Magazine - Greenstar Precision Ag System

By Rene Lubbers in Industry News on 14th Jun 2010 8:00

The Woods family has been farming the Goondiwindi district for over 30 years during which time they have moved from predominantly grazing to broadacre farming in order to maximise the efficiencies and returns from their two large holdings.

According to Robert Woods, with a mix of good alluvial flood plain land at Tulloona and brigalow country at Toobeah, both are well suited to new GPS based farming practices that make growing crops more favourable.

“We grow both summer and winter crops on both properties on a year in, year out rotation basis of one third legumes, one third wheat, one third barley in winter and predominately sorghum in summer, so we rely heavily on agricultural management systems (AMS) to achieve best practice farm management.

“To his credit dad adopted the use of GPS technology to assist in farming very early on through his involvement in the development of the original Beeline GPS system in the late 90’s.

“More recently, as John Deere stepped into the AMS market, we’ve gradually moved over to GreenStar™ 2 because for us it was a logical step as our gear is predominantly green.

“By going with GreenStar™ 2 not only did we get the productivity and reduced fatigue benefits of the AutoTrac™ automatic guidance system, but it enabled us to get heavily involved in mapping every aspect of our farming practices through the use of the Harvest Doc™ and Harvest Monitor™ software functions.

“Harvest Doc™ has proved to be an invaluable management aid for us on both properties as it enables us to fully integrate the data we record during planting, spraying and harvesting which we review and archive on John Deere’s Apex farm management software.

“With the information uploaded to Apex we can generate maps and reports that highlight what impact our previous management decisions have had on production, and then use this knowledge to further refine our farming practices.

“We’ve been saving our data for the past four years so we are now able to compare trends over multiple years, identify and control field problem areas, control pests and accurately plan our input purchases.

“By having our guys map everything from planting through to harvesting we’ve been able to create an online diary of everything that happens on the properties. As a result, we can benchmark and compare gross margins which really takes the guesswork out of the management equation.

“And when it comes to harvesting you have to be really focussed on what you’re doing and this is another area where GreenStar™ 2 comes into its own by taking the pressure off the drivers, enabling them to do a better job by eliminating overlapping – which also saves time and money.

“The other upside of the GreenStar™ 2’s accuracy is that we collect truly accurate yield data so our trend data is also highly accurate. We’ve also been able to increase yields substantially through the use of minimal till tools and the accuracy of GPS to sow between last year’s crop rows - which has substantially reduced the effect of stubble disease and more importantly has given us the ability to sow through larger amounts of crop residue.

“And when it comes to farm management, one of the biggest impacts has without doubt been the addition of John Deere’s Rate Controller and Swath Control Pro™ systems that integrate with the GreenStar™ 2’s touch screen to manage spraying.

“By using Swath Control Pro™ on our spray rigs we are able to get more done in less time while using less chemicals in the process, as the spray boom sections are turned on and off automatically by GPS so overlapping is minimised, crop yields are improved and input costs and driver fatigue are reduced.

“Based on our extensive mapping we know exactly how much money John Deere’s Swath system has saved us, and in the case of chemicals the savings are currently running at 4.3%, which means the systems have paid for themselves in less than a year so we are now seeing real savings in our hip pocket with every crop.

“Driver fatigue is a big issue for us and this is another area where GreenStar™ 2 assists us greatly, as by being able to match spraying with mapping our operators can clearly see where they have and haven’t sprayed.

“And the GreenStar™ 2 system is designed in such a way that the units are easily interchangeable between equipment. We use GreenStar™ 2 in our 9670 harvesters, on our 8520 tractor and on two Case tractors we use for spraying – so it’s another feature that makes GreenStar™ hard to go past.

“We use GPS for everything from planting to spraying and harvesting so the GreenStar™ 2 units are used all year round and have proved to be reliable, which minimises downtime.

“We are extremely happy with John Deere’s Precision Ag Systems and the excellent local dealer support we get from Chesterfields at Goondiwindi. Not only do they sell good products, but they back them up with great service.

“For us, it’s the after sales support and service that makes all the difference and on this score John Deere has it covered.

“So my advice for anyone considering using John Deere’s GPS technology is that I’d be very surprised if it didn’t have a major impact on your business and the way you run it.

“Accuracy is addictive – it really is, especially when you see the impact it has on the way you farm, so I would recommend you contact your local John Deere dealer and arrange to use a demo unit to see for yourself what a difference this technology can make to your business,” Robert said.

For more information on John Deere’s Precision Ag Solutions, visit our Web site or FREECALL 1800 800 981 to contact your local John Deere dealer.

John Deere (Deere & Company — NYSE: DE) is a world leader in providing advanced products and services for agriculture, forestry, construction, lawn and turf care, landscaping and irrigation. John Deere also provides financial services worldwide and manufactures and markets engines used in heavy equipment. Since it was founded in 1837, the company has extended its heritage of integrity, quality, commitment and innovation around the globe.



For more information visit our Web site at www.JohnDeere.com.au or FREECALL 1800 800 981 AU or 0800 303 100 NZ to contact your local John Deere dealer.

Read more articles in Industry News, by Rene Lubbers or from June 2010.