Hardi’s new force on weeds

Hardi’s new TerraForce boom promises to increase spraying efficiency for broadacre farmers.

The TerraForce is available in 36, 38, 40 and 42 metre booms and is designed to accompany Hardi’s Commander trailers.

The new boom was rolled out across WA machinery dealers earlier this year.

Geraldton McIntosh and Son sales representative Dale Fowler said the sprayer was proving to be popular with farmers.

“There’s already been two ordered in this area and people looking to upgrade their sprayers are showing a lot of interest,” he said.

Northern Gully farmer Bruce Ley purchased a 36m TerraForce boom and an 8500 litre tank.

Bruce, who upgraded his old Hardi sprayer, said the TerraForce should be more robust and require less maintenance.

“We crop 8000 hectares of wheat, canola and lupins, so we have a large spraying operation,” he said.

“We’ll be using the TerraForce to start our spraying program at the end of April.”

The TerraForce boom marks a departure from the conventional trapeze system to a new pendulum design, which provides smoother movement between the boom and the trailer.

Hardi also incorporated dynamic stability control into the sprayer.

The boom is designed to absorb the impact of yaw movement, which is created when the sprayer runs over rough country or when it turns.

Mr Fowler said this was necessary for auto-steer systems in particular.

“Some auto-steer systems are aggressive getting on line and then there can be continued correction down the line which transfers yaw movement down the boom,” he said.

“This can be felt in the tractor seat and can damage the boom if not arrested.”

Hardi also increased the size of boom tubes on the TerraForce and attached new saddles to cope with increased application rates.

Hardi chief executive Graeme Johnson said the new Commander trailers allowed farmers to combine small tanks with big booms and vice versa.

“A 6500L tank with a 42m boom may not be that common, but it is desirable for farmers with smaller horsepower tractors and wanting wider booms,” Mr Johnson said.

“No doubt the new 8500 Commander will be the most popular, if existing orders are any indication.”