Trimble’s Auto-Steering Capabilities Utilised in New Applications

Based near Dysart in the Central Highlands of QLD, Steve McLucas, heads the team at Roper Valley Pastoral company and is a 3rd generation farmer. After recently introducing trimble’s Auto Steering equipment onto his farm, Steve has already seen the benefits.

Steve first sought advice from his local Vantage-BMS team in Emerald after looking into Trimble’s Auto Steering products for controlling steering on his Caterpillar D8T dozer. Steve was looking to steer the dozer while using a 4m cutter bar to rejuvenate his pastures and control regrowth on his grazing country at a depth of 350mm below the ground surface.

Using freehand steering Steve was achieving approximately a 450mm overlap between passes. Using the AutoSteer in conjunction with Trimble CenterPoint RTX, for high accuracy GNSS corrections, Steve was amazed to see his overlap decrease to 50mm. This meant for every 10 runs, a complete run was saved.

Roper Valley Pastoral Company have also reported a fuel saving of at least 10%. Wear and tear on machinery has significantly reduced and so has their production costs. Less time in the field has been another huge bonus for Steve and his workers.

Since implementing the GFX-750 display and Auto Steering capabilities Steve has found other applications where he can apply the Trimble technology. By installing the Trimble WM Survey II app on the GFX-750 display he has been able to use the system to rejuvenate contour banks and drains. He also uses the system when building dams and ensuring the by-wash is at the appropriate level.

“I had used other brands of Auto Steering products before with little result so my expectations were low. I didn’t think Trimble’s products were going to be as good as it was. Thank God I was wrong.” 

Since implementing the GFX-750 display and Auto Steering capabilities Steve has found other applications where he can apply the Trimble technology. By installing the Trimble WM Survey II app on the GFX-750 display he has been able to use the system to rejuvenate contour banks and drains. He also uses the system when building dams and ensuring the by-wash is at the appropriate level.

“In terms of smoothness and accuracy with no drift, no other product I have tried steers this well.”​

Steve has also described Trimble’s products as highly adaptable thanks to their brand agnostic advantage, which made compatibility with Case machinery an effortless experience. 

“I was also very impressed with how helpful Vantage-BMS have been. They offered a broad range of knowledge so I could deal with one representative for advice rather than being referred to a number of people, regardless of the brand.”

To learn more about Trimble’s Auto Steering options and the best combination for your farming processes, reach out to your local Vantage representative by calling 1300 TRIMBLE. 
 

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