New 'expert' service from Croplands

It involves application spraying specialist Bill Campbell, whose priority is to assist RoGator owners to customise settings to achieve maximum spraying performance in a range of conditions.

Mr Campbell is the only recognised independent spray application specialist in WA and is well known for his GRDC-funded workshops held throughout the Wheatbelt.

According to Croplands WA manager John Griffiths, the new service will provide RoGator owners with an independent consultant who will tailor boomsprayer set-up to owners' requirements.

"There's obviously a lot of knowledge needed to set up a boomsprayer to perform at a consistent optimum level," he said.

"Having an expert such as Bill on-call will be a great help to our owners because their needs will be different to each other.

"Bill will customise set-up and provide advice on spraying programs such as summer sprays, knockdowns, in-crop and foliar spraying.

"He also will help with operator and staff training in areas such as nozzle selection, tank compatibilities, paddock 'truthing' and analysis of the efficiency of spray programs."

Mr Campbell, an agronomist, who joined Farmanco two years ago, has been configuring and setting up boomsprayers throughout WA since 2004.

"A lot of the time it's about helping farmers to understand the theory in a practical way," he said. "There are many aspects of spray applications that need to be considered," he said. "They include conditions, drift and coverage."

"There's a lot of dynamics involved in spraying and Bill will be available to advise on a one-to-one basis how to achieve the best performance out of your boomsprayer for effective weed control.

"There is a broad range of spray options that many times are not considered simply because the options are either not known or there is a lack of understanding about how to apply the option.

"Many times you may be faced with small windows of opportunity which are ideal for spraying and I can suggest ways to maximum productivity during those periods.

"It's all about understanding the different needs that each farming operation requires on each farm and adjusting your approach accordingly."

The service will apply to all new RoGator deliveries from January to April 2017.

p More information: John Griffiths 0407 132 746.