TESTIMONIALS

What they are saying:

• Moisture Manager – Delivering 30% Better Precision Sowing Productivity “TWENTY YEARS ago, we would have slashed it; farmed it three times; then put a conventional airseeder through it. This machine cuts out all that work.” These are the thoughts of NSW producer James Hollahan – ‘Thorndale’ Pallamallawa – discussing the impact the new Agline moisture manager multifunctional broadacre planter-cultivator has had on his enterprise this year. James operates an 18m broadacre unit behind a 380kw (500hp) tracked Cat Challenger, and in front of a precision Bourgault 6280 airseeder. Thorndale is a mixed farming operation east of Moree. This year the property is carrying 1820ha (4500 acres) of winter crop – wheat, chick peas and barley – and 610ha (1500 acres) of dryland cotton along with 300 cows. According to James Hollahan, the newly bought Agline Moisture Manager has boosted zero and low till productivity on his property by around 30 per cent with attendant savings in fuel and machine hours. “This is our first year,” he said. “We’ve sown 4500 acres of winter crop and I’ve been really impressed by the unit’s zero till trash ability and its flexibility on contour banks in this undulating country. Speed of operation has been great, allowing us to cover more ground in 24 hours – a third as much again. This provides us with the ability to get our crop in at a more opportune time to maximise yields.” The Thorndale Moisture Manager has a cutting width of 18m (60ft) with 49 parallelogram tine openers at 370mm spacings. James Hollahan is impressed with the planter’s capacity to fine tune performance using three discrete hydraulic pressure controls operated from the operator cabin. James says the controls monitor the downward pressure on each parallelogram to maintain sowing depth; cultivating mode pressure; and press wheel pressure with all adjustments completed on-the-go in the tractor cab.

  NSW producer James Hollahan

• We run a contract farming business in conjunction with our own dryland farming property. When selecting a suitable planter, we needed a machine that was able to penetrate a wide range of soils (including direct drilling and moisture seeking), give even seed placement and have good trash handling ability. The Moisture Manager has meet all our needs. Using a parallelogram principle, even depth of seed and fertiliser placement is achieved. The tyne allows good penetration at various depths. The coulter on the guage wheel cuts through high levels of residue, allowing good trash flow. The ability to control the press wheel pressure allows flexibility when sowing different crops under different soil and moisture conditions. The Moisture Manager has given us the ability to plant under a wide range of conditions.

  Phil Malone