THE remnants of the great dust storm that swept across the State were clearly evident as the Southern Queensland winter crop harvest began to pick up earlier this week.
Plumes of dust billowing behind two high-capacity headers working in Irvingdale district west of Dalby signified their intent to gather in a crop of Grout barley ahead of a season that looks to be drying off at an accelerating rate.
Camm Agricultural Group’s Hillcrest farm manager, Shane Reimers, and header contractor Dave Strang, were buoyed at reaping a useful-looking crop, labelling it “the right variety for our country” after a difficult growing season.
In fact the Group’s harvest operations kicked into gear a couple of weeks ago.
“After planting, we had a couple of lucky storms half way through – but that’s all it had on it,” Mr Reamers said.
“We planted a little early and it looks to be paying off.”
The 8090 model is the company’s flagship conventional machine that is powered by an Iveco 298kw (405hp) common rail diesel engine featuring electronic injectors – an engine that meets the latest tier 3 global emission standards.
Its additional 37kw (50hp) power boost facility is available when the going gets tough with 1000L of fuel carried on board to minimise downtime.
“It’s the biggest conventional New Holland header in Australia,” Mr Reimers said.
“We bought it because we don’t want to chew the straw up since we bale it and that’s why we are putting it in windrows,”
The noted farming company likes to package up its winter crop to tie in with the management regime of its feedlot, thereby leaning towards a conventional rather than a rotary type header.
Despite New Holland’s noted position in the rotary combine market, its product manager for combines, Tony Peters, says the company’s “important conventional range of CX machines” will continue to be to be imported into Australia to meet market requirements, as typified by the Camm Agricultural Group.
Interestingly, the property also runs a New Holland BB 940 big square baler, also purchased from McIntosh and Son, Dalby, churns out bumper-sized packages, assisted by a contractor equipped with a similar type machine.
Meanwhile, as to his first impressions of the new CX 8090, Mr Reimers said: “It’s doing an excellent job.
“We are very happy with it – especially the amount of bulk being put through.”
There was also favourable comment about the ‘summer office’ in the form of the cab.
Apart from being safely cocooned from the harvest dust, it comes with New Holland’s IntelliView Plus II colour touch screen.
“It has everything on it – so you can control the whole header from it,” Mr Reimers said.
“I went on a training course but I’ve still a lot to learn.”
Of added interest to machinery buffs is the equally impressive Canadian-built Honey Bee draper front. In this instance its suitably large 12.8m (42ft) wide unit.
Gear of these dimensions is required by Camm Agricultural Group because, in addition to this year’s home farm barley crop, harvest operations shortly will switch to its St George property, Morocco, where an additional 2023ha (5,000 acres) of wheat is rapidly ripening.
“We just need to get over the ground quickly,” Mr Reimers explained.
Interestingly, earlier this week some 50 tonnes an hour of Grout was being taken off the paddock when Bell contractor Dave Strang’s Case IH 2388 header, equipped with a 9.14m (30ft) front, was factored in.
He said he was unfazed by the amount of dust being encountered in this year’s harvest, talking up the reliability of his machine that it has turned in “very reliable” performances during the past couple of years.
Harvesting rates for this busy contractor vary according to crops and conditions.
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