay export companies

QA Hay co-owners Scott Somers and Paul Johns, Warracknabeal, have launched the business after six years of planning and say there's room for improvement in "honouring contracts".

Mr Somers said he first started the business plan six years ago with his brother, before bringing Mr Johns on 12 months later.

Mr Somers is a sixth-generation farmer and has spent the past two decades managing the family farm.

"We've known each other for a long time, played cricket together and other bits and pieces, we've built a mutual friendship over the years," he said.

"We do a lot of hay ourselves, we've delivered to a few different exporters over the years and got to the point where we got to a size and thought we might be able to do it ourselves."

He said as the plan developed, they found it would be more economical and a better service to adapt it for farmers.

Mr Somers said they would run a sprint rate of 28 tonnes an hour, and have it open 24 hours a day, five days a week.

"The difference with us is for a farmer to come in and start at the level we are is probably not common," he said.

"We're hoping with a vision from the outside looking in we might be able to make a few more efficiencies."

He said within three years, they hoped to service more than 100,000 tonnes of hay, and were already active in the market.

"The facility is being built, we'll see a lot of action on site and were hoping to be up and running by March next year," he said.

Mr Somers said he believed a point of improvement for the industry would be honouring contracts.

"It's one thing that needs a lot of improvement, it seems to be all good when the favour is on their hand," he said.

"When it goes the other way they don't seem to want to cooperate or want to help.

"We've all had trouble over the years of being encouraged to grow a lot of hay and come the end of the season, the goalposts shifts and they don't want it anymore."

He said they had five staff at the moment, but hoped to employ 60.

Mr Somers said he wanted to set an example that farmer-owned businesses can be done.

"I think Aussies have lost the vision that we can do it nowadays," he said.

"We are owned just by the two farmers and it's going to stay that way, as long as I'm involved."