Image: Stewart Wallace, Esperance indicating where he mounts the stubble cruncher roller, that wasn’t attached at the field day as this was a hire machine.
Author: Bindi Isbister, DPIRD, ACTFA Chair
Wheel tracks in controlled traffic farming systems need regular maintenance to repair ruts, particularly after wet seasons. Track renovation is typically done in a separate operation. However, at a recent Wheel track Management Field day in Esperance hosted by DPIRD (Bindi Isbister and Wayne Parker) and WANTFA, I came across the following examples of combining track renovation with another operation to improve operational efficiency.
Track renovation and stubble crunching
Stewart Wallace, from Esperance, added a hitch to a Kline Wheel track Renovator so he can pull a Stubble Cruncher Mandako roller at the same time. The stubble cruncher is used primarily for snail management to knock down the stubble which the snails like to climb up and live on. The stubble crunch roller also does a good job of levelling the paddock creating an even seedbed for sowing. They have found they can work at a speed of 12km/h.
Renovating tracks at seeding
Mic Fels, from Esperance, developed the custom made i-paddock renovator, which was built by Kelly Tillage Aus.. It uses a system of Kelly chains mounted to the airseeder bin so it sits just in front to airseeder bin track. The track width is 600 mm. The main feature of this machine is that track depth control is managed by the track, not the machine. The leading wheel of the renovator travels in the track and the implement is hinged to allow movement down in deeper tracks and up in shallower tracks. Two Kelly chains pull the soil into the rut and the track of airseeder packs the track. Mic wanted to renovate and seed in one pass of the paddock, not have the hassle and cost of an additional operation. The track of the air cart is an integral part of the system to refirm the track. Levelling and compaction may not be as effective with wheeled air carts. Seeding speed is 12-14 km/h. He thinks it needs an extra Kelly chain disc to make it a bit wider to pull in more soil.
Image: Mic Fels and his Kelly chain inspired i-paddock renovator
Acknowledgements
The field day hosted by WANTFA and DPIRD was an activity of DPIRD and GRDC project DAW1901-006RTX, ‘Increasing farming system profitability and longevity of benefits following soil amelioration’.