Adding to the Simplicity range in 2018 is an 18m (59ft) wide Simplicity Allrounder bar that is proving its worth in trying country on a Yorke Peninsula grain growing property in South Australia.
The robust bar is doing its second year of planting for the Slade family as part of their 3200ha (7907-ac) cropping program near Yorketown SA.
Andrew Slade said the Simplicity bar, that sports hydraulic tines, has held together remarkably well despite some testing ground conditions which includes limestone ridges.
“For a seeder to make it through a season here unscathed is pretty rare,” Andrew said. “But we’ve had a great run with the Simplicity. We are always working around rocks and ridges in this country and the bar has performed very well.”
Slade Farming is run by Andrew and his brother Martin and their father Richard. The cropping program includes wheat, lentils, canola, beans and barley and the country varies from heavy, red soils to deep non-wetting sands with plenty of limestone reefs and rocks.
“With the rocky nature of our farm, build quality and strength were the main features we were looking for in a new bar,” Andrew said.
Their previous bar was a spring tine design and as part of their research to buy a new machine, the Slades spoke to Simplicity owners from Western Australia and other states. “We knew the bar needed to be built extra strong,” Andrew said. “And we were also looking for a floating hitch to help with contour following.” After the sowing was done last year with the Allrounder 308 bar, set up on 254mm (10-inch) row spacings, Andrew was impressed.
“We have been very happy with it. It’s really paid off. It’s a slightly more expensive bar but the heavy build quality has been fantastic.” Being able to control the downforce on the hydraulic tynes on-the-go is another plus for Andrew.
“The country is quite varied so being able to adjust the downforce on the tynes is a good feature and very easy to adjust. It’s done from in the tractor cab and the gauge is easy to see. “The large flotation tyres also do a great job.”
The Simplicity Allrounder 308 bar was purchased through dealer G & J East in Kadina SA. The 18m (59ft) bar has front castering wheels and a floating hitch and is run as a tow-between set up with the seeding bins and hoppers trailed behind the bar. Tines are fitted with a 75mm (3-inch), paired-row boot.
A spherical bearing on the top and bottom of the hydraulic ram on each tine means side loads are not transferred to the shaft seals or cylinder barrel. The result is a significant increase in seal life and general long term wear.
Each tine’s break out (45-340kg) is adjustable “on-the-go” and has built in clever geometry. During breakout, the resistance force is initially increased, but as the tyne continues to be pushed back (on hitting a large obstacle for example) the tine pressure then continually reduces, allowing for a “stump-jump” action.
Once the obstacle is cleared the tine will then return to its working position at a controlled speed using oil flow as the dampener. The result not only reduces damage to the shank and point, but the whole bar frame is not fatigued by heavy jarring recoils.
The 308’s main frame is made of 100mm x 100mm x 9mm thick box steel for maximum strength. Row widths can be 200mm, 250mm, 300mm or 330mm.
Tines weigh is 29.6kg in an open design and with five bars on the frame this helps trash flow. Andrew said trash flow has been good and the 18m (59ft) bar is easy to fold. “The phasing rams and fold sequence is smooth and simple. It works well. We had a good strike of the crop last season too, so yeah, it’s done a bloody good job to date.”
Simplicity seeding bars and carts are made in Dalby Qld, and have a reputation for exceptional build quality and ease of use.
For more details contact your nearest Simplicity dealer on tel: 07 4660 6000
or see the full range at: www.simplicityaus.com.au
Simplicity Australia began its journey in a backyard shed but today is a major player on the world stage and at the cutting edge of airseeder technology. Located in Dalby Qld the Simplicity factory hosts “state of the art” manufacturing technology, finely tuned by its skilled workforce and onsite engineering design teamThe first Simplicity unit that emerged in 1980 was a small unit by today’s standards. A mere 700 litres, and it used a simple auger and slide-metering system.
But founding partner David Law wasn’t going to stay at that level. After witnessing the initial positive reaction to its simple design but highly effective seeding distribution method, in 1982 David Law purchased the business outright and set out on a path to create one of the Australia’s greatest manufacturing feats.
In the following years, David Law always levied his business on the most current manufacturing technology and it followed that Simplicity models achieved a quality build. All of this done in-house where any immediate product development upgrades could be put into effect.
Simplicity has been at the forefront of Air seeder design and during the 80’s set the foundation for custom designs. Simplicity made one of the first front mounted seeders for cotton growing with the ability to apply fertiliser using linkage equipment.
Eventually the independent drive system David Law developed was the precursor to fully variable rate systems for GPS.
The hydraulic drive system did not require a ground speed factor but it was the forerunner to electric drive systems. And the electric drives did take into account ground speed inputs to offer a rate controlled drive system.
Get down to the Simplicity factory and you will see one of the world’s widest ranges of Air Seeders available. From small-mounted models, trailed behind and between, on two or four wheels in a massive range of capacities and formats.
Simplicity is still very much an all-Australian made success story with David law’s son Troy taking over as general manager in 2001, and maintaining the Simplicity endeavour to set and keep ahead of trends. Such as matching ISO platforms where a virtual terminal on a mainstream ISO tractor or guidance screen allows you to operate in a ‘task control’ function to produce multilayered variable rate maps.
Functions that many growers seek will be progressively added to the ISO capabilities of Simplicity models as it’s an area that is continually under operational testing.
