Credit: Rhys Tarling / Farm Weekly.
A full seeding replacement for Anthony Hall at Frankland River
“This seeding rig is a full replacement of what we had; we were committed to getting a full unit and that’s mainly down to the age of our cart and tractor.”
Some words from third-generation grain producer, Anthony Hall, who crops between Frankland River and Kendenup.
He recently took delivery of a new seeding unit: a New Holland T9.655 tractor, a Morris 18-metre Quantum seeding bar, and a Morris 10-460 TBH air cart from McIntosh & Son.
It represents a technological leap for Mr Hall, whose previous air cart had been used for over forty years, and a tractor that clocked 30 seasons.
But for Mr Hall, the new rig needed to be compatible with his existing guidance system, Ag Leader.
“I needed to find a dealer that could do a full set-up and be happy to incorporate Ag Leader,” he said.
“We’ve got Ag Leader in everything else, and guidance systems these days aren’t something where you can just throw another brand in the system; they’re all made so they don’t talk to each other.
“We needed someone happy to put Ag Leader in there and deliver it all set up in working order.”
Mr Hall claimed that what tends to happen now is if someone buys a tractor and gets a third-party system installed, and something goes wrong, a passing of the buck and back-and-forth dialogue is likely to occur, eating into precious time.
“I’ve heard so many horror stories, and I’ve been there myself, where you’re parked up for a week because one party just blames the other,” he said.
Mr Hall started his seeding program a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been smooth sailing with the new rig.
“It’s been fairly easy, and we’ve been able to adjust the depth to put the seed exactly where we want it,” he said.
“We got 60 millilitres of rain, and then we started (seeding) a week after that.”
Mr Hall’s seeding program will comprise canola, wheat, oats and barley across 2000 hectares.
“We haven’t grown barley for a long time, this will be our first season in a while adding it to our program,” he said.
“But other than that, it’s pretty much the same.”
Although he declined to give specifics, Mr Hall said he had a middling yield last season.
But the rain was not enough to make a dent in the non-wetting soils.
“The top dries off really quickly in non-wetting soils, which, you’d think after 60ml, it’d be a walk in the park, but not with these soils,” he said.
To work around that, Mr Hall fitted the seeding rig with dual banding wetting agents.
“We’ve got two wetting agents on each tyne, one that puts the wetting agent with the seed and another one that puts it above the seed,” he said.
“We worked with McIntosh & Son on that, and they supplied us with all the gear; it was a team effort with that one.”
Some farmers have had difficulty securing the right amount of fertiliser for their seeding program, but Mr Hall managed to secure most of what they needed.
“We haven’t had a problem with the supply of anything; we’ve just had to pay more for it,” he said.
“There was definitely a worry when you’re putting a crop in, and all you see on TV and on your phone, is that you may not be able to get fuel, and then it’s a bit uneasy when you’re not sure whether you’re going to be able to look after it or take it off.”
For those interested in seeing the Morris 10 series air cart and Quantum bar in action, McIntosh & Son are currently running seeding demonstrations across the state.
For more information, growers can contact their local dealer.
