Backup support slashes downtime and drives business growth

A full moisture profile and adoption of precision agriculture has the Langley family well-placed for a strong season ahead at their Winchelsea district holding “The Cap”, 40km from Geelong.
 
The family unit, which includes David and his wife Tracey and two sons Will and Charlie, lead the mixed-cropping enterprise that typically comprises canola, faba beans, wheat and sheep across the home property and on some leased land that has been secured close by.
 
The third and fourth generation growers have prioritised the integration of precision agriculture to improve the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of their farming operation and believe it will help support  long term success of their business.
 
“Precision agriculture has allowed our business to grow and develop, as we have been able to tailor the technology so it’s addressing what we want to achieve, be that improving the quality of our soil, or reducing input costs,” David said.

“We are constantly rolling out small trials for our seeding rate and fertiliser application to increase our paddock yields and this has been done with the support of both our agronomist and Brandt.”
 
Will, who has grown up in the digital age and has a solid foundation of technical skills to draw from, said the ongoing support of the Brandt Precision Ag team had been integral to the effective on-farm application of precision agriculture tools.
 
“Having access to all this new technology is a fantastic start, but without backup support from a dealership to demonstrate how to use it, and to teach you how you can get the most out of it, you can’t really gain its full potential,” Will said.
 

Running Deeres

David can't remember a time when John Deere equipment hasn't been vital to farming The Cap's volcanic, heavy-clay loam soils and noted the first green machine used on the property was a John Deere AR purchased by his dad, Lynton, in 1942.

The Langley’s fleet of workhorses has since rapidly evolved, and now includes two John Deere S780 combines and 8245R, 8370R and 9470R Tractors, as well as a few older models.
 
Each machine is connected through the John Deere Operations Center, which allows both David and Will to monitor equipment while it’s in the paddock and to analyse the on-farm data collected throughout the season.
 
“We have made good use out of the Analyse tool in the Operations Center, where you can really break down all your figures. Running trials is easy as there is very little manual input required, it’s just a couple flicks of a button in the tractor and you can record the data,” Will said.
 
Regular on-farm visits from Brandt Agriculture staff are complemented by John Deere Connected Support^TM, which gives technicians the ability to remotely predict and diagnose issues, and trouble shoot remotely. Through Connected Support, Brandt has all the information needed to send the right parts and tools from the outset, to ensure repairs are completed quickly.
 
“I have to say our main technician, Brett Swan, has been a game changer for us,” David said. “He has been able to steer us through everything, and really teach us how we can get the most out of this technology. It doesn’t matter if it’s something we bought yesterday, or a machine bought several years ago, he will always be able help.”
 

Keeping the wheels turning

Will noted Brandt Agriculture’s support had slashed machinery downtime, something that is key during time-critical phases of the production cycle, such as sowing.
 
“They understand where we are coming from with our urgency to get up and running again,” he said.
 
A recent example of this came in the form of an oil delivery from the Brandt Agriculturet Colac parts van, David explained.
 
“We were full-tilt sowing, spraying and spreading all at once and had every machine working in the paddock,” he said. “To get the oil ourselves, it would have meant downtime for someone who was operating the seeder, spreader or sprayer to go and collect it.”
 
As one of the largest John Deere dealers in Australia, Brandt can maximise uptime with a vast parts selection and factory-trained technicians.
 
“The supply of parts has also been remarkable, we have a 1963 model John Deere Tractor and we can still get parts for it straight away, which is extraordinary,” David said. “It’s a team effort with the support we get from Brandt, even if we ring on a weekend or late at night, there is someone helping us straight away.” 
 
Brandt Agriculture is committed to supporting farmers like David through Precision Ag, parts, service and more to ensure a successful yield, year in and year out.