IMPROVED productivity and technology would be high on the list of desirables with any new seeding system investment and that’s exactly what has been achieved for the Symes family in the Victorian Mallee this year, in addition, of course, to receiving a more attractive piece of kit.

Graeme and Kaye Symes, together with their son Matt and his wife Trudy, who have two children, Jada (16) and Cooper (14), operate a continuous cropping program over 3700 hectares on a couple of properties at Gama, near Sea Lake.

They grow wheat, barley, lentils, field peas and vetch for brown manuring and hay, some canola and occasionally some lupins, with a lot of their grain production now stored on-farm for strategic marketing.

The family had been using a Morris C2 Contour drill and 9450 air cart and decided to upgrade to the manufacturer’s 21-metre Quantum air drill and larger 9550 air cart, adding another 3500 litres to their total tank capacity.

Purchased through local Morris dealer, Belle-Vue Trading, it immediately meant covering the same area as their previous rig in less time and, hence, also importantly, with reduced tractor hours.

They now sow about 100ha to lentils and 70 to 80ha to cereals per tankful.

“Just doing the same area in less time and with less tractor hours all adds to your productivity these days,” Graeme said.

The lentils and barley are sown at 40 kilograms/ha and wheat at 60kg/ha, and an 80:20 blend of urea and sulphate of ammonia is applied upfront at 100kg/ha before being followed later by another 50-80kg/ha of straight urea.

“We do use a lot of fertiliser with high sulphur content and so we were certainly taken by all the stainless-steel outlets with the new machines.

"All the stainless-steel is certainly a big upgrade,” Graeme said.

Soils over the Symes’ properties range from good loams and heavy flats through to deep sands, and dry seeding conditions this year after some heavy summer rainfall, plus some of their highest ever crop yields last season, combined to set up a stern test for the new seeding system this season.

Their Morris Quantum air drill is configured with 30-centimetre tyne spacings and Primary Sales dual shoot seeding boots to apply additional nitrogen deeper in the soil profile, and the rig is pulled by a 500-horsepower Case IH Quadtrac.

“We start seeding in the first week of April, with the aim to finish by the middle of May, so we generally dry-sow and the conditions were very tough this year,” Graeme said.

“We received about 40mm in December and 60mm in January, which can make the heavy flats go like cement and it was tough going in places, but it got through.

"You can see the bar has been designed for Australia with its strength.

“The Quantum also has really big wheels and excellent flotation.

"We can have some seepage come out of the hills onto the tracks and the bin went in a little bit, but the bar just floated over it.

"The C2 would have been in trouble there.”

Graeme said the heavy stubble residues from last year were going to be a challenge, but they were impressed with the Quantum air drill’s trash handling ability, which he said was also aided by its four-row design.

“We had our most profitable yields last year from some big crops.

“We use a trash cutter and we burned 80ha.

"We also sowed the heaviest barley paddocks on an eight-degree angle.

“There was a full amount of straw on the ground and we only blocked once.

“There’s no doubt it’s the best bar we’ve ever owned.”

The Symes’ Quantum air drill also incorporated Morris’ Auto-Lift and Auto-Pack technology, which Graeme said they were still learning to use effectively.

The Auto-Lift allows for automatic lifting and lowering of tynes, making headland turns easy, while Auto-Pack automatically adjusts the air drill’s packing pressure according to the soil conditions, providing for correctly closed and packed furrows in order to achieve an ideal seedbed environment.

Other features not lost on the family included a significantly improved airkit design, which helped avoid restrictions, and a narrower transport width of just 5.4m, which was a good advantage considering they had to travel about 10 kilometres between properties.

Graeme said the family had been familiar with Morris Input Control Technology (ICT) on its air carts, however he said the system on the latest 9550 model was better set up and the calibration via an App was now much easier.

He said metering accuracy with Morris air carts had always been excellent and it was no different with the latest system.

“We can’t fault the accuracy and the use of a dual fan rather than a single system provides even more control.

“We sow canola down to 1.35kg (/ha).

"We had 18kg leftover and it should have been 20kg, so the metering accuracy is brilliant.”

It was also the Symes’ second Morris air cart with a conveyor and Graeme said they “wouldn’t go back” (to an auger).

“There’s no potential damage (to grain) and it reduces your fill times – it’s excellent.”

The family’s tow-between Morris 9550 air cart also incorporates double pivot geometry, which recognises the two drawbar pins on the front and rear of the air cart and correctly tracks the bar around corners, ensuring accurate ICT coverage.