Bourgault Australia has its finger on the pulse at seeding time, knowing the problems farmers are looking to solve and providing the machinery to help
Transport width, trash flow and overall size are big issues in the minds of farmers when it comes to seeding equipment, Bourgault Australia’s Mark Harrison says.
The company’s operations manager for eastern Australia has seen a shift towards farmers wanting larger machinery to get more done quickly, while also seeking increases in efficiency via technology – plus the potentially conflicting requirement of also having a manageable transport width.
Bourgault has been known for its 91300 Air Cart, which offers a capacity of more than 45,000L – but this is more than a broadacre beast relying purely on its size.
While this is not a brand-new product, having been part of Bourgault’s local offering for several years, examples of its take-up and usage provide an insight into many of the industry trends and priorities that Harrison outlines.
The concept of maximising efficiency and doing more with less is hardly a new phenomenon, but Bourgault’s air carts have many characteristics which feed into this and which Harrison says is impacting machinery upgrading decisions.
“They’ve only got X number of staff so they might be going from a 20,000L cart to a 30,000L or 35,000L cart to have less fill time and maximise efficiency that way,” he says.
“We’ve sold a number of our largest air carts to some larger growers; customers who are running two shifts a day.
“People are usually trying to link the size of their cart in with their shifts. If they’re running two shifts a day, they don’t want to stop halfway or three-quarters of the way through a shift.
“They want to be able to fill up and do a full shift with one operator, so there are people that are upgrading purely on linking that in with the shifts for the day.
“They are getting some massive acres done on one fill because the cart is significantly bigger than everything else that’s on the market.”
Sheer size is clearly a point of difference for Bourgault in the market, but the usage of technology is another focal point for both customers and staff.
“Section control is taking off quite a lot and we’re finding a lot of these 9000 Series carts are getting section control fitted on them, which is working well,” Harrison says.
“Training staff on the section control and how to use a lot of this technology has become very important.
“Our territory managers are doing some in-house training, trying to skill up on some of the features that Bourgault offers so you can train the operators and staff to use it correctly.”
Another unique feature offered by Bourgault’s air carts is the DynaCal live rate monitoring system.
“It means the machine will automatically calibrate itself as you’re sowing, so we’re training people on how to use it and fill the machine,” Harrison says.
DynaCal works in tandem with weigh scales, which are standard on the 9000 Series.
Harrison says this is another reason why the 9000 Series is becoming a popular choice for customers looking at maximising their efficiency.
“Customers are finding that with the DynaCal feature the system will detect one or two small changes in rate across a tank fill, which is ultimately detecting a change in seed and fertiliser density,” he says.
“Customers can have their application rates within 1 per cent accuracy rather than possibly 7 or 8 per cent without DynaCal.
“Fertiliser density in particular can change quite a lot over a program and if a customer relies on the last calibration factor this can affect application rate significantly.
“For getting the rate perfect across the whole program, customers are looking towards weigh scales and the DynaCal feature on our 9000 Series.”
Bourgault also produces the 8000 Series air carts, which Harrison says is still the manufacturer’s “bread and butter”, but these additional features such as weigh scales as standard – plus the greater capacity – is leading customers to shift towards the larger machines in the 9000 Series, he says.
Drilling down
The latest addition to Bourgault’s Australian product range has been the 4420 DKD deep knife drill.
It offers something new from Bourgault; a new style seeder bar with a new opener, front fertiliser knife and a seed knife.
Its point of difference is the front fertiliser knife, which is a deep ripping knife capable of placing fertiliser 120-165mm into the ground.
The seed knife follows behind on a parallel arm to give accurate seed placement and depth setting.
The 4420 DKD also plays into the themes of transport width and trash flow which Harrison mentions.
It is available in 12m and 18m working widths, making it a big machine capable of working with Bourgault’s biggest air carts, but both models fold to just 5.5m wide with TruTrac coulters fitted or 5.35m without coulters for easy transport.
“We can produce them with and without coulters and you can get an extended frame, so you’ve got quite a lot of trash flow on the extended frame machine,” he says.
“We’ve sold a number on both the west coast and east coast and the demos they’ve had in Western Australia have been really positive. We are hoping to see quite a take up on these machines in our early order program.”
This early order program Harrison mentions is a special promotion which Bourgault started in May, and which runs until July 31.
Bourgault has well-stocked factories on both side of Australia – located in Albury and Perth – but customers with specific requests are encouraged to order during this window, with discounts providing a further sweetener.
“If a customer wants a specific machine and places an order in that date range, then if we don’t have it in stock we can order it at the factory,” Harrison says.
“We carry quite a lot of stock in Albury and Perth but if someone wants something specific, then it’s best to order earlier.
“There are large discounts there, but obviously we have time to place orders on the factory for something specific and able to have everything shipped in time.”
When it comes to its factories, Bourgault Australia also extends an open invitation to customers who wish to see first-hand what the manufacturer can offer.
“People are welcome to come through either of the facilities in Perth or Albury – come for a tour, look at the machines and parts availability,” Harrison says.
“Bourgault Australia has invested quite a bit of money in the two facilities – including staff, large workshops, a lot of yard space and a lot of stock.”
Bourgault Australia’s full product range, and early order program details, are available at www.bourgault.com/en-au
