Spray contractor running a hi-tech operation

He previously worked full time for Australian company Goldacres in Ballarat before beginning his own spray contracting business.

While spray contracting around western Victoria, he also works in research and development for Goldacres.

Mr Breen worked full time at Goldacres while spray contracting after hours.

"At about the time we bought our first self-propelled sprayer, I approached Goldacres and told them our spray contracting was getting bigger," Mr Breen said.

"They were not keen for me to leave and let me stay on a casual basis.

"I still had projects I was working on with Goldacres so if the weather was good, I was spraying and when it wasn't, I was at Goldacres."

After using his original sprayer for a few years, then purchasing another identical machine with fewer hours, Mr Breen decided it would be beneficial to buy a brand-new model of self-propelled sprayer, the 5200 litre Crop Cruiser with a 36-metre boom.

"This really stepped us up in capacity and the 4WD allowed us to spray new areas, as it can get very wet here in the Western District," Mr Breen said.

"The high power-to-weight ratio meant we could spray to areas we couldn't before.

"Our business really kicked off from that point on and we began spraying all-year round."