GreenPro - implements for small farms
A tractor with implements is an essential tool for getting work done around the farm (as I recently wrote about here). At Cheslyn Rise, our 258-acre property, we have a 75 HP tractor with front bucket and forklift tynes. We have ploughs, a hay rake, cultivator drill (seeder), an 800 L spray tank and a slasher. At Eight Acres, we only had a tiny 15 HP tractor with a slasher. Often we wish we could use the big tractor there too, but it's just not practical to transport it.
When I write about farm work we’ve done using our big tractor, I usually get questions from readers about how to do these things on a smaller scale, for a hobby farm or lifestyle block, especially our recent pasture seeding, which required two ploughs and the cultivator drill. Until recently, I haven’t had any answers. I think it's an issue that we’ve all experienced, it's hard to justify buying even a small tractor for a small hobby farm, and even if you do buy one (ours is second hand), it's hard to find appropriate implements, that’s why we only have a slasher. We haven’t been able to plant pasture on our small farm, and we are always lugging around manual spray packs because we haven’t found any implements suitable for an ATV or small tractor.
Back in 2015, Ben Hestehauge Product Manager from greenPRO contacted me to tell me about their new range of implements for small farms I instantly saw the potential for this equipment. Since then they have continued to develop their three leading products for small farms - The ATV-Pulled 6-IN-1 Seeder, The Solar Powered Travelling Irrigator, and ATV Sprayer Trailer, all of which are designed to be towed by an ATV. greenPRO contacted me again recently and asked me to update my post, as they wanted to make sure that you have the latest information about these exciting products.
greenPRO is based in Warana on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, and are a division of Quik Corp, a company that has been manufacturing premium agricultural equipment for over 28 years. It’s important to me to that they have a history of manufacturing, as the components are more likely to be good quality. The implements are also made in Australia, and you know I like to support local manufacturers.
We are still planning for greenPRO to bring the implements out to show us (they are very busy attending field days, so if you’re interested, check the greenPRO Field Day page on their website to see if they will be at an event near you) and I hope to eventually tell you what I think when I see them in person. In the meantime, here’s an overview of each of the implements. If you have a small farm and want to improve your pasture, I think it would be worth looking into these options, as they are the right size (and price) for hobby farmers.
The ATV Sprayer Trailer
The greenPRO Sprayer Trailer is available in 200, 300 and 400 L tank size and designed to be towed behind an ATV. With a range of pump configurations, 4 m boom, and 20 m hose with spray nozzle, this can be set up to suit any application. We use our big sprayer to spray organic fertilisers, herbicide to kill Lantana (although I’m not a big fan of spraying weeds, sometimes it is needed if weeds are toxic to livestock), and it's our back-up firefighting rig if we lose power to the house. This smaller version would be ideal for a small farm and would have saved us lugging around manual spray packs when we wanted to spray weeds. You could even use it to safely cart stock water to distant paddocks.
You can find more information about the Sprayer Trailer on the greenPRO website by clicking here and watch videos on how the Sprayer Trailer works on their YouTube Channel here.
The ATV-Pulled 6-IN-1 Seeder
The greenPRO ATV-Pulled 6-IN-1 Seeder is my favourite of the small farm implements. It can disc, plough, fertilise, seed, cover and roll your new pasture in a single pass, you only need to buy one implement to do all that work, and its quicker than using multiple implements. It comes in two models, a Single Box Seeder and a Dual Box Seeder, both of which can be towed by an ATV or small tractor. This would be ideal for planting pasture on a small farm. We have seen massive improvements in carrying capacity from just the small amount of pasture that we have sown so far using our big tractor, and if you currently have poor pasture, you will see the value in this implement too. This is one job that is very difficult to do manually, you really do need some kind of implement, but it would be impractical to bring in a large tractor to do this on a small property. The ATV-Pulled 6-IN-1 Seeder is perfect for improving pasture on a small farm as it can easily manoeuvre around trees and fence lines and fits through tight gates.
You can find more information about the ATV-Pulled 6-IN-1 Seeder on the greenPRO website by clicking here and watch videos on how it the Seeder operates on their YouTube Channel here.
Solar Powered Travelling Irrigator
The greenPRO Solar Powered Travelling Irrigator is a 100m roll of hose that you set up and extend by hand or using an ATV, and the hose automatically retracts with variable speed control using a 12V motor. The 12V motor allows the hose to retract without wasting any water pressure on winding in the sprinkler.
The Solar Powered Travelling Irrigator is built with "Set and Forget" technology, allowing the irrigator to automatically water a large section of your paddock for pasture growth, crop or dust control. The travelling irrigator only requires 20 psi water pressure to operate which is significantly less water pressure than most travelling irrigators on the market because the sprinkler is retracted using the 12V motor rather than using the pressure from water like other irrigators. The 20watt solar panel charges the battery for 20 hours, and the automatic shut-off system allows the irrigator to run during the night. The Solar Powered Travelling Irrigator from greenPRO has been designed for small farm applications.
You can find more information about the Solar Powered Travelling Irrigator range on the greenPRO website here and watch videos on how it operates on their YouTube Channel here.
Could you see yourself using these implements on your small farm? Any questions for greenPRO?
If you want to know more, you can contact greenPro on 1800 270 810 or email info@greenpro.com.au
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