Set and forget and the Seedmaster gets the job done

For the past 15 years, Scott Gladman has managed Gleeson Farms – a large mixed cropping enterprise one hour drive from Swan Hill in the Northern Mallee region of Victoria.

 

It’s a big operation with crops of wheat, barley, chickpeas, lentils, canola and oaten hay on high rotation. Every year 46,000 acres of crops need sowing on the property. No small feat.

 

Five years ago, the farm bought two 80-foot SeedMaster Toolbars to tackle the task. Scott Gladman says that since then, the machines have paid for themselves and more.

 

“There are so many acres on this property which need seeding, we simply can’t do it all ourselves. We often employ backpackers to do a lot of that work,” he said.

 

“The beauty of the SeedMaster Toolbar is that it is so simple and easy to use, you don’t need any experience to operate it like a pro.”

 

Scott says an initial inspection of the soil in the paddock is all that is required before you simply ‘set and forget’ with the toolbar.

 

“After setting the automatic packing pressure, you use a foot pedal to lift and lower the tynes into the ground, they engage, then you seed up the paddock. It’s so simple it’s not funny,” he said.

 

He loves the toolbars precision in placing the seed and fertiliser through its double shoot system and says it has a proven track record as the ultimate workhorse.

 

“Our toolbars work 24 hours a day, and in that time, they cover more than 1,200 acres,” he says.

 

Typical of arid country in the northern Mallee, the toolbar is often sowing dry paddocks. But when there is rain, it’s superb.

 

Scott says such is the reliability of the toolbar to get the job done in all weather conditions, the scheduled dates for sowing at Gleeson Farms are rarely moved.

 

“But if we hit unusually big rain and have to stop sowing, the beauty of the toolbar is once that weather has passed, it has the ability to speed up significantly,” he says.

 

“It has the capacity to seed more than 2,200 acres in 24 hours to get our schedule back on track. It’s incredible.”

 

Other popular features of the toolbar according to Scott include the residue deflectors enabling effortless trash flow and the lift kit feature providing float boost when pulling through soft sand or wet mud.

 

Scott says travel mode on the toolbar also makes life easier with its very narrow width which is well suited to travelling down Mallee roads lined with many Mallee trees.

 

From a design perspective, Scott Gladman is a big fan of its active wing brace.

 

“There is a tension bar that goes from corner to corner of the toolbar and as you apply more packing pressure and make the bar work harder, it takes that stress rather than the wing.

 

He believes the clever design in bolting the toolbar together instead of welding it, gives it some flex and added strength when in action.

 

“Our two bars have clocked up 138,000 acres over the last six seasons. Yet in that time we have not touched either toolbar. We’ve never replaced the bushes or the pins on all the fold points. There are no cracks, or signs of wear and tear like other competitors.”

 

Scott applauds the team at O’Connors in Swan Hill which carries out routine servicing of the SeedMaster Toolbars.

 

“The O’Connors team do a terrific job of providing comprehensive customer service – it’s truly second to none. They know everything there is to know about these machines and are available around the clock.”

 

Scott Gladman says if you want a toolbar that is easy to use, low maintenance, a competitive price and made to last, you simply can’t go past the SeedMaster Toolbar.

 

Selected SeedMaster toolbars and openers are available for forward order now.

 

To lock your order in ahead of #Plant24, contact your local O’Connors’ branch.