Sprayers aimed at reducing costs and enhancing productivity
Now available to order, John Deere’s 4-Series self-propelled sprayers for 2021 feature several changes over existing models.
Tepper and his wife Jessie-May run Ngapara Crop Services from their home at Ngapara, inland from Oamaru.
The Teppers bought the machine last August, looking for more capacity and features.
“We were looking for a machine that could do more than we were doing before – more work in the same time,” Tepper says. “We had to look for a slightly bigger machine with more capacity and more power.”
Croplands says he considered another sprayer but settled on the RoGator because of its high specifications.
Says Tepper, “It’s well spec’d out for what we wanted to do and it has the ability to spray everything that we needed.”
Most of Ngapara Crop Services’ work is on dairy farms, applying Pro Gibb and liquid N and spraying out pasture. Spraying feed crops such as fodder beet and kale is also a big part of the work, and a small amount of grain crops.
The RoGator RG900 has a 30m boom, whereas Tepper’s previous machine had a 24m boom.
RoGator booms are said to set the industry benchmark for control and accuracy and have stable pressure over their entire length.
“The longer boom means we can get across the ground quicker and we can cover more ground. It also has the automatic boom height control so it adjusts it for us. You set everything before you get to the paddock and then just drive it,” says Tepper.
Raven AutoBoom improves the RoGator’s accuracy when spraying and helps avoid costly damage to the boom wings.
“A lot of our work is on hills so that’s where you’re always working your boom height,” Tepper says. “The machine’s boom height sensors… make a lot less work for me. It’s one less worry when you’re working on hills, as you have a lot to concentrate on when you’re spraying. It makes life a lot easier for me.”
The RG900 also has GPS auto steer. Combined with the automatic boom height control, the auto steer puts Tepper under less stress in the cab and he can put in a longer day.
At 280hp, the RG900 is twice as powerful as Tepper’s previous sprayer. It has four-wheel steer and 4WD hydro transmission.
“The extra power means we can drive faster and cover more ground…. When you’re going on a hill it’s important. The slowest you can go uphill limits what size nozzle you can use, so your slowest speed governs your top speed downhill too.”
The RoGator RG900 also saves time: it does 50km/h on the road, and it has a 3500L tank, which means less time spent refilling.
Its hydraulically adjustable wheel track can be extended to 4.0m wide for stability on hills. And the adjustable track means it can move quickly and easily among a wide variety of crops, crop heights and field conditions.
“You can widen out your wheels for stability when you’re working on the hills; that’s a great feature. It helps get to those places that you’d normally feel uncomfortable with,” Tepper says.
Air suspension with an anti-roll system on the front and rear axles smooth out the ride, while keeping the booms at a consistent height.
The machine’s pressurised cab keeps chemicals out. The cab is designed for maximum operator comfort and ease.
The Raven Viper GPS controller has a weather station and a Slingshot system which transfers job data back to the office computer.
“The weather station is a great feature and allows me to constantly monitor the conditions while spraying. The Slingshot allows me to record weather data and coverage mapping to send to clients when the job is completed.”
The RoGator management centre displays the engine and drive status, and critical liquid system parameters including wheel tracking, field lighting and foam marking.
Four RoGator models are available, from 2650L to 6000L tank capacity.
Tel. 027 248 6822
