Ag Grant

With the assistance in the form of a grant from the Central West Catchment Management Authority, the Coonabarabran High School Ag Farm has constructed a 3-point linkage Six-Tyne Direct Drill. Originally, the plan was to convert an old small (6-tyne) chisel plough, however, this proved hard to find in this area. So instead of this we acquired second hand tynes and purchased the steel to build the frame. The tynes have been kindly donated by Caroline and Archie Kennedy of Collie. This has saved the school $450 and was much appreciated in keeping down the expense of the whole project. The seed box has been taken from an existing school planting implement (called a Spider Seeder) and mounted on the frame. This seedbox is driven by an electric motor (connected to the tractor electrics) which rotates a sponge in the centre of the seedbox. It is possible to calibrate this seedbox (an activity the students learn to do before they can plant their crop) to plant both  large and small seeds, providing the versatility required a machine which is used in a range of situations.

These include planting annual crops with Elective Agriculture and Senior Agriculture classes, who carry out trials as part of their courses. For example, this year the Year 11 students are testing the effects of planting density in forage barley, and another trial, Year 9 and 10 students are testing different fertilizer rates in field peas. Also, Primary Industry classes from both Year 11 and 12 are required to establish and maintain crops as part of their Certificate II in Agriculture, so they are often involved in using the implement. Pasture improvement is another area where the Direct Drill will be employed. Already the Senior Ag and Primary Industry students have used it to sow Serradella and Arrowleaf Clover in the Sub-Tropical Pasture paddock.

Construction and design of the implement has been done by Marty Wilkin, along with Year 10 Metals and Construction class who cut the steel into the required lengths based on Marty’s design. The total cost of the project was approximately $3100, half of this cost was covered by the Central West CMA, who provide these grants to encourage conservation farming techniques. In having such an implement at the school, we are able to demonstrate the benefits to soil organic matter and structure to our up and coming agriculturalists.