A MACHINE hailed as a world first in broadcare planters is being put through its paces east of Moree in the NSW North West.
Unveiled last week, the Agline Moisture Manager planter can be used as either a disc or tyne-style implement able to perform in a multiplicity of soil types and weather conditions.
Incorporating a stump jump mechanism into a parallelogram opener, it's the fruit of field work carried out on prototypes over the past 10 years and a research and development investment totalling more than $3 million.
And with provisional patents having been granted in the US, Canada, China, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, it's said to be a genuine world first.
"Here in northern NSW disc planters do a very good job when the rich black soil is dry on top and not too sticky, or when soil moisture levels are sufficient at depths down to 200 millimetres," said regional machinery dealer and grain and cereal grower, Ross Hubbard.
"However, when it rains, or when moisture is only found 'deep down' in the soil profile, many disc openers simply will not handle the conditions."
Mr Hubbard said either discs or tynes could be fitted to Moisture Manager planters "without the need to touch a spanner".
To date Mr Hubbard said they had successfully sown lucerne as shallow as 12mm and chickpeas down to 200mm.
Moree grower, James Hollahan, "Thorndale", has bought one of the first 10 machines to hit the market.
The 18-metre unit is running behind a 380-kilowatt MT 865B Challenger tracked tractor equipped with a Beeline auto-steer system operating on three-metre wheel centres with a Bourgault 6280 air-seeder.
Mr Hollahan said his investment was driven by the need to cover big areas at a moment's notice - a point made clear last week as he made 1.6-kilometre passes up and down a paddock earmarked for winter wheat.
He said his new planting rig allowed him to cover about 20 hectares an hour.
This would translate into about 486ha over a 24-hour stint, pared back to 400ha after factoring in re-filling time and meal breaks.
Fuel consumption has been averaging out at 2.5 litres/ha with the planter's 49 openers each requiring 3.75kW in lighter conditions, rising to 7.7kW when in moisture-seeking mode.
Mr Hollahan said the planter's performance could be fine-tuned from the cab using three separate independent pressure controls.
One measured the downforce on the parallegram to ensure its bank of openers entered the ground at the right depth while another controlled the pressure on the front trip assembly when in cultivating mode.
As well, there's an ability to make pressure adjustments to the press wheels - all achieved on-the-go from the cab.
Mr Hubbard said the point was that equipment fitted with spring-operated press wheels didn't get adjusted correctly when changing seed varieties or in different soil types.
"Sowing canola into wet red soil requires only around 10 per cent of the press wheel pressure required when seeding sorghum into semi-dry black soil," he said.
"The correct press wheel pressure can now be hydraulically set from the tractor cab to ensure optimum germination."
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