LIKE most Victorian broadacre croppers this season, Southern Mallee grower Gene Fuller spent plenty of time in his sprayer, but at least he can now do it more efficiently after taking delivery of a much larger and more powerful rig in August.
Gene and his wife, Catherine, continuously crop 3000 hectares to wheat, barley, canola, lentils and lupins at their 'Ochre' property at Yaapeet, north of Rainbow.
They also have three children, including Amelie (13), James (11) and Callum (10).
The farm sits in a 300–millimetre average annual rainfall area, however more than 500mm has fallen over the property this year, which caused a significant jump in crop diseases requiring multiple spray treatments.
"This year was our biggest year ever with fungicides (spraying)," Gene said.
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"We had a lot of rust in the wheat and lentils.
"Some paddocks had up to three applications, whereas we usually get away with none in the wheat and one in the lentils.
"We were on to the disease early in the barley, but it still had two applications.''
He conceded that a logistical issue with fertiliser preventing in–furrow fungicide application with the wheat this season further exacerbated the disease levels and, as a result, the "writing is on the wall'' for high disease pressure again next year.
"It's the first time in 10 years that we did not have fungicide with the wheat.
"Unless you had flutriafol on fertiliser this season, it was difficult.''
Some resistance to herbicides by ryegrass and radish weeds in areas, as well as some difficulty controlling brome grass, also means there is plenty of activity for the sprayer with herbicide applications.
To assist weed and disease control, the Fullers aim to grow a couple of break crops before cereals depending on the cleanliness of paddocks, however there is still the flexibility to grow consecutive cereal crops in suitable areas.
Chaff lining and, more recently, harvester–integrated weed seed control also has been adopted to help limit weed populations.
Gene said when adding the summer weed control to the in–season applications, as well as insecticide sprays particularly in the lentils, the number of spray passes in paddocks this year continued to build.
"In lentils, we were into double figures with the spraying before harvest.''
As a self–confessed "predominantly John Deere man'', Gene has been at the wheel of the manufacturer's 4710 and 4730 sprayers, however he harboured a liking for Miller machines and, thanks to a stroke of good luck, he recently secured a Nitro 7380 model from Belle–Vue Trading at Swan Hill.
"I was just tyre kicking and it was funny how it worked out this year.
"I spoke to Kent Hansen and they happened to have one coming in,'' Gene said.
"Kent and the Belle–Vue Trading team were really good – I cannot fault their support.''
The upgrade to the Miller Nitro 7380 increased their boom width from 27 metres (90–foot) out to 40m (135ft), also suiting their controlled traffic farming (CTF) system, and the tank size from 4000 litres up to 6100L.
"We're now going straight into our tracks, instead of on every second run, and it's been a big step–up in efficiency.
"It doesn't sound like much, but it means a bit at the end of the day.
"It probably cuts a fill out a day,'' Gene said.
He said the jump in engine horsepower of around 100hp also was "really noticeable''.
"The paddocks were definitely heavier this year and the Miller did it easily up some decent hills and with a full or empty tank.''
The Nitro 7380 is powered by the new IVECO Tier 2 turbo diesel engine, delivering 383 peak horsepower with 1459NM of torque.
The larger model in the 7000 series, the 7420, steps this up to 434 peak horsepower with 1629NM of torque.
"It's a fantastic motor.
"I think it's the best motor on the market and it's also good on the fuel.
"It is obviously a heavier machine with a bigger motor and it would be using a bit more fuel, but we didn't notice it.
"I checked the fuel rate in heavy, wet soil and it showed 500 millilitres per hectare – I think that is good,'' Gene said.
An innovative hydrostatic Danfoss pump system featuring electronically–controlled variable displacement, bent axis drive motors and integrated Fairfield Torque–Hub planetary final drives are responsible for an improved drive performance with the Miller 7000 series sprayers.
The drive motors supply greater torque at all speeds, while the weight distribution has been carefully designed to ensure it remains within 4 per cent of 50:50 balance during spraying.
"The stability was excellent and once you get a hang of the front–mounted boom, it is definitely user–friendly.
"With the great visibility, you can pretty well see every nozzle, and the cabin is comfortable and quiet – it's too noisy with engines at the front of other machines,'' Gene said.
"It's got everything you need – and the ability to attach a swather is definitely an option.''
Spraying at an average speed of 26 kilometres per hour, the Fullers use Miller's Staged Spray Control (SSC) system on the boom, which features nozzle–mounted air shut–off valves to switch between two different nozzle sizes.
"It's on 250–millimetre nozzle spacings and when you start off or slow down, it sprays on one nozzle, maybe an 015, 50 centimetres apart, and when you speed up it will swap to the other nozzle, like an 02, on the other 50cm spacing, and then at the average speed it will swap to both,'' Gene said.
"It's good when you slow down for corners and you still get the same pressure.
"It keeps the spray pattern and droplet size the same through a bigger range of speed.
"For 95 per cent of the time the nozzles are all on.''
He said the system also offered the flexibility to spray at a wider spacing when needed.
"You can have an extra course nozzle on for 2,4–D (herbicide) and spray at the 500mm spacing.
"It gives more flexibility and it's easier to match the nozzle.''
Gene said the one–touch auto–fold feature and Raven XRT high resolution height control system with the latest Miller machines also were a major step forward for spraying.
"The boom just hovers and follows the ground with the XRT – it's light years ahead,'' he said.
