EARLY controlled traffic adopters, brothers David and Gordon Brownhill have reaped the reward of seeding section control this season on their Liverpool Plains, NSW property.
Merrilong Pastoral Company, a 6500-hectare mixed cropping and livestock enterprise grows summer and winter crops, with 1500ha under irrigation and 1400ha dedicated to grazing cattle.
No-till cropping advocates since 1995, the entire property has been devoted to a 9.0m system since 2002. All tractor wheel spacings are set at just over 3.0m.
They recently upgraded to a Morris 9 series seed cart fitted with input control technology (ICT) hooked to a 18 metre RAZR disc drill for simple operation and reduced overlap.
“We’ve got 18 centre pivots so we end up with point runs, which means we end up with overlaps,” David Brownhill said.
“We’ve also got large, long blocks here. Our largest field is nearly 6 kilometres long in one direction and because of our old 9.0m - 27m system, on the edge of the fields we sometimes have to overlap by 4.5 - 9.0m. That’s why the ICT was attractive."
The ICT system eliminates overlap via GPS with a Topcon X30 controller using the gear drive system for the metering wheels to quickly engage or disengage, allowing instantaneous shut-off.
"Jeremy Matthews from WJ Matthews at Moree brought a machine down and we did about 300ha with it and we were impressed," Mr Brownhill said.
Mr Brownhill and Merrilong’s farm manager, Nick Beer, said the Morris system was worth the investment, removing overlap and the extra working width translating to increased efficiency.
They also highlighted the RAZR’s minimal ground disturbance. They were the only farmers within a 50km radius who were able to continue seeding during wet conditions.
There have been a few adjustments made including replacing the seed boots with some better suited to the heavy clay soils.
“While I haven’t worked out the exact figures yet, I would think the ICT has already paid for itself and the ease of management of being able to control it from the cab is a big advantage,” Mr Brownhill said.
“The efficiencies for us have just been extraordinary. We’ve expanded our farm significantly over the last few years, so doubling our width has really made a difference.
“We ran demos on our farm with the RAZR disc drill and it was mind-blowing. For the cost of the machine compared with more robust models that are meant to go through more stubble, this machine does very well.
“That’s our biggest problem – sowing back into the sorghum stubble, which can be up to 800mm high,” he said.
“The way the RAZR works with the hydraulic accumulator and the pivoting point in the centre, so the weight is evenly distributed through the wheel at the front and the press wheel – it’s very clever.”
Nick Beer said he was impressed overall, particularly how much faster seeding was.
“The ICT was great. We saved a lot of seed in the headland on the point runs,” he said.
“The twin tanks on the air cart are very good. We were able to do 80-100ha per load and we only had to fill up twice a day, which only took 20 minutes.
“With our previous system we would get 50ha per load, so compared to that it’s much more efficient.”
