In-paddock demonstrations of the Californian built Optimizer one-pass deep tillage system in cotton fields near Griffith NSW, has proved the benefit of the behemoth machine.
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Operating in difficult conditions with deep moisture, Bernie Allport of distributor, Agrotil said the Optimizer impressed attending farmers.
The machine is designed to reduce passes and complete a fast turn around from one crop to the next breaking up compacted layers.
Two ranks of heavy duty 76 centimetre scalloped discs on the front are followed by mid reels which work to begin incorporation of stubble residues and are then followed by deep tillage tynes with capacity to go to about 45cm.
The tynes are followed by finishing reels - similar to the front but providing more incorporation, leveling and breaking down clods.
Finishing rollers then present a quality finish.
The Optimizer caught the eye of Darlington Point, NSW cropper, Mat Stott as far back as 2008 when he saw one working on a visit to the US.
He followed it up again a few years back and then more recently after trying to rationalise discing or ploughing corn stubbles three or four times a season - as he had been doing for 15 to 20 years.
Agrotil had then become involved in importing the machine.
Mr Stott said past tillage practices were no longer sustainable.
“For any sort of stubble there’d usually be two discings, then a couple of chisel plough passes then the grader board it two ir three times.
“We were at six or seven passes and now I am hoping to get it down to just two or three.”
He said the size and weight of the machine (5.5 metres wide and weighing about 23 tonnes) together with its optimum operating speed of 12 kilometres an hour drew his interest.
“It’s not wide - but it's all about the speed,” Mr Stott said.
“If you had something twice the width you’ve got to go half the speed so you are covering the same amount of ground.
“You should be able to do it a lot more efficiently than at double the speed because you get the result you are after,” he said.
“There’s plenty of one-pass style machines but I always thought they looked a bit light.
“Everything is also modular so you can interchange things to change the style of the machine.”
The price is offset by the performance and hefty design, Agrotil’s Bernie Allport said.
“There’s a lot in it to warrant the price - it reduces maintenance, changeability of all components is in a very simple format and that all makes it a little easier to understand the cost.”
“There is a lot of durability built into it with minimal maintenance requirement - it's a win win factor for the customer.”
Mr Allport said initial interest had been from the cotton industry after showing it at the Cotton Conference in August.
“However, the principle of operation is the same wherever you are dealing with compaction, residue management, soil preparation, and strategic tillage whether you are growing cotton, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes or tomatoes,” he said.
Visiting Californian Optimizer designer, Kevin McDonald, said customers in the US had done as much as 36,000 hectares with an Optimizer in just five years.
In adverse conditions some will use it in two passes, he said.
“First to penetrate a certain depth and then the balance to clean up and in cotton it is then ready to bed up and go.”
For further information see agrotil.com
