WA farmer Simon Chipper knows his way around Morris agricultural products and its technology, enough so he is receiving calls for advice
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Simon Chipper with the family’s Morris 9365 air cart fitted with Input Control Technology (ICT)
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His use of a Morris 9365 air cart fitted with input control technology (ICT) has seen Chipper fielding queries about the ICT technology from interested farmers.
“We’ve had about five calls from other farmers asking about ICT,” Chipper says. “Dad got one at 6am on a Sunday morning – at least two of those ended up buying one.”
Chipper and his wife Sara, and parents Chris and Melody, farm wheat, barley, canola and oats and ewes from the 2900-hectare family property ‘Jimbin’, in York, Western Australia.
The Chipper’s Morris 9365 air cart with ICT features a 12-metre (40-foot) concept bar set on 22.5-centimetre (9-inch) tyne spacing’s with a single shoot boot arrangement.
The air cart comprises two 6400-litre tanks and another 5000-litre tank used for Flexi-N liquid fertiliser, with the Chippers using six ICT sections, equating to six 2m sections across the bar.
Chipper says after three seasons using ICT, he is convinced more than ever that investing in the technology was a great decision for the family operation, as it saved them significantly on inputs.
“We worked out the cost savings in the first year of using ICT, and in compound fertiliser and Flexi-N, we were saving about $35,000, plus seed,” Chipper says.
“Last year, the system would have easily paid for itself. It was better than what we expected and after the first year with it, we realised it would pay itself off a lot quicker than we initially thought.”
The Morris ICT is designed to eliminate overlap and save inputs by stopping product flow over the sections that are not required.
The ICT works via GPS and the new Topcon X35 controller with the Morris carts, using the gear drive system for the metering wheels to quickly engage or disengage, allowing instantaneous shut-off.
It runs individual metering wheels that can stop product immediately, however, the system remains primed with product and as soon as it re-engages, it is back in the air stream.
The new Topcon X35 also allows operators to manage and control applications via mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. The app and Bluetooth connectivity provides a mirrored view of the in-cab monitor, allowing calibration of the air cart without having to return to the cab to enter data.
The Chippers decided to purchase an ICT system after becoming increasingly concerned about overlap issues, mainly due to irregular, undulating paddocks dotted with trees and rock heaps.
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