Ollie drilling Winter Oil Seed Rape August 2003

We purchased the John Deere 8520T in August 2002, to replace the Challenger 55. The reasons for this change were driven by our increased acreage, a need for a little more power and the added efficiency derived from the automatic satellite guidance system. The gps system enables the operator to remove his hands from the steering wheel as the auto track system drives the tractor in a straight line. The tractor driver turns the machine on the headland presses the resume button and hey presto. We have found this system to be truly awesome in its precision and ease of use.

In the above image Winter Oil Seed Rape is being direct drilled into Winter Wheat stubble. We were able to do this with a daily output approaching 200 acres a day. You will notice that the drill is pulling the Optipac to maximise consolidation and moisture retention.

AutoFarm’s touch screen control module

We invested in a fully automated DGPS satellite guidance system for the combine. This was made up of Autofarm’s various components making use of John Deer’s Starfire SF2 receiver which at the time of purchase was deemed to offer the most accurate satellite position available withought going to the expense of a full RTK system.
Was it worthwhile? You bet, greater productivity achieved due to faster forward speeds, a full header on every run, unloading the crop into trailers at 8 kph is a breeze, every land a perfect cut, concentration in keeping a straight line replaced by the monitoring of the combine’s systems. Working in the dark, effortless!