Marnong Estate Unites Staff and Contractors with Magnetic Farm Maps

When Jeff Beavis joined Native Space—the livestock arm of 1,200-acre Marnong Estate just north of Melbourne—he walked into a sprawling mix of vineyards, pastures, laneways and creek crossings.

“I’m new here, and these maps have been a godsend—now I actually know where everything is,” Jeff says.

Before Farm Mapping Services stepped in, directions lived in long-timers’ heads or on a patchwork of Google screenshots taped together—14 loose pages that were rarely to scale. Jobs were missed, new staff got lost, and contractors needed escorting just to find the right fence line.

Chris and the Farm Mapping team produced a single, to-scale magnetic whiteboard map for the shed, backed up by A4 hand-outs for contractors. Every paddock, lane, track and waterway is clearly marked, and herd magnets move as cattle shift.

“Chris was organised and fast—the only delay was me signing off,” Jeff recalls.

• Everyone sees the same daily plan. Miss the pre-start meeting? The map already shows where the mobs are and which fences need work.

• Contractors self-navigate. A quick photo of the board tells fencing or spray crews exactly how to reach a job—no follow-up calls.

• Live task tracking. Weed-control zones and maintenance jobs are coloured in as they’re done, so nothing slips through the cracks.

• Time and fuel saved. Crews avoid double-handling and back-tracking across the property, cutting wasted journeys.

“The whiteboards have brought everybody onto the one page,” Jeff says. “Whether you’re in the winery, the estate crew or on the farm, you know where you’re going and what everyone else is doing. I can’t imagine running this place without them now.”