Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 397 i Farms and Farm Machinery

TGB has brought a new line of quad bikes to Australia ahead of new safety laws coming into effect later this year. The Taiwanese manufacturer’s Blade 600 SE series provides a step-up in power and size from the 520 series and has been shown at events, including Farm World in Victoria late last month. Crucially, TGB quad bikes sold after October will include the mandatory rollover protection equipment – once the laws kick in – while machines sold before then will have rollover protection available as an option The Blade 600 SE offers 42.1 horsepower (31kW) and 53.6Nm of torque, 240kg payload capacity and a 561cc four-stroke single cylinder engine and a digital display. Other features include heavy-duty front and rear racks, double A-arm front and rear suspension. TGB also…

New Holland’s first 2021 updates to its MyPLM Connect Farm desktop platform and mobile app will help users better manage and monitor their equipment, the company says. The improved MyPLM Connect Farm interface makes field information such as activity layers, scouting observations and soil zone data accessible at the tap of a button. The update also features a raft of additions including new support for prescriptions and tillage as well as new layer visualisations and machine utilisation maps that New Holland says are proof of its focus on user productivity. New Holland will also provide additional support for users of its large square baler range, with the update giving them the option to view imported data and display activity layers on the app, as well as mapping the specific location…

The AutoDock header docking system is the industry’s first automatic system for connecting and disconnecting combine heads; a technology that manufacturer Agco says will ultimately save farmers vital time in the field. The option is available on all DynaFlex 9300 Series draper heads and 3300 Command Series corn heads for Fendt Ideal combines that are equipped with AutoDock drivelines and adapters for the multi-coupler attachment. Already, the AutoDock technology has created a buzz in the agricultural world having been recognised as one of 50 winners in the AE50 awards by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). The AutoDock header docking system works uses guide pins and hydraulic actuators to automatically connect the drives on both sides of the header and all mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems with…

Dairy farmers across the country are relishing one of the best seasons in recent memory, according to Dairy Australia’s Situation and Outlook report. However, despite the improved conditions, milk production has only increased minutely. As has been the case with many other agricultural sectors across the country, favourable conditions across Australia’s agricultural regions have improved on a whole, in large due to the La Niña weather pattern, which has produced a cooler, wetter summer. However, despite the favourable outlook for the dairy sector, Dairy Australia’s revised milk production forecast has improved only slightly, with the new +1 per cent outlook updated from the previous-1 per cent figure. Such a minor shift in Dairy Australia’s position, in lieu of the bumper season, follows a number of implicating factors such as a…

Australian grain growers delivered a record wheat harvest and near-record total winter grain harvest last season. The survey, conducted by Rabobank, indicates the confidence of Australian farmers remains at historically-high levels despite the wide-reaching implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such a positive outlook within the farming fraternity follows a near-record winter harvest and ideal growing conditions, notably in the country’s eastern growing fields. While general optimism has eased slightly from a more positive December outlook, farmers are overwhelmingly confident, with 39 per cent expecting conditions in the agricultural economy to improve in the next year. Over half of farmers (51 per cent) expect the conditions to remain stable, while just seven per cent have a pessimistic outlook on the year ahead. Much of the confidence held by those within the…

New Holland Genesis T8.410 tractor With the company’s PLM Intelligence precision agriculture platform installed, this 340hp (254kW) tractor weighs 11.4 tonnes and boasts a 3,454mm wheelbase. Able to reach a top speed of 50km/h, the tractor also has New Holland’s SideWinder Ultra armrest and a 170 degree camera on the front hood. The 12-inch (30.5cm) Intelliview monitor and UltraCommand powershift transmission also complement the machine. The Australian Fodder Industry Association’s Fodder Festival 2021 was a success, with more than 400 people attending the event in March. Taking place at the Elmore Event Centre in Victoria, the one-day event was an opportunity for fodder growers and contractors to meet traders and end-users, as well as seeing what new machinery was on offer. Here were some of the highlights. New Holland Duravee Plus…

Troy Conley-Magnusson is very strong. Very, very strong. A quick search of his name online and you will see video and images of him pulling aeroplanes, semi-trailers and even a fleet of 16 cars. He has had more than a fair go at a number of phenomenal records. A Guinness World Record is inevitably going to feature his name very soon, and it could very well be as a result of his next challenge, during the South Bank Truck Festival. “What’s important for me is the fundraising,” says Conley-Magnusson. “That’s absolutely number one. If we can drive that past $30,000 that would be incredible. The record is then a nice bonus.” He adds that, while the challenges are great fun, they are for a very sombre reason. “It’s all about…

After crop covering, our horsepower, fuel and irrigation requirements are all reduced and our soil isn’t as tight. Cover cropping is nothing new in the realm of agriculture. But new research from grower-owned research and development corporation Hort Innovation suggests that what has been standard practice in grain production could lead to fresh results for fruit and vegetable growers. Cover cropping is the act of growing a crop for the soil, rather than for harvest. In Australia, these crops might be barley or ryegrass, legumes such as alfalfa or broadleaf plants such as spinach. These crops are allowed to grow to a point before being mulched and reincorporated into the soil between the planting and growing of harvest crops. Horticulture, like most forms of farming, relies heavily on healthy soils…

A new range of vineyard trimmer attachments have been designed to work better on slopes while offering greater visibility to tractor operators, the manufacturer says. Italian manufacturer Rinieri’s CRL Vision trimming machines are built with a heavy-duty side shift on the bearings and better performing inclination of vertical bars, which the manufacturer says makes them suitable for use in the hills. Australian importer Inlon Tractors & Farm Machinery is importing two models, the CRL Vision 1 single-sided trimmer, and the CRV Vision 2 double sided trimmer, both of which are designed to affix to the front of a vineyard tractor. The CRL Vision 1 has two trimmers attached to a single side post, offering the driver clear central vision ahead, while the CRV Vision 2 has two trimmers on two…

Claas has enjoyed its fair share of machinery innovations over the years. The early Claas combine harvesters changed the game in Europe. Then, you have the company’s core forage equipment and Jaguar forage harvesters. Today, half of all foragers sold globally are Jaguars. Somehow, despite all this pedigree and innovation, we tend to neglect or forget about Claas when talking about the big players in the agricultural machinery world (John Deere, AGCO, CNH). Perhaps it’s because Claas is relatively new to the tractor game, and tractors are the measuring stick when talking about machinery. Or, is it because this industrious German family-run company is overshadowed its bigger competitors? Either way, it is now FIRST GLANCE Rewinding to back before the COVID pandemic, we spent the day with the Claas Axion…

Built in Ireland and available Australia-wide, the Erth Agriseeder drill is a simple disc seeder with a lot of brains behind it. Manufacturer Erth Engineering says the Agriseeder range is a flexible drill perfect for sowing cover crops, fodder crops and cereals into existing swards or burn-off. Australian distributors Gendore Tractors & Machinery were showing off the 24-row, 3m model at this year’s Farm World show, with managing director Derek Genoni telling Farms & Farm Machinery that the new model has attracted a lot of interest. Requiring a tractor of more than 100 horsepower (75kW), the unit has a 400L hopper and weighs 1,500kg, with row spacings of 125mm. “Most disc seeders on the market are $130,000–$150,000,” he says. “This one is about $58,300 [including GST], because it is not…

Using drones instead of traditional methods to herd sheep could have health benefits for the animals involved, a new study has claimed. The study, conducted by UNSW Canberra and published by Scientific Reports, says that drones are not only an effective herding tool, but drones that emit certain sounds actually reduce stress in sheep. “What we found through this study is that the sheep had higher heart rates when they’re being shepherded by traditional means,” one of the lead researchers on the study Kate Yaxley says. “The simple act of moving them to another paddock for food is actually putting the animal under stress. “We measured the variations in their heart rates and we found it to be much lower when using unmanned aerial vehicles with appropriate approach speed and…

The Tempo L32 will be the largest Tempo planter produced by Väderstad to date and will be distributed through Claas Harvest Centre. Spanning 12 metres, the Tempo L32 will include 32 seeding units set on 375mm spacings that have been optimised for planting a variety of winter and summer crops. The Tempo name already has a sizeable reputation in the planting sector given the sustained success of the previous Tempo L model, says Väderstad. Since debuting in 2017, the Tempo L made an immediate impact by setting a planting world record in Hungary, planting 502 hectares of maize in just 24 hours; a feat it achieved at a speed of 20km/h. “Tempo is already famous for its ability to achieve outstanding precision at very high operating speeds,” says Claas Harvest…

See & Spray, a collaboration between John Deere and the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), is a vision-based precision spray technology that aims at detecting and removing weeds in fallowed ground. The system was first developed as an experimental technology by USQ three years ago and subsequently tested by John Deere across farms in the United States, Australia and Canada. The technology works through integrated cameras to detect green plants, which then automatically triggers a concentrated spray of herbicide on the weed. The targeted-spray solution also has an ability to switch to a traditional, high broadcast sprayer should the number of weeds in a field increase. The See & Spray can be switched between the two from within the sprayer cab, making it effectively a two-inone sprayer. The See &…

The large-scale research study was spearheaded by CQ University, funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia and supported by seed company AgriVentis Technologies, and aimed at analysing the suitability for the inclusion of high-value crops in broadacre crop rotations in northern Australia. The trial, which took place across commercial Queensland farms in winter of 2019, initially examined five high-value spice crops, assessing them for suitability as crops on Australian farms. The study found three – kalonji, fennel and black sesame seeds – were suitable and will now be assessed in larger-scale trials on commercial properties across the state. Trial crops of kalonji, also known as Nigella sativa, yielded more than three tonnes per hectare in Bioleola and 1t/ha at Rockhampton and Ayr, but less than 500kg/ha in…

Riverina Field Days – Griffith Held at the Griffith Showgrounds each May, Riverina Field Days attracts over 5,000 people each year and showcases what’s new in farming, best farming practices and new technology, and forms a networking opportunity for farmers across a vast range of industries. WHEN: May 14-15, 2021 MORE INFO: http://riverinafielddays.com Primex Field Days – Casino Positioned as being ‘Australia’s sustainable farming expo’, Norco Primex has evolved from a localised event to becoming one of the country’s leading primary industries expos. It now boasts in excess of 1,000 different companies on show and more than 25,000 visitors across its three days. WHEN: May 20-22, 2021 MORE INFO: www.primex.net.au Casino Beef Week - Casino Casino Beef Week is an annual celebration of this iconic Australian industry and the rural…

Organisers of the world’s largest agricultural machinery show have taken the tough decision to postpone Agritechnica until next year. Due to the latest extended COVID-19 restrictions prompted by a third wave going through Europe, organisers DLG (the German Agricultural Society) have postponed the event from its original November dates, to hold it from February 27 to March 5, 2022. In a statement, DLG says the German government’s slow movement to ensure a fast effective vaccination program is one of the reasons the show has been postponed. “Because of the continuing Coronavirus pandemic, as well as the progress of vaccination programs, both in Germany and abroad, the DLG, VDMA Agricultural Machinery Association and Agritechnica’s exhibitor advisory board have concluded that insufficient certainty for planning currently exists for the world-leading exhibition in…

I just can’t believe it; I never thought ours would win. Welcome to April and finally the announcement of the 2020 Valvoline Truck of the Year award, presented by sister magazine Owner//Driver. With the high calibre of Valvoline Truck of the Month winners it was a pretty tight race to the flag but, in the end, much like The Highlander, there can be only one. Owner//Driver magazine, along with Valvoline, are proud as punch to award the trophy to the entire Inverno family and their stunning Kenworth 900 Legend. With 2020 being such a strange, screwed-the-pooch kind of year, it seems almost poetic that it has taken us so long to be able to get down to surprise the Inverno family and hand over the Valvoline Truck of the Year…

The effect on a farmer’s bottom line is significant and measurable What started as a challenge during a consulting job for Rio Tinto has evolved into a company that beat global competition for an agricultural technology startup award last December. Founded in 2016, Swan’s origins can be traced further back to 2010 when two of the eventual co-founders – Ivor Gaylard and Tim Hyde, whose backgrounds are in farming and consulting – were working with mining giant Rio Tinto on an environmentally-sensitive job near Karijini National Park in Western Australia. “They needed to know seven days in advance, on any given day, how much water was going where,” says Gaylard, who is Swan’s chief operating officer and head of product development. “There were a lot of extra challenges over and…

An iconic New Zealand-owned and operated business, Giltrap Engineering boasts a long and impressive history of innovation. The growth of the family business is an inspiring story in itself. Having developed from just one person, Wilfred Giltrap, operating out of a single shed back in 1959, it is now a leading machinery brand that is today firmly cemented in the minds of farmers and contractors as synonymous with quality and performance. The latest offering from this highly respected stable of agricultural machinery is Giltrap Engineering’s new WideTrac – a cost-effective, easy-to-use fertiliser spreader that eliminates time-consuming manual adjustments that other entry-level spreaders require. Offering next-level performance at an entry-level price, the eye-catching WideTrac embraces the best of intuitive 21st Century technology with the most robust and proven materials and methods…

Kuhn has introduced an automatic steering axle system as an option on its Metris 2 and Oceanis 2 trailed sprayers to enable more precise driving and reduce crop damage when spraying. Fitting a machine with steering axle technology is usually a time-consuming task, with brackets to make and the linkage to attach to the rear of the tractor. The Track Assist system simplifies the process by replacing the mechanical connection with a gyroscopic sensor, which is fixed to the rear of the tractor with a magnet. The gyroscopic sensors detect the steering angle of the tractor and the sprayer follows the tractor’s trajectory, without the risk of the link touching the crop. Simple to fit and easy to use, Track Assist has a wide operating angle of 23 degrees (28…

Case IH will revamp its Steiger tractor series for Australian and New Zealand farmers, with a new operating system, redesigned cab and the next-generation connectivity technologies of its AFS Connect systems. While the company rolled out similar upgrades to its Magnum series last year, the new Steigers will benefit from additional horsepower that local product manager Jason Wood says will help propel the range into the future. Powered by anywhere between 400–600 horsepower (298–447kW), depending on the model, the Case IH Steigers, are available in wheeled, Quadtrac and Rowtrac configurations as well as two transmission options – a 16-speed PowerDrive Powershift option, or Continuously Variable Transmission (CVTDrive) for more simple operations. “The power, durability and efficiency that have been the hallmarks of the Steiger range for more than 60 years…

The Kivi-Pekka range is built with four working widths – 4m, 5m, 6m and 7m. Developed and tested on some of Finland’s rockiest fields and used in more than 50 countries, the Kivi-Pekka rock picker is built to be a durable option. With 35 years of production history, the units are distributed in Australia through BLG Imports, with a sales network that covers the whole country. Designed to contend with the granite rocks that litter paddocks around Rantasalmi, where they are built, Kivi-Pekka rock pickers are built to collect up to 1,500kg of rock per minute when operating at their optimum rate. The Kivi-Pekka range is built with four working widths – 4m, 5m, 6m and 7m – and the three largest of these have a wider lifting drum, allowing…

CNH Industrial will become a strategic partner to agricultural technology companies Augmenta and Bennamann after taking minority stakes in both. Based in France, Augmenta uses a roof-mounted system with multispectral 4K cameras to scan paddocks during farming operations and uses artificial intelligence to calculate what the crop needs in terms of fertiliser or other protective products. The Augmenta real-time technology not only analyses crop conditions but also compensates for factors such as light levels, which may impact its analysis. CNH Industrial’s minority stake acquisition in Augmenta follows an announcement on the same by the latter of an $8 million funding round that was led by CNH Industrial. Augmenta chief executive and founder, George Varvarelis, says the company is excited to collaborate with CNH Industrial. They share our vision of ‘Green…

Figures released by AgHealth Australia reveal that there were 58 deaths on Australian farms last year – exactly the same as 2019. AgHealth’s Non-Intentional Farm Related Incidents in Australia statistics have been kept annually and show there have been 1,548 deaths since 2001, with males accounting for about 88 per cent of these. The 2020 farm deaths stats also showed: • fourteen of the 58 deaths were caused by quad bikes, with nine caused by tractors and seven from side-by-side vehicles. Two children aged under 15 died in quad bike accidents • the highest rate of deaths was in people aged 60–74, accounting for 20 of the 58 deaths. There were eight deaths in each of the 0–14, 45–59 and over 75 age categories, plus seven each from 15–29 and…

The Multi 5 will suit many large herd applications, feeding lots of bales and where time and efficiency is important. As Victoria inched its way out of COVID-19 restrictions in March, talk around the traps was that things weren’t looking good for field days – that big exhibitors were pulling out and crowds were staying away. But for Farm World, held at Lardner Park outside Warragul in late March, organisers were turning people away. Literally – as capacity restrictions meant only 7,500 people were allowed through the gates on any one day – which meant visitors were turned away from 8:30am on Sunday when ticket sales reached that number. About 450 individual exhibitors set up stalls for the three-day event. Here are some of the highlights. LEMKEN SOLITAIR 9 SEED…

South Bank is Brisbane’s premier dining, lifestyle and cultural destination. The tourist brochures all rave about the worldclass eateries, 17 acres of lush parklands and the stunning river and city views. Check, absolutely no arguments there. And they talk about the “epic line-up of eclectic events all year round”. Eclectic, fair enough. It is hard to disagree that a truck show set amongst the restaurants, cafes, bars and bougainvillea is eclectic. It is extra special when they close the streets for you to hold a festival in your honour. That is what the South Bank Truck Festival is. The locals are rolling out the red carpet in preparation for your arrival. And it is up to all of us to show the Brisbane community how much we appreciate their hospitality.…

It’s crucial that government and industry work together to enact some of the recommendations to increase the skill and size of the workforce. It has been just over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic started being felt in earnest across the world, and Australia’s horticulture sector is still struggling to recover. Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) estimate the gross value of horticulture production will fall to $12.8 billion in 2021–22. Across the industry, much of the anguish stems from the overall shortage of workers; a problem which itself stems from the closure of Australia’s international and domestic borders. ABARES industry economist Charley Xia says the issue has been exacerbated due to the large percentage of horticulture workers that are either backpackers…

The new ‘SpecialCabs’ design available on New Holland’s T4 F/N/V tractors brings the machine’s dimensions to 1,920mm high and 870mm wide, making movement between narrow groves and the lowest branches less harmful in orchards and similar spaces. New Holland product manager for horticulture and viticulture, John Vagnarelli, says the combination of T4 specialty tractors and SpecialCab had been widely used in table grape applications in recent years, where low trellis height is an issue, adding that this was an expansion of that. “On the back of this success, there has been increasing interest shown in other segments, such as almonds, citrus and avocado, where a compact profile is critical,” he says. As well as the new cabin design, spec-wise the T4 F/N/V offers a 99-litre fuel tank, a Tier 4…

Starting in April 2020, IFAM was designed to financially support airfreight imports and exports of agricultural products and medicines once commercial flights decreased due to border closures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme has now been extended to September 30 and NFF chief executive Tony Mahar says the agriculture industry will be a big winner from the news. “The government has demonstrated it understands the serious supply chain challenges, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, confronting many export industries, including the agriculture sector,” Mahar says. “The IFAM program and its extension is nothing short of a critical life-line for agricultural commodities that are heavily reliant on international airfreight to get to market. “Sectors such as the seafood industry, high value horticulture, and chilled meat are primarily reliant on airfreight,…

The ridiculously impressive size of the engine will keep a smile on any driver’s face. Record setting in more ways than one, Claas has produced more than 40,000 machines since 1973, and holds the title of the world’s most successful forage harvester, dominating the world market with one in every two foragers sold globally being a Claas machine. So, it’s fair to say that expectations were high when getting behind the wheel of the new Jaguar 970. With glorious New Zealand countryside providing a scenic backdrop to rival anywhere in the world, our terrain however was in stark contrast to the large open fields of the German countryside where these machines can commonly be found. Faced with sharp undulating contour and steep hill sides – the real horsepower sucking stuff…