THERE were spreaders, spaders, rippers and a one-way plough and everybody got a turn to spruik their products before demonstrating their machine at the recent WANTFA Soil Amelioration Day at Bolgart.
Here's a summary of salient points of the machinery demonstrated:
Agri-Spread
A PTO-drive AS2 150T SC (section control) model was showcased with hydraulic-fold curtains, which the company says creates a vortex enabling spread material to drop in front of the curtain.
This has been seen as a game-changer in spreading in windy conditions with the company saying spreading can be achieved in up to 40km/h cross winds.
The model, also equipped with load cells and drop point control, can spread lime sand accurately to a 12 metre width with an option to spread to 13.6m with wing booms.
Spreading width for urea and most granular fertilisers is 42m.
It is distributed by McIntosh & Son.
Bredal
The company exhibited a K105 SC model featuring factory-fitted winged spinners and drop point control.
A range of discs is available to match product with the two winged spinners enabling a 12m spread of lime sand for controlled traffic farming (CTF), between 26-42m spread for urea and up to 48-50m with the addition of an X disc.
The PTO-drive spinners can also be factory-optioned with hydraulic drive.
The spinners can be hydraulically listed up for transport position.
It is distributed by AFGRI Equipment.
Marshall Multispread
Boekeman Machinery Northam put a Marshall Multispread 912T through its paces, claiming the WA-made machine was the best value for money spreader on the market.
While the 800 Series is a chain drive, the new 900 Series is endless belt drive and features a three metre axle option, retro-fittable load cells, hydraulic drive variable rate application, feed door cameras and "ground-drive reliability".
It also features auto shut-off at the end of each run and the company is developing double-fold curtains for future models.
Vaderstaad
CLAAS Harvest Centre presented a Top Down 600 multi-purpose cultivator featuring leading discs, 22 tynes, mixing and levelling discs and rib rollers.
The bar, which can be ordered with working widths from three metres to 9m, was described as having three machines in one to ameliorate topsoil, break up hard pans and established a level seed bed.
The leading discs chop and level stubble, the tynes, featuring 80 millimetre-wide points can also semi-delve with the resultant finish also vastly reducing non-wetting problems.
Horsch Tiger
AFGRI Equipment added a Horsch Tiger 6MT multi-purpose bar to the demonstration list.
The six metre-wide model is seen as an ideal machine for ameliorating lime and clay with a combination of discs, tynes and rollers.
According to a company representative the Tiger is a "midway" ripper taking out hard pans that develop in the first 150-200mm of the topsoil.
The combination of ripping, mixing and levelling is ideal to improve water-holding capacity and improve soil fertility.
Bednar
Company director Grant Borgward illustrated soil constraints using a penetrometer to show why the subsoil needed to be ripped and mixed to enable plant roots to freely access moisture and nutrients.
The company's Terraland TO 6000 chisel plough was described as a "tool for building soil structure" while eliminating non-wetting issues in the topsoil.
It represents a one-pass solution to soil renovation and amelioration in light sandy soils and a giant ripper in medium to heavy country, allowing ripping and incorporating clay brought up with clay blades.
HE-VA Sub Tiller
The 6m Danish-built HE-VA Sub Tiller features one front row of tynes fitted in a vee formation - 11 each side - to reduce draft loads.
Spaced 550mm apart with 350mm-wide points, there is an option for inclusion plates or delving points.
The machine is capable of digging to 600mm and features notched roller-packers.
It can be folded to 2.8m for transport.
During the presentation it was announced Burando Hill has been appointed dealers in Katanning, Esperance and Geraldton and importer Jorn Ib would service York and surrounding districts.
Nufab Hydramax
This is often described as an 'ultra deep' ripper and features shallow leading tynes and a rear row of five tynes with delving blades or inclusion plates, followed by crumble rollers.
Digging depth is to a maximum 800mm depending on soil types.
The Nufab Hydramax deep ripper can be used as a standard ripper, with little soil mixing or disturbance, or it can be used with inclusion plates to get ameliorates like lime, clay or carbons placed at depth.
With delving blades, the Hydramax can delve clay from depth.
Gessner
McIntosh & Son presented a six metre Gessner HDR-6011 designed for CTF.
The two-row machine features 11 tynes on 545mm spacings with a key feature being the parabolic tyne which is said to reduce draft loads.
It is capable of digging between 300-700mm depending on soil types and conditions and breakout is nearly 3000kg.
A solid following crumble roller weighs 9.2 tonnes.
The roller is 508mm-diameter heavy wall pipe fitted with 50mm x 12mm 'flats' to break down clods and create a smooth ridge finish to inhibit wind erosion.
Raptor Ripper
All Makes Ag declared itself WA distributors for the Toowoomba, Queensland-built Raptor Ripper.
Two models are available with the three row, 11 tynes model demonstrated.
A four-row Super Raptor also is available.
The front row of tynes operate to a depth of 650mm while the rear tynes are capable of digging to 800mm.
The hydraulically-operated long tynes measure 850mm, with 100mm hydraulic rams with a 14,000kg breakout.
A 12m model also is available as a fixed frame or folding wings.
Farmax
A 4.5m wide Farmax spader was put through its paces with local representative Lionel Moore saying the South Australian-made machine was used mainly for incorporating clay.
The model demonstrated, a Rapide 450, featured 36 spades and a rear gang of tyre rollers to compact the worked ground and carry the rear weight of the machine.
According to Mr Moore, the tyres give a compressed ridged pattern that withstands wind erosion.
The company is developing a heavy ripping row for future models.
Imants
An Imants 58 spader featured a front row of eight ripping tynes to break up soil for improved incorporation by the spader which featured 10 rows of six blades.
The Imants spader can incorporate a large number of materials including compost material, straw, gypsum, clay, sand and lime while mixing the soil from 100mm to more than one metre deep.
These machines can bring clay up from 500mm to mix with the sand, which helps to improve the quality of the soil and water retention.
Plozza Plow
The Plozza Plow is essentially a John Shearer 5GP hydraulic disc plough with 13 notched and dish-shaped discs made by the Plozza brothers at Eneabba.
The discs have been specially designed for WA sands and the machine is seen as a cheaper way to ameliorate soil to depths of 300mm.
The demonstration pass did show the resultant finish was prone to wind erosion but a Mandako land roller quickly solved that problem.
Mandako land roller
A L4060 model, demonstrated by BP Imports, quickly pressed into operations to pack down the run created by the Plozza Plow.
The 12.7m roller comprised three one metre diameter drums which can be filled with water to increase weight from 11-12 tonnes to 15-17t.
The frame also can be used to manage stubbles with a different set of drum rollers.
The machine folds to 3.4m for transport and the rollers can be made up to 27.75m in working width.
Nufab Spreadit
The FBB Spreadit was demonstrated spreading clay but it also can spread manure/compost, gypsum, lime or fertiliser.
According to the company, the machines are so robust they are used for mine site rehabilitation, building roads, with some machines having completed over 6000 hours.
A load cell package is now retro-fittable to existing Nufab spreaders.
Clay spreader
A clay spreader from earthmoving company AK Evans also was demonstrated.
Its special feature is its ability to consistently spread to an accurate depth reducing the need for a smudge bar.
This is achieved by 'reading' a GPS map of the area worked.