THE widespread interest in disc seeders was borne out when over 130 farmers braved searing conditions at Longerenong, on the Wimmera Plains for a Vic No Till Farmers Association (VNTFA) disc seeder demo day recently.
There were seeders on trial from manufacturers such as Bourgault, Excel, NDF, John Deere, Serafin, K-Hart and Ryan Farm Machinery, with representatives from the companies outlining how their disc seeders worked.
Farmers were also able to get a visual idea during the demonstrations, which were done witha urea placement demonstrations.
VNTFA president Wayne Adler said disc seeding was one method proving successful as part of no-till farming systems.
He said the turnout on the day was testament to the thirst for information and knowledge across the state’s farming community on current farming systems that focused on improving soil health.
Temperatures above 37 degrees Celsius did not deter the crowd from staying for the whole event which started with guest speakers in Longerenong Hall, followed by a two-hour paddock demonstration then lunch back in the hall.
Mr Adler said the line-up of guest speakers provided a variety of information about a technology that was still in its infancy in this part of Australia.
“During the past five years the changes and advancement in disc seeding technology has exploded whereas up until that point its growth was quite slow,” he said.
“There’s just so much more information available now and an event like this is a great opportunity for farmers to see for themselves just what is out there and how it’s working.
Guest speakers included Dean Johns from Bayer and disc seeding expert Jack Desbiolles.
Mr Johns provided practical advice about the pre-emergent herbicide Sakura in relation to disc seeders and Dr Desbiolles gave an overview of how to get the best out of a disc seeder.
Mr Adler invested in a disc seeder five years ago and spoke on how he had adapted his machine to suit his farming conditions.
He also spoke about benefits including more even crop emergence, improvements in pre-emergent herbicide distribution and his machine’s capability to sow into heavy stubbles.
Association vice-president Steve Lanyon from Boort, who was among the first in his district to adopt the disc seeding technology, also spoke.
His presentation included an overview of a trip to the US to investigate disc seeders and a 12-month trial with a disc on their tyne machine to ascertain what worked with his specific soil types and crop rotations.
He also spoke about how his disc seeder had improved placement on his irrigation and dryland no-till farm.
Wayne said with the current dry across much of Victoria, an increasing number of people were taking a strong interest in the benefits that were being gained from using disc seeders in dry conditions.
“Judging on the numbers, disc seeding is obviously still very topical and we’ll be definitely keen to host another one next year,” he said.
