Variable Rate Technology doesn't need to be difficult Kerin Glover

Variable Rate, doesn’t need to be difficult!!

Kerran Glover – Gold Mine Hill Farms

The nuts and bolts… Myself, Wife Mel, 3 kids, 1 fulltime

& 1 part time employee

2700 Ha Arable

350mm Rainfall

Varying soil types

2/3rds Cropping, Wheat & Barley

Remainder to Vetch and self generating pastures

1500 ewes

My PA Journey…

August 2002 purchased of a John Deere Aircart

Utilised that screen in the header for yield mapping

2003 varied rates manually

2004 Upgraded the seeding tractor, Autotrac ready on Starfire 2 10cm signal, and Universal Autotrac on the boomspray

2006 Direct drill and presswheels, and 9760 Harvester with Hydraulic Autotrac

2009 Upgraded the spray tractor, hydraulic steering & Auto shutoff for the new bigger Hardi

2011 Upgraded to an 18.5 Morris Contour Drill

My PA Journey cont…

2013 Upgraded to RTK, through Pringles Crouch Dealer Base network, upgraded the aircart controller to suit the 2600 display and started playing with prescriptions, based on previous yields, purchased S670 with 12.2m front and Wireless Data Transfer

2014 John Deere FieldConnect Moisture probe, started EM Mapping

2015 Converted Marshall Spreader to Variable Rate Control

2016…

Variable rate, the early years…

Variable rate with Pringles Crouch & PCT…


2012 Wheat Yield:

Min 0.09 T/Ha

Max 2.3 T/Ha

Average 1.31 T/Ha

CV 37.68%

2014 Fertiliser Replacement: 50, 60 & 70Kg/Ha

Average 64.7Kg/Ha

Now gone to 20Kg/T removed

Minnimum 40Kg/Ha

Maximum 100K/Ha

4Kg of P (18-20) Replacement


2014 Seed Replacement: 70, 80 & 90Kg/Ha

Average 75.27Kg/Ha


2014 Wheat Yield: Min 0.03 T/Ha

Max 3.89 T/Ha

Average 2.43 T/Ha

CV 22.30%


2015 Seed Replacement: 70, 80 & 90Kg/Ha

Average 75.27Kg/Ha


2015 Wheat Yield:

Min 0.21 T/Ha

Max 3.78 T/Ha

Average 2.51 T/Ha

CV 25.08%

Increase seeding rate?


Moisture Probes

Moisture Probes

Moisture Probes

Taken 9/9/14

Moisture Probes

EM38 Mapping…

Variable Rate Spreading…

Still a learning curve…

One system across all machines works for us

It doesn’t have to be new equipment, adapting existing machinery works

Variable rate doesn’t replace sound management practices and timing of operation

Variable rate allows us to tailor inputs to varying yield and soil types

Variable rate doesn’t have to be hard

If you don’t think you have the expertise or time to head down the variable rate path, find someone that does.

Understand the yield data, verify whats happening, before setting up the prescriptions

Take home messages…

Thankyou…