How see and spray technology is helping reduce input costs

With input costs so high, producers are looking at ways to be more efficient and minimise usage. That is where Hutcheon and Pearce believe its John Deere 616R self-propelled sprayer stands out from the rest.

The 616R uses John Deere’s See and Spray Select technology which has been tested to significantly reduce herbicide use. The spray technology saw Hutcheon & Pearce awarded runner-up in the Henty Machine of the Year. Hutcheon and Pearce integrated solutions and precision agriculture manager Hamish Ross said See and Spray Select is a game changer when it comes to saving on inputs.

“The 616R has a 36-metre boom which has 36 cameras on it,” he said. “These RGB cameras pick up the green in the weed and send information to 12 processors which activate the nozzles. “The processors select which of the six rotatable nozzles is needed.

“Nozzles can be set up to individual or to have nozzle overlap which can hit a weed from both front and back. “The increased spray sensitivity means this machine can target both small or large weeds.

“It is extremely accurate. We have put a five-cent piece on a draper mat and the cameras have picked it up. “Our tests have shown that See and Spray Select can reduce herbicide application by 77 per cent. “This is so important when you think about what farmers are paying for inputs today.”

The 616R comes with a 6000-litre tank and sprays up to a speed of 18 k/ph and, incorporated with the See and Spray Select technology, allows growers to spend more time spraying and less time refilling.

Mr Ross said the company were excited just to enter the Henty Machine of the Year awards. “We historically haven’t been able to enter tractors and headers so it was exciting to be part of it,” he said. “We are a third-generation business that started in Coolamon so to finish runner-up here is a really big thing for us.”

A version of this article was first published in theland.com.au on Thursday October 6, 2022, by Denis Howard.