IT is no lie that 2020 has proven difficult for all.
Despite the challenges, Seed Terminator reached their 200th machine install milestone right here in SA recently.
The machine that pulverises weed seeds during the harvest process was invented by Dr Nick Berry of Kangaroo Island.
Founder and director of commercial, Mark Ashendon said the Seed Terminator 2020 unit was attached a CaseIH 9240 harvester on the Yorke Peninsula.
"The 200th machine, to me, means that we've grown up as a company," he said.
"This is a celebration of 10 years of work into research and science, and four years of practical application across Australia."
The Seed Terminator tackles a problem inherent to crop farming: the fact the harvesting process is the weed's best friend.
Because when the crop is cut, once the chaff and grain have been separated, the harvester flings the chaff back onto the ground.
This includes the seeds of weeds that have escaped or resisted the various stages of herbicide spraying - in other words, the toughest customers of all.
A simple attachment to the back of the combine harvester, the Seed Terminator mechanically devitalises the chaff and weed fraction, killing 99 per cent of weed seeds.
After working closely with farmer research partners over some 281 harvests, the Seed Terminator technology is paddock proven and farmer focused, Mr Ashendon said.
"While they've increased the number of weed seeds killed by the mill, that's not the only measure of achievement," he said.
"They've also evolved the mill technology over the past four years to drive down the cost of the wearing parts and how long they last, and to increasingly decrease the amount of power used in the process."
SA farmer Duncan McKay of McKay Brothers Farming invested in the technology for their wheat, barley and lentil cropping program at Paskeville on the Yorke Peninsula.
"The issue we have in most farming situations is we're always competing with weeds, we're trying to get on top of weeds and lower our costs," Mr McKay said.
Mr McKay is really excited to see what it can do in the next couple of years.
Previously they have been managing their ryegrass with oaten hay for export, but "having this machine on board, we can get rid of those weed seeds and keep chemical costs down, it's a win win."
The Seed Terminator is Australian designed and Australian made for Australian farmers.
The team at Seed Terminator know they are celebrating this success because of the partnerships they've developed in SA, Australia and overseas and wish to extend a big thanks to all those involved.
