IT was Roley Pearce's purpose-built invention that enabled the 2000 hay and straw bales to be loaded onto 20 trucks in less than two full days in preparation for the recent Farmers Across Borders Meekatharra Hay Run.
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Roley is best known for his Beverley-based business, Mobile Hay Stackers.
Having been doing hay stacking work for 12 years, the business has seven purpose-built units which were built and operated by the staff for contracting work.
"Last year we stacked 260,000 bales, which was our best year yet - mainly because we have built the numbers up of the machines," Roley said.
"We now have two trucks to complement what we are doing."
Roley knows his way around trucks just as well as the hay industry and was one of the drivers on the 2020 WA Hay Run, making it his third time as part of a convoy with Farmers Across Borders.
"There are so many other Australians who are in need of help and we (him and his business) are in a pretty good position to help, so it is good to be a part of it," he said.
From Esperance where he lived for 38 years, Roley has worked in the transport industry based in both the country and city.
With about 45 years of truck driving under his belt, Roley has seen and experienced the best and the worst of the industry.
"I drove across the Nullabor every week for years and was never bored," he said.
"I would see the same old things but there was always something new to look at.
"In doing this, you see a lot of things you want to go look at but you don't have the time to turn off.
"And I don't get lonely - there is always someone to talk to."
As one would expect, decades of truck driving brings with it its fair share of tough times.
His memories are plagued with the truck he was driving rolling on two separate occasions, but fortunately he came out unscathed both times.
The first accident involved a load of cattle and sheep being carted and the truck was pulled up on the left side of the road where there was a bit of a drop off.
The truck, which was towing a trailer with soft suspension, was stationary when a car went by rather fast and swayed it, causing it to roll.
"I lost quite a few stock but there was nothing I could do," Roley said.
"It wasn't a good feeling at all, but it never is when you're involved in or see an accident."
The second occasion when Roley's truck rolled was when he fell asleep at the wheel and went off the right side of the road while carrying sheep.
Having worked in various sectors of the agriculture and transport industry and at different locations based around WA, Roley settled in at Beverley and developed his hay stacking business from the ground up.
His daughter Jules, a truck driver herself, with her husband Angus, are also involved in Mobile Hay Stackers.
"We have started the succession process and Jules has been controlling the business for the past two years," Roley said.
"I have had no dramas stepping back.
"This will be my last year in the business really, but I will always be there in the background to help out when things break down."
AS a former kangaroo and fox shooter throughout the pastoral region, Eddie Peart, Beverley, was keen to give back to pastoralists doing it tough.
"Having spent years in the pastoral industry all over Australia, I feel it is very special for me to give back to the stations," Eddie said.
Now best known as the face of Beverley Hydra Boom, which he runs with his wife Annette, the 2020 WA Hay Run was Eddie's second convoy with Farmers Across Borders.
The Hydra Boom was invented by a local farmer and friend of Eddie's, David Adams, in 1993, who took it to the Dowerin Field Days in the same year.
David approached Eddie, owner of Beverley Steel Fabrication, to build the machine and the two took the first factory-manufactured machine to the 1994 Dowerin Field Days.
"When we started David and I would get feedback from farmers on our products," Eddie said.
"We have built almost 1000 units, which will be a major milestone for us."
Servicing all of Western Australia and South Australia and other States to a smaller extent, Eddie said the business has enabled him to see vast areas of the country, particularly WA.
"There are not too many roads in WA that I haven't been on and I have really enjoyed that part of it," he said.
"We can drive 400 kilometres without it phasing us but we hate being stuck in the city, bumper to bumper".
With a passion for the pastoral industry, Eddie sponsored the fuel for Roley Pearce's truck, in which he was a passenger, as well as helping to strap down the bales of hay and other tasks along the way.
He also provided plenty of sarcastic banter throughout the run, which was well received and delivered back from other members of the crew.
David also donated two trailers worth of hay.
As a manufacturer in the agriculture industry, it's interesting to get Eddie's perspective on how the sector has changed and evolved in his time.
"No-till has changed the industry a great deal and boomsprays are now based around no-till," he said.
"There are so many ideas in the ag scene - it's one industry where the end user has input in the product, as farmers are open to share their knowledge and are very creative."
