Rural
19 May, 2023
Hopes high after ideal lead-up to planting
Ken Hinkley isn’t in a hurry to see the autumn break set in – in fact, if it holds off for another week or two he might even feel relieved. “We started at the end of February preparing paddocks for seeding and planting,” Mr Hinkley said...
Ken Hinkley isn’t in a hurry to see the autumn break set in – in fact, if it holds off for another week or two he might even feel relieved.
“We started at the end of February preparing paddocks for seeding and planting,” Mr Hinkley said.
“We were still doing a bit of spraying into early March and also fixing up bog holes (from the wet spring harvest).”
Mr Hinkley and his wife Vicki run KY Pastoral Co with their son Dale and Dale’s wife Holly.
The operation covers 10,000 hectares at Wilkur, midway between Birchip and Warracknabeal.
Mr Hinkley bought the property 32 years ago.
Today it’s largely given over to cropping, producing canola, wheat, barley, lentils and vetch.
The Hinkleys run some sheep as well.
This year the family is looking on the bright side, thankful for a rather dry few months after a soggy start to spring.
“It was a really wet harvest, with October being the wettest month – the wettest I’ve seen – and those conditions ran right into harvest,” Mr Hinkley said.
“When we were windrowing the canola just before we harvested we were getting bogged frequently, and then at the beginning of the canola harvest the harvesters were getting bogged.
“We were forced to go around a lot of wet areas and then go back to them.
“Then we had about a month of drier weather so things improved but we didn’t finish until the middle of February so it really dragged it out.”
Preparation for the new season began literally as the Hinkleys were still wrapping up the last of their harvest.
“We’ve planned for a-bit-above-average planting, putting in canola, barley, lentils and vetch, in the same ratio as normal,” Mr Hinkley said.
“We’ve had very little rain since October but over summer you don’t really need a lot of rain – it just creates weeds and costs.
“It can rain anytime it likes from the end of March onwards but we can go without it until the end of April or even May.”
After what was a challenging harvest for many eastern-seaboard farmers, Mr Hinkley is now nearing the end of planting, buoyed by the hope that what has been an ideal lead-up continues throughout the new growing season.
The dry start to 2023 has certainly been in contrast to the latter part of last year, when rain dominated weather reports.
KY Pastoral Co has three of its own combines, Case IH 8240 Axial-Flows, and for the last harvest enlisted the help of two contractors.
At peak times KY had five or six harvesters working its paddocks at the same time.
“The yields from the last harvest were very good – above average – and the prices held up,” Mr Hinkley said.
“The quality of the wheat, barley and canola was also unexpectedly good.”
KY Pastoral machinery manager Peter Funcke works closely with Paul Okely and said the equipment had proved invaluable as the team juggled the most recent harvest.
“The 8240s helped to reduce operator fatigue, proving easy to service and maintain, and the technology features worked to enhance machine performance and the end result,” Mr Funcke said.
“The cab is comfortable and a lot of thought has gone into the design of it.
“It gives operators a great view of the front of the combine which makes things easier, and the multifunction armrest controller has all our adjustments and settings for the harvester to help maximise yields.
“It’s all complemented by the Pro 700 display which controls the functions of the harvester as to what’s going on and alerts the operator in advance of anything that may be going amiss so we can address anything we need to as quickly as possible.”
The performance of its existing fleet of 8240s has prompted KY Pastoral to order one of the latest Case IH 50-Series Axial Flows, which should be delivered in the next few months by the local O’Connors Birchip dealership.
Mr Hinkley said it was the service and support provided by O’Connors that had led to the longevity of his family’s relationship with Case IH.
Mr Funcke said the team was “looking forward to more of the same” from the new 8250, in addition to the benefits of the new harvester’s enhanced AFS technology.
Mr Hinkley said the technology advancements in today’s machinery must not underestimated, making life easier for the operator and improving the business’s bottom line.
“I remember the early days when there was nothing like auto steer – it was all very basic,” he said.
“In the 1980s we started to get some minimal technology and then in the last few decades the improvement in the technology and electronics has just been fantastic.
“It improves productivity because everything’s accurate.
“Drivers definitely don’t get as fatigued because they’re not having to concentrate constantly on where they are: they can look around to what’s in front of them, what’s behind them, look at the machine, and yet it keeps on driving nice and straight.
“It’s brilliant.”