NSW Southern Highland dairy farmer, Grant Sherborne has added a SIP Orion 100TH Pro universal manure spreader to his operation to improve efficiency.
The spreader eliminates his need to wait for contractors to spread locally produced turkey manure and occasionally, dry cow manure.
“When you use a spreading contractor, it is difficult to control the timing,” Mr Sherborne said.
“It’s very weather dependent so you can’t book a time until you know the ground is dry enough. Then, everybody else has the same idea, so you end up with a stockpile of manure.
“I had 600 cubic metres just waiting to be spread at one point. I also need to rotate the cattle to a different field for the withholding period to avoid any contamination from the manure, so the more control I can have, the better.”
The Sherborne family dairy farm dates back three generations and currently holds 300 Holstein Friesians.
The Sherborne’s purchased the SIP Orion 100TH Pro spreader in May from Inlon Pty Ltd. Local business, Southern Highlands Truck & Tractors set it up on the farm.
“I had been looking at a cheaper machine but it seemed very basic,” Mr Sherborne said.
“I could tell the SIP was a professionally built manure spreader with lots of extra features. It has an extension to accommodate 15 cubic metres of manure, which makes it great value because of the time I can save.
“It also has a wide spreading capacity, up to 24 metres in total, and it’s easy to adjust,” he added.
“We have steep country in the Highlands, so I use a 145hp (106kW) tractor to tow it. I like that the Orion has hydraulic brakes, a PTO drive on the spinners, and a hydraulic floor rather than a straight hydraulic drive.”
A slurry metering door and beaters mean it can spread a nice even mix of bedding material and straw, Mr Sherborne said. “More basic spreaders would block up if you tried to do that. We can use it on the road because it has lights and indicators, which is another benefit.
“The control I have now over the manure spreading and grazing management is excellent,” he said. “The SIP Orion travels well and is a quality machine, so I’ll definitely be talking to Inlon about other products in their range.”
