WESTERN Australian grower JP Van De Velde has enjoyed a taste of green-on-green (GoG) spot spraying and the latest in individual, pulse width modulation (PWM) nozzle control his Miller Nitro in his cropping program at Wagin this season and is now eager to maximise the benefits of these new technologies next year.
JP and his partner, Emma Anderson, farm WA’s renowned, former Jaloran Merino stud property in the Great Southern region. They have since expanded to now sow 3940 hectares to mostly canola, barley, oats and some lupin and hay crops, while they also run sheep over about 800ha of grassland and salt country during winter.
JP’s father, JJ, bought the farm in 2018 as part of a planned move from their farming property in South Africa before he was involved in a tragic road accident. They grew maize, corn, soybean and potatoes in South Africa.
At Jaloran, a 14,000-litre CHD tug-along sprayer with 36-metre boom was initially purchased for the cropping program, before JP earlier this season welcomed delivery of a Miller Intelligence Nitro 7380 model self-propelled sprayer, which also offers a 36m boom and 8000L tank capacity.
JP said with the CHD sprayer having worked for five to six seasons and the cropping operation growing, they were looking to improve the speed and efficiency of their spraying program.
He said the GoG capability, PWM technology and data management platform with the latest Miller sprayer caught his eye, as well as its revered front-mounted configuration and high clearance, but the main reason for choosing Miller was the added service backup and support through local dealer, McIntosh & Son at Katanning.
“With its clearance, we now no longer need to get aeroplanes in for late herbicide applications in canola,” JP said.
The Miller Intelligence 7380 features the manufacturer’s latest cab, including a 12.1-inch SprayView12 screen linked to New Holland’s PLM data management system, which was another convenient move following the Van De Velde’s recent acquisition of a New Holland harvester.
JP said after some customary early configurations with the system, everything had proved straight-forward and user friendly.
“We had the previous cab initially, but then we hopped into the new (Miller Intelligence) cab and it is a lot more ergonomic and comfortable, and the screen and joystick are a lot better to work with.”
Sidewinder Ultra consoles in the Miller Intelligence cabs have introduced advanced telematics, raising spraying application and machine data control and transfer to industry-leading levels, and they seamlessly integrate with all major data management systems, also including Case IH, John Deere and other data platforms.
JP said the biggest spraying advancement for them was the next generation of PWM control via the Miller Intellispray II nozzle system, which provided for consistent spray application at various speeds.
“Previously we had a two-tiered spray nozzle system regulated to speed and water rate. But if you went too slow, you would not have enough pressure, and at faster speeds you could have too much pressure,” JP said.
“Now with Miller and the Intellispray II, we set the pressure and get the same result with the sprayer no matter the speed. We previously used 100-litre (per ha) water rates in some paddocks, but with the pressure now constant with everything we do, we have been able to drop the rate back to 80L/ha with everything.
“In a decent day, we are now spraying 550ha.”
He said one of the “biggest winners” with the Miller Intellispray II PWM was also turn compensation, particularly for maintaining optimum control of herbicide-resistant grasses in headlands and tight working areas.
“Previously we had to come back over some of the corners of our crops. A week or two later we would see that we needed to spray weeds in these areas again.”
JP said the additional investment in the Bilberry weed identification system for GoG and green-on-brown (GoB) spot spraying was significant, but they considered it would be valuable and also were encouraged to adopt the technology by their farm business consultancy, Planfarm.
“We don’t have major radish and broadleaf weed problems, so we thought it could provide some good savings.”
“There is a lot to learn and work out with your brews and the hectares to cover, and we had some typical teething with learning how it works and some software and calibration issues, but then we did a little bit of the program with it this season and we could see the savings it will generate.
“We spot sprayed some late radish in barley and the results were phenomenal. We had 90 per cent plus (chemical) savings on the paddocks we did with it.
“Once you get a handle on everything, it’s the flick of a switch and is relatively easy to use.
“We are certainly looking forward to using the Bilberry over the program next year and replicating the significant savings in some paddocks.”
While summer rains have not been a factor in recent years, any falls this year also will spark the Miller sprayer and Bilberry system into action for GoB spot spraying.
In its first season at Jaloran, the Miller Intelligence 7380 already has clocked 700 hours and was recently completing the final 800ha of lupin crop-topping and canola desiccation.