Improving productivity at Harvest.
For harvesting contractor and 6th generation farmer, Lachie Finlay, from Mullaley NSW, embracing cutting-edge machinery has elevated his farming operations to new heights. As a contractor Mr Finlay harvests a large variety of crops, from wheat, barley and canola to chickpeas and sunflowers. On the 10,000 acre family farm, he has just finished a successful sorghum harvest.
A leap in efficiency and productivity was made by upgrading his standard Macdon feed system to the i-paddock Typhoon Feed Drum. The Typhoon Feed Drum has 25 solid steel fingers that aggressively grabs crops and pulls them through in a constant steady flow. With Mr Finlay noting “We picked up about 3km/hr in canola and I found it feeds more even, less wrapping, less maintenance, simpler design in sorghum and extremely big difference in sunflower – a big, stalky, bulky plant that is very hardy.”
2022 Summer harvest Mr Finlay was contracted to a canola crop that had floods, a windstorm and hail go through. This is where another innovative product that he has installed to his harvester front, The Feedstorm™ Cross Auger, came in handy. The auger is adjustable from cab, which gave great results when harvesting the crop that was “… above your head as well as below your boot in the same swath, so we really tested it there. As soon as you put that on, it’ll change your life especially in canola, those bushy lighter crops. We picked up an extra 2km/h,” said Mr Finlay. The Feedstorm™ is designed and made in Australia by Primary Sales to fit onto existing header fronts to replace the OEM cross augers.
As weather changes and operating costs put the pressure on to maximise the harvest window. Experimenting, trying out new harvester set ups, speaking to specialists and other growers can help increase efficiency, performance and keep grain losses at a minimum. When it comes to making changes and measuring loss, Mr. Finlay looks to his family of 4th generation harvester contractors for their experience and knowledge. They like to keep a close eye on their grain losses but are always looking for innovative ways to be more efficient. “We’re always trialing new things. Budget depending of course, we have a saying in our family, the more you mess around the more you find out. But you need to also have an educated guess at it.”
The combination of traditional farming wisdom with cutting edge technology can lead to extraordinary results. Lachie Finlay’s family have also designed their own sunflower trays which have greatly decreased their losses. The i-paddock Typhoon Feed Drum is a farmer designed solution to a farming problem. i-paddock was founded in 2011 by Mic and Marnie Fels, both qualified engineers who have been farming at their Halcyon Downs properties in Esperance, Western Australia since 1993.
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