Machinery godsend for farmers

IMAGINE being able to farm without needing to rely on the weather.

For Mt Tarampa farmers Tony and Pete Mula this is now the case thanks to a new piece of machinery they secured in May.

Tony and Pete purchased a 3m Rapid from Väderstad and are now able to cultivate anytime they want as long as there is a bit of moisture in the ground.

“We don't need to work around the weather anymore and plant whenever you want,” Pete said.

This is the first Rapid in Queensland and has been a blessing to the Mt Tarampa farmers.

“The accuracy of this machine is just incredible,” Tony said.

“The Rapid is able to sow any grain, forage, grass or specialty crop such as lucerne, millets and other small seeds to corn, soybean and sunflowers.”

So far Pete and Tony have been planting a lot of wheat and barley, but are ready to cultivate any seeds.

Pete said the machine was a blessing as it worked the ground first and planted at the same time.

“We have been able to save so much time and money,” he said.

The first Rapid machine was built in 1992 and since then there has been more than 17,000 made, with the first one still in use.

Tim Needham, Managing Director for Väderstad, said the machines were quickly finding a home in Australia.

The machine was first tested in Victoria but is now being used by farmers all across Australia.

“It's a unique cultivate and seed all in one operation,” he said.

This Rapid wasn't Pete and Tony's first choice of machine.

“We wanted to buy a new Carrier and needed a few extras,” Tony said.

Pete went on the internet and had a look at options they had and came across the machine.

Tim stopped by and showed off the Rapid, which had everything Tony and Pete wanted.

“We looked at other options but most of the Australian machines needs discs to be used in hard ground and not cultivated but this works on soft or hard ground,” Pete said.

With the weather not an issue anymore, Tony and Pete are available for contract cultivation and planting.