One would never have thought that efficiency improvements to high quality turf growing could have been influenced so significantly by global satellite positioning (GPS), but for Worcester based Teal Turf Ltd., it’s signalled a major enhancement in production techniques. The company, founded in 1990 by Peter Lole, farms 400 acres of prime sandy loam for turf production, supplying the general public, landscapers, garden centres, amenity and sports facilities to name but a few. High quality lawn turf production usually takes around 18 months and requires multiple operations to ensure the best result. “We concentrate on growing the highest quality turf, because that’s what our customers demand,” said Peter Lole, “we only use the highest quality Perennial Ryegrass and Fescue mixes, which although an expensive investment, helps us differentiate from the cheaper options.” Prior to seeding, the ground is prepared with several passes of equipment including; cultivation, stone burying, levelling, rolling, fertilising, seeding and then many sessions of rolling, mowing and brushing. Many of these procedures occur at a slow pace as low as 0.4km/Hr up to around 12km/Hr and often it is difficult for the operator to maintain straight lines and avoid gaps or overlapping, which is where the John Deere Precision Farming GPS system come into its own. Automated steering takes over from the operator and enables multi-tasking while maintaining high levels of accuracy. Peter commented “Roger, my father does much of the mowing and operating a nine metre specialist rotary mower behind a John Deere 6105R tractor. Making regular passes it was often difficult to see where the mower had cut on the previous run and there was a likelihood of missing some grass, but doubling over other areas, therefore it wasn’t very efficient. We had a demonstration of the Precision Farming - GreenStar system from local John Deere dealer Tallis Amos Group. It includes AutoSteer, which steers the tractor without intervention from the operator and allows for precise passes without overlap or gaps. As soon as we had used it, we could see it was so much easier and more efficient, and that I had to buy one. It has proven to be an absolutely accurate and ideal system for our purposes. We now have six John Deere tractors, all fitted with the GreenStar system and it makes us far more efficient in quality turf production.” With M-RTK signals through a sim card, accuracy is plus or minus 2 cm. Prior to the GreenStar equipment, there was always a danger of running down the same tracks and causing ruts, which inherently interferes with turf harvesting machines. Now, with Greenstar on our tractors fitted with wide turf tyres, the turf field can be crossed and catered to spread wheelings and it can all be done automatically without the operator having to think about where he is in the process.
The same applies for chemical and fertiliser applications as well as rolling and Peter Lole reckons it has saved him an immediate 10% in production costs.
“Previously, when turning on the headlands, we used to scuff the grass and lose a lot of turf production added Peter. “now, we don’t have to turn so sharp and come back in the run the next bout down, controlled by the GreenStar system. We now avoid almost total wastage from scuffing and tractor wheelings, which adds up to a significant improvement in efficiency and more turf per acre. The AMS specialist at Tallis Amos Group, Trevor Bolton came and set it all up. As a support resource they really know what they are doing, which makes a seemingly complicated technology, really simple to understand. The back-up has been excellent and Trevor is always at the end of a phone if we need to clarify or check something. Technology can be complicated so it’s nice to be able to have someone to rely on should we need help and assistance at any time.”
Picture caption; stone burying at 0.4 km/h can be demanding for the operator, but Green Star Precision Farming technology from John Deere, means the 6210R tractor purchased from Tallis Amos Group, steers in a straight line, automatically avoiding overlaps.
