With around 10 hectares of sports playing fields across two campuses, The Southport School (TSS) on the Gold Coast is considered one of Queensland’s premier sporting institutions.
The school boasts former students including US Masters Champion Adam Scott, former Wallabies captain Nathan Sharpe and AFL premiership winner Clark Keating, along with multiple Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes.
However, while TSS students were performing over and above on-field, the equipment the school’s turf managers were using was struggling to keep up with the demands placed on the fields.
“A lot of our gear was ageing. Some of our mowers were 15-plus years old and on their last legs,” TSS Head of Grounds, Nicholas Newman, said.
“We came up with a shopping list of the equipment we needed, and the school threw their support behind the team and said yes, we will do that.
“We got a John Deere 7700A PrecisionCutTM Fairway Mower which we just think is absolutely amazing. We’ve tried various other brands, but we just really like everything about this machine.
“And the 4066R Tractor is an absolute powerhouse, eating up everything we have thrown at it.”
“We are thrilled, especially with the load and carrying capacity of our John Deere GatorTM, and we’ve also got a couple of ZTrakTM Zero-Turn mowers, the combination of which is allowing us to get through a lot more work with the power we now have. Plus, the equipment is just a lot better.”
While excited to chat about each of his new purchases, Mr Newman is perhaps most animated when talking about the John Deere ProGatorTM GPS PrecisionSprayer.
“This is going to be an amazing unit for us,” he said.
With budget considerations around fertiliser and chemicals, he said the sprayer will not only save the school money, but also cut down on labour and time.
“The precision of the unit, in applying product, whatever it may be, is obviously just going to pay dividends for us in the long run by reducing the overspray and missed spots you’d normally see with the old marking systems,” he said.
“We’ll also benefit from improved record- keeping capabilities, with the data that we are getting back from the unit allowing us to see how well it has actually sprayed and where we are still not quite hitting our desired application rates.
“We can then change what we are doing and work on our technique so that we can improve, which might be as simple as changing our spray application speed.”
With around 1,500 students from pre-school to Year 12, the school’s sporting facilities are high-traffic areas. Fields are in constant use right across the year, meaning maintenance time can be limited.
Mr Newman said the ProGator 2030A GPS PrecisionSprayer had also helped save his team time, which was vital when working under such tight windows to spray. This includes reducing the time spent spraying fields from two to three days, to covering the grounds in just one.
“The other thing we’ve found operating it is you don’t get the same driver fatigue as sitting behind a spray unit. You can just set it and then it’s happy days.
“I don’t see it replacing anybody in terms of labour, but it’s allowing us to get the job done more efficiently and then move on to the next thing.
“It’s creating more time for us, which allows us to get a lot of other things done with a limited amount of resources.”
With a year-round sporting program that takes in rugby, cricket and soccer, Mr Newman is confident he now has the right tools at his disposal to ensure the next generation of athletes will play on some of the best facilities in the region.
Article courtesy of The Approach, John Deere Limited, August 2022.
Product in focus: GPS Progator
John Deere’s new ProGatorTM 2030A GPS is set to revolutionise spraying in turf applications, thanks to Deere’s AutoTracTM Guidance system; greater accuracy via individual nozzle control, and the proven StarFireTM GPS receiver giving turf managers greater than ever confidence around spray application.
Technology to the Fore
Arguably the most exciting element of the GPS Progator is the ProGatorTM Global Positioning System (GPS) and its integration with key machine functions including rate control, individual nozzle control, field documentation and hands-free guidance.
We spoke with Chris Bond from RDO Equipment’s VNET Precision Agriculture team, who see great opportunities for grounds managers around productivity, input costs and operator comfort efficiency.
AutotracTM Guidance
AutoTrac assisted steering system greatly increases operator productivity by maintaining consistent accuracy and efficiency. Operators remain more alert while they are in the field and are able to focus on implement settings and varying field conditions. “AutoTrac also allows operators to confidently create evenly spaced rows past sunset, as well as in rain, dust, or fog.” says Chris.
“AutoTrac allows the machine operator to select from a variety of guidance modes including straight track, AB curves, adaptive curves, circle track, boundary fill, machine access, and swap track. These tracking options allow the operator to select the track best suited for the field and conditions reducing the number of passes needed to cover the field.”
Greenstar Rate Controller
The GreenStar Rate Controller allows the GreenStar Generation 4 4640 Universal Display to integrate with the ProGator sprayer to accomplish automatic rate control, field documentation, and map- based prescriptions.
Section Control
John Deere Section Control, which is available via activation, turns on and off individual nozzles and/or the sprayer’s three boom sections based on global positioning system (GPS) and field coverage to help reduce overlap in headland and oddly shaped areas.
“Section Control offers far great control of coverage, with benefits realised around input costs, operator fatigue and land stewardship” said Chris.
JD Link Telematics
The JDLink modem and connection allows machine and field data to flow automatically to the John Deere Operations CenterTM application, in turn making it visible and useful to ground management teams.
