Snapshot

Grower: Luke Simon
Property name: TALKSIM
Location: Halbury, SA
Farm size: 1800 hectares
Annual rainfall: 400 millimetres
Soil types: Sand, sand over clay, loam, red loam and black clay
Enterprises: Wheat, barley, beans, canola and field pea
Seeding equipment: 15.24m (50 foot) Boss Bridge frame planter with TX45 openers on 23 cm (nine inch) spacings and Simplicity 9000 tow behind air cart.

For Halbury grower Luke Simon, farming land across a variety of soil types is one of their greatest challenges. The Simon family’s Mid-North property, Talksim, ranges from non-wetting sands through to heavy black clays which become problematic in wet conditions, an issue particularly difficult to manage at critical times like seeding.

A recent switch from their disc seeder to a 50ft Boss Bridge frame planter has enabled them to improve productivity on farm. Luke believes that crop establishment has also improved as a result of their purchase, approximately 12 months ago.

The rig includes a TX45 parallelogram tyne unit for minimal soil disturbance and consists of narrow, single shoot points on 23-centimetre row spacings.

Improvements all round

The Talksim farm is split across two properties and for the Simons, this can become particularly challenging, working with varying rainfall and soil types. With the disc seeder, logistics can become difficult.

“We would have to try and guess when the rain was coming and work around it as one block is defined by heavier clays,” Luke says.

“Following 15mm rainfall on our heavier country, we have been able to sow the next day with our Boss seeder bar and keep working.”

“With the disc seeder, we would have been waiting a week to get back on that ground.”

Luke has found that simplicity is key when it comes to choice of seeder bar.

“We chose this seeder not only to improve establishment in crop stands, but for ease.

“We found we were having to re-build our disc each season, where the Boss machine is much easier to maintain.”

The improvement of crop establishment has come from the ability to better manage stubble loads. Luke has also found the Boss Bridge frame TX45 tyne system delivers better results and ensures more seed gets in the ground at seeding time, particularly in higher stubble load paddocks.

“We have definitely noticed an improvement in crop establishment. The disc system at the front of the machine allows the seeder bar to cut and sow through heavy stubble loads, which was an issue with our previous disc,” he says.

The Simon’s Boss TX45 parallelogram unit is followed by a press wheel system. Image: Luke Simon

Luke is happy with the new machine, which has only required some minor adjustments. These include modification to tynes behind the tractor wheels and the addition of guards on the shank to stop stubble catching.

Advantages of small seeds box

Working in addition to the Boss seeder bar, is a Simplicity 9000 tow behind quad with a TopCon X20 in-cab monitor. The air cart comprises of two sealed and pressurised bins plus a small seeds box, which is injected into the secondary manifold. Purchased after encountering issues with small seeds such as canola, Luke says “the small seeds box is worth the money.”

“The most common issue we had with canola was finding missed strips in the paddock, as a result of blanking off rollers during seeding,” he says.

He is now able to better manage canola seeding rates and is no longer needing to source additional seed to ensure all rollers are full of seed, which also saves time.

“Now that we have the small seeds box, we no longer have issues with fine seeds,” Luke says.

In addition to the small seeds box, blocked row sensors have been a consideration for the Simons.

“Blocked row sensors would be great, but they can be a hassle as they narrow the inside diameter of the hose and that’s why we haven’t given them a go,” Luke says.

The Simplicity 9000 has provided good air conveying capacity and is excellent at varying speeds; however Luke says he would like to see a more consistent seeding rate out of them.

“I think that the metering accuracy and distribution of the machine could definitely be improved,” he says

Defining 'success'

To Luke, successful plant establishment is important for two reasons: the benefit of crop yield at the end of a given season and to ensure good weed control.

“Crop inputs can be high, especially when we can be spraying three to four times in one year,” he says.

“It is important to ensure a good return at the end of the year and that is why establishment is imperative to us.

“We were noticing that not only was the ground getting hard, but we were having trouble getting everything to come up which is why we sold the disc seeder.”

To maximise crop establishment, Luke says selecting a good seed source and managing soil herbicide residues is of great importance.

“We also ensure all seed is treated prior to seeding, to try and promote good crop health and establishment.”

Luke believes it is important to note that good rainfall, both early and in-season, plays an important role in the success of crop establishment.

Pre-seeding checks

Luke knows that taking time to set up equipment correctly at seeding time can go a long way. Seeding depth is a critical part of set up, but with the new seeder bar, Luke has found that he rarely needs to adjust seeding depth.

“We normally check depth twice a day and as we come across different soil types. Minimal time is spent doing this, but we assess as we go,” he says.

Seeding rates at the Talksim property vary, but normally range between 110–115kg/ha for wheat and 85–90kg/ha for barley. Now with the Boss seeder bar, Luke says they would like to reduce these rates.

“We also ensure the calibration of equipment occurs every two to three days to achieve consistency across our farm.”

The Boss seeder bar, which is a 30-tonne rig, has approximately 370kg of downward force on each tyne. This setting has not changed since the farming family purchased the machine early last year.

“Due to logistical constraints, we were required to set up the seeder bar ourselves. At first, we kept the downforce pressure halved, but found we were blocking up, a result of not being able to cut through stubble, pushing straw into the seed slot,” Luke says.

Going forward, adjustments to tyne pressure may be required due to softer, worked soils. “We are also able to adjust manually as we go, which is particularly handy if we hit a sandy area in the paddock.”

Next steps

For Luke, the next steps to improve crop establishment on their property will be utilising a liquid inject system for the distribution of blended liquids to make application easier. “We are currently set up for liquids but we don’t yet use them,” he says

“Previously, we have had issues where moisture collects dust from the fertiliser and seed, blocking up heads. Moving forward, it could be a great tool for ease and also no longer needing to pickle grain.”

Luke currently has the equipment for variable rate technology and said it is something they may potentially look at using more of, although it would be a very small area of the farm.

Singulation planters

Luke believes seed singulation precision technology would have a strong fit if it could be adapted to current equipment, like a tyne system.

“It would be nice to have to option to sow with either option, but that comes at high cost.”

Top tips

Luke’s top tips to improve crop establishment:

• Don’t rush, take your time seeding
• Select a good fertiliser to suit your needs, this could include a custom blend
• Keep paddocks clean and weed free

More information: Luke Simon, 0437 060 920, lukesimon@hotmail.com