A ‘SMART STEER’ option on the new GoldAcres line of boom sprays has impressed crop farmers Andrew Bond and Andrew Colvin who both farm near Cressy.
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They say the Advance Rowcrop sprayers they purchased have been especially good on taller crops and in the raised beds that are now common in their high rainfall zone cropping systems.
“We no longer get crop damage like we did with the old sprayer which cut the corner at the end of the rows because the Smart Steer option ensures the sprayer wheels precisely follow the tractor wheels through the turns,” Mr Bond said.
The machines also cater for the smaller scale typical in Tasmanian cropping with Mr Bond purchasing a model with a 4500 litre tank and 28 m boom and Mr Colvin a 4000 litre tank and 24 m boom.
These are smaller than equipment normal in larger operations on the mainland.
Along with the Smart Steer feature there are other precision elements to the sprayer that impress such as twin spray lines and swath control.
Mr Bond said the twin lines allowed for variations in speed while still maintaining the same application rate.
"We can come back to six kilometres an hour to cross a drain and then back up to our normal 18 clicks and the spray rate doesn't vary.“
Swath control is another feature that impressed Mr Bond, turning sections of the boom on and off progressively as the sprayer enters or leaves the crop.
“Overlap on the poppies certainly knocks the crop around. It would be great to reduce that even further," he said.
Mr Bond runs an 800 ha cropping program that includes cereals, peas, beans, onions, clover and rye, as well as the poppies, with some of these crops requiring up to seven or eight spray applications during a season.
There is also a lot of pasture spraying across the total area of 2000 ha.
Mr Colvin's new purchase last September was a big step up in capability - his old machine was three-point linkage with a 1000 litre tank.
"I was worried that I would never get my head around the new machine because there seemed to be taps and dials everywhere. But you pick it up very quickly,” he said.
Mr Colvin’s program means about 230 ha of his 800 ha property is sown to poppies, certified grass seed, peas and beans, with five centre pivots feeding from a 1200 ML dam on the farm.
Both farmers are using 2cm RTK steering guidance with their sprayers.
With the short and windy days in Tasmania, night spraying is a must, and both men said the ability to use the Rowcrops accurately at night was a huge plus.
"We are doing a lot more now at twilight when the wind dies down and then continuing after dark and with the control systems on the sprayers, you can do that very confidently,” Mr Bond said.
