Grower Wayne Ziesemer has been able to significantly improve his operation since moving to the new Orthman 1tRIPr strip till system which is built to place fertiliser and prepare the seed bed in the one pass.

Wayne runs a 1,500-hectare cropping operation spread across two properties at Bongeen, 55 km west of Toowoomba with his wife Leanne and parents, Peter and Daph Ziesemer. His summer cropping operation includes a rotation of 500 hectares of sorghum with either 500 hectares of corn or cotton depending on seasonal conditions.

His decision to move to the Orthman 1tRIPr six months ago was based on the machine’s ability to combine strip till and nutrient placement at two depths in the one pass.

The Orthman 1tRIPr, distributed through Muddy River Agricultural, is built to perform in the heaviest of stubble, with its ability to cut the soil surface and subsurface residue, while ensuring consistent depth due to its parallel linkages. In comparison, conventional till systems can lead to soil compaction due to the increased number of passes required to plough or till the soil prior to fertiliser application.

“We were impressed by the fact that the machine has been tried and tested in the United States with operators finding it can deliver up to 15 to 20 per cent yield increases, which makes it an appealing choice for our operation” said Wayne.

Potential fuel savings were also appealing for Wayne. “Fewer passes translates to lower fuel costs which adds to our overall profitability.”

“Using the Orthman, we had a beautiful plant line to follow and we were exceptionally pleased with the consistency of the seed bed. A good seed bed means good yields so we’re looking forward to a promising season ahead.”

Wayne’s machine has been modified to ensure it can meet the varied fertiliser requirements for both his irrigated and non-irrigated land.

“We ordered the 18.28 m model but had it modified so that it can fold to 9.14 m when working on our irrigated property, which requires smaller equipment due to the heavier soil. Being able to space the machine accordingly gives us a lot of flexibility and saved us having to buy two pieces of equipment.”

Two one tonne Anhydrous fertiliser tanks are attached to either side of the tractor during fertilising operations along with a 6,000 litre Simplicity air cart which is towed by a John Deere 8360RT.

“We planted our corn crops in early January as we got the rains on time. We were pleased with the strike and emergence rate of our corn which we put down to the previous working of the Orthman 1 tRIPr,” said Wayne.