b'Left X-ray technology allows Johnsonsto detect foreign material inside bales, ensuring customers receive onlyhigh-quality hay and straw. X-RAY VISION A local guy I knew came up with the concept, says Denis. He just suggested an X-ray In another first, Johnsons commissionedmachine like they have at airports might work.an X-ray machine in 2005 to combat the contamination they were finding in their hayJohn Nitschke, who worked for Johnsons balesstones, rocks, dirt and wire picked upfor forty-four years, helped to get the X-ray from the paddocks. It wasnt a new issue, butmachine up and running, and worked on if they could find a way to de-contaminate,the logistics of feeding the bales through. it was another way of ensuring the quality ofSometimes the seemingly impossible things their product. just take a little bit longer to design and get working, says John. Denis had a lot of trust in With Johnsons providing hay for strawme that we could do those things and make bedding in the Japanese racehorse marketthem happenand we did. and with some of those racehorses worth $2 millioncontamination was a realBut over the course of 100 years, you cant consideration. If a piece of metal or wire gotpossibly get it right 100 per cent of the time. stuck in a hoof, a very valuable horse mightAnd sometimes learning the hard way is have to be put down.the only way. Denis is philosophical about it. Its going to happen over a hundred years, 68 JOHNSONS100 YEARS IN THE MAKING'