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Maximum input efficiency with Case IH’s grain analyser technology

Release Date: 12 Sep 2016
Case IH Axial Flow Combine
Farmers and contractors are eagerly awaiting Case IH’s release of the 3000H On-Combine Grain Analyser in order to monitor grain protein in cereals and oil percentage in oilseeds in real time during harvest. South Australian farmer Terry Schmucker is one step ahead, having already utilised the analyser, and his feedback suggests the technology will be as useful for managing inputs as it is for segregating grain off the header.

Terry grows cereals on the upper Eyre Peninsula. With a large variation in soil type, the 3000H provides him with the ability to compare yield maps verses grain protein maps and assess the efficiency of crop inputs such as nitrogen fertilizer.

“The data’s been really exciting because it’s showed up areas that have high yield high protein, high yield low protein, low yield high protein and low yield low protein,” explains Terry, “It gives us another tool to understand what’s happening.”

With an annual rainfall of just 300ml there’s not much room for error, according to Terry. “We can see the areas of high yield high protein, and if we add more nitrogen then what can actually happen on our farm because of the low rainfall, we can end up with low yield and high protein because we’ve overdone the nitrogen. Whereas high yield low protein tells us we can still go higher with the nitrogen safely.

“Nitrogen is fixed differently between our soil types. With information from the 3000H we can better understand what’s going on and target our nitrogen inputs more effectively. It gives us a different dimension of what’s happening in the paddock.

“Farming in our area is intensifying with more and more inputs, but we’ve got a history of drought. We’ve recently had a number of good years in a row but when the dry years return then a lot of farmers will be looking for ways to use lower inputs and take on less risk.”

The Case IH 3000H On-Combine Grain Analyser will also provide farmers with the ability to segregate grain in the paddock based upon its quality, and to blend grain to maximize farm gate pricing. For Terry, this concept taught him a lot about the storage and handling machines at his local silos and the variations in them.

“I always thought there wasn’t much variation but I’d take a bucket in and get that bucket tested a few times to calibrate our machine, and there was one stage when their protein machine had a variation of 1%,” says Terry, “In the past we have no way of knowing how the machines work, we’re just told a number and that’s how it is. But when you have your own protein machine you can actually get a picture of what’s going on.”

Terry’s looking forward to using the technology to segregate grain off the header next harvest and now has a good idea of how that can work at the local silos.

“If we’re going to split loads successfully, we need to have a small margin for protein above the silo’s segregation levels and still keep an eye on the other grain qualities like screenings and the new higher test weight.”

The 3000H On-Combine Grain Analyser also measures grain moisture and Terry found there was a high easement accuracy, allowing him to base key decisions on the data.

“The moisture on the 3000H was very accurate and consistent to the local delivery points,” says Terry, who explained that after a rain event, even when we think it’s time to get back in the paddock we have previously waited an extra 2 or 3 hours to ensure we’re not turned away at the delivery point due to moisture, particularly when the property is quite a distance away.

“With the 3000H we had confidence that when we reap we knew exactly what the moisture was. With our old moisture meter we’d allow at least 1% whereas with the moisture meter on the 3000H we knew it measured the grain the same way and was in tune with the local silos.”

The 3000H On-Combine Grain Analyser is a technological breakthrough for farmers looking to improve on productivity and maximise profit. It is Australian designed and developed to deliver fast and accurate results, with information fed to a ten-inch touchscreen display in the cab, including real time mapping of quality. The 3000H is now available for delivery with the MY16 Axial-Flow 140 and 240 Series combines, and will also be available at your local Case IH dealership via parts to retrofit to older machines.

Case IH’s range of precision farming solutions lets you get the most out of your harvest by reducing waste and maximising productivity with unbeatable accuracy. For a limited time only, Case IH is offering 0% interest on all AFS precision farming products, through CNH Industrial Capital. This offer is only available until October 31, with no full payment until June 2017.

For more information see your local Case IH dealer or visit www.caseih.com.

12/09/2016
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