Vic No Till: From The Ground Up - Shelbourne Pages (issue 49)

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FROMTHEGROUNDUP FROMTHEGROUNDUP

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FROMTHEGROUNDUP

SUMMER 2017

HARVEST16

Stripper front @ZeroTillNowie

GRANT – Dad and I haven’t seen up wheat yields like it before, they were Our . ocks padd e som in a es/h tonn to 7.2 a. canola yields were around 2.8 tonnes/h

How did your paddocks cope with the high rainfall?

Why did you purchase the Shelbourne?

To be able to have all that extra stubble is attractive in our Mallee down conditions for shading and slowing wind speed.

What did it achieve for you?

Did you have any losses?

I did have some losses in a canola companion crop which was mixed up e. with some vetch, it was a bit aggressiv on inati The canola had lower germ bit than ideal so the Shelbourne was a s seed the wasteful, it was shedding t before I could capture them so I wen t. fron er) (drap back to the cutter bar But the losses can be learned. The and Shelbourne has an aggressive rotor can you erly prop if it’s not operating . lose seeds before they get captured d avoi to ing train of bit It just takes a those losses and it’s different for each can crop, even during the day conditions work to ers farm the to up change. It’s , out how to set it up for their paddocks

The tour was funded through the GRD

which is where the Vic No-Till farmers helping farmers philosophy comes in. on I had a few farmers in the network about Tom rang I ple speed dial. For exam ne bour Shel the use the canola beca very was devastating the canola, it was rent diffe a been la cano brittle. Had the ld variety that was really tough, it wou any with Like le. ptab acce have been piece of equipment, you’ve got to keep an eye on settings.

Is this a valuable tool in your system?

The Shelbourne is not new in other a countries, and has been around for any by long time. We’re not pioneers are means, but we’ve found people who as ully essf using the Shelbourne succ part of their zero-till systems and now ems. we’re trying to fit it to our own syst able valu a been I’m only learning but it’s tool for me.

GRANT - We had some water laying in paddocks, but the better parts of paddocks had such good yields it outweighed the waterlogged parts. ed Some of our compass barley was lodg and some oats went down a bit. TROY - We had a few laying down up no crops which the Shelbourne picked get d worries at all. As long as you coul lem down low enough, which is no prob thing e at home, it does exactly the sam as it does to a standing crop.

What led you to purchasing a Shelbourne?

TROY - During Harvest15 Vic No-Till and did a Shelbourne demo on our place were we didn’t want to give it back. We o pretty keen to get one after this dem and so did a bit of searching around did a found a second hand one in SA, we our ch mat few modifications to get it to go. to right 9m CTF system and it was

What were some of the measurements you took?

TROY – I kept a pretty close eye on tonnes/hr and the Shelbourne was in consistently around 60 tonnes/hr and es/ tonn the heavier crops up to 70-80 age hr. On a normal front we usually aver around 40-50 tonnes/hr.

C stubble initiative project

It did create a logistical challenge as the header goes straight into field bins to and two trucks, but it’s a good problem have.

How did you go with adjusting your settings?

How was harvest?

harvest.

Magnificent efficiency straight off. It doubled my harvest capacity and that enabled me to take on a contract job when I’d finished at home. It was nd. excellent in crops that lay on the grou to hard it’s ls, lenti in nt nifice It was mag believe how good.

Victoria, NSW and SA We spoke to a number of growers from time or have been using a who tested, tried, used for the first ing systems. Shelbourne as par t of their no-till farm

@KeatingTroy @GrantKeating

One of the earliest adopters of zero a d teste till CTF in the Mallee, Ross d Shelbourne in Harvest15 and purchase ne bour one for Harvest16. The Shel enabled him to finish his harvest early ract then move to the Wimmera to cont

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d demonstrations as par t of a During Har vest16 Vic No-Till organise pper Front tour. The tour was in Test & Try Shelbourne Reynolds Stri onstrations in the previous har vest response to a small number of dem ers purchasing a Shelbourne. leading to innovative zero-till grow

Troy & Grant Keating, WERNETH VIC

Ross Watson NOWIE VIC

SUMMER 2017

There was a slight fuel efficiency although I didn’t keep a close eye on it. With crops being fairly tough in the stalks this year it was a bit hard to have great fuel efficiency. In the heat of the day we were using around 35L/ hr whereas late at night when it’s a lot harder to strip the head off it was around 55L/hr. s When we started we had a few losse ing putt out of the rotor and we ended up . in all large wire concaves to stop that stop ed We also found that speed help get the losses out the front, so we had to up t fron the the speed right to help seal rent and keep it full. It was definitely diffe re you’ re whe t, going from a draper fron go to able be to d, stuck on a slower spee be to right quite feel so quick – it doesn’t est. harv at able to go so quick GRANT – We were getting some small losses in the Trojan wheat, it to seemed very brittle this year and easy d spee and iency effic the shake out. But outweighed these losses for sure. Using the Shelbourne for our barley in and wheat made a huge difference . ation oper le who our of iency the effic ay nesd Wed on est harv hed We finis night (Jan 18) then had 25mm of rain ne on Thursday night. So the Shelbour year this f itsel for paid ly ntial pote has by saving us from having our wheat downgraded.

TROY - It took us a couple of d paddocks to get everything fine-tune and go – knowing how fast you can getting the grain losses down to an acceptable rate. It’s a totally different concept so it takes a bit to get the header set up correctly and get used re to the front. Things like knowing whe to e spok I hts. heig t to run it and wha Ben Beck a bit when I first started, then , a couple of phone calls to Grant Sims able g Bein ort. supp of just to get a bit to speak to somebody that’s used one a before and speaking to someone with . well as s help er head lar pretty simi

Do you have any concerns about sowing time?

TROY - Looking at our stubbles I’m excited but sort of scared. Sowing time is going to be the test – whether we can get good crop establishment in our standing wheat stubble. I’ve been ’ll speaking to others and they say they ous nerv bit a but all at ies worr do it no doing it for the first time.

What are you planning to sow into your stubbles?

TROY - We’re going to sow canola in the standing wheat stubble, it’s a pretty small plant to start with so the and challenges will be to keep the slugs gets it until it from y awa g everythin ight established plus getting enough sunl e thos all tick can we If too. it into down . right be ld shou we s boxe

Tom Robinson HOYLETON SA @AnashkaFarms

Tom, the former SANTFA president, bought his first Shelbourne after a ble study tour to NZ where he saw stub his on loads similar to what he had a farm. Harvest16 was his sixth with Shelbourne.

How did it perform?

It went exactly as it has for the last six years I’ve owned it – I’m extremely happy. It was my second year with a nt new model 36-footer and it’s a brillia of nts yme enjo the of One . machine harvest is stripping wheat and the tonnes/hr we can strip with it makes g harvest a lot easier for Dad and I, bein of a two man band. It’s just a lovely bit gear to use.

What sort of harvest efficiencies have you gained from the Shelbourne? What about losses? I didn’t buy it for the harvest efficiencies, I bought it for the seeding component and being able to save that extra moisture in the summertime with ing the long straw it leaves behind. Sow time ing seed at bles through those stub nt. with my disc seeder is just magnifice . easy It’s a breeze, it’s


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