Small changes can deliver big savings on arable farms

Concerns about fuel and fertiliser prices are increasing at the same time that arable growers are heading into their busy, input heavy planting season.

While they have little control over pricing, FAR technology manager Chris Smith says they can make the most of a range of tools to ensure that inputs are being used as efficiently as possible; noting that many options are already available in tractor cabs or farm offices.

“One of the most reliable places to start is with guidance and auto-steer.

Manual driving inevitably means overlaps, often five to ten percent across a typical day’s work.

Auto-steer trims that down dramatically, usually to between one and three percent.

This small adjustment in accuracy brings a surprisingly large payoff.

Straighter passes don’t just look tidier, they reduce throttle variation, lower operator fatigue, and keep machinery working more efficiently.

The gains become even more pronounced when visibility drops, whether that’s spraying at night, working with wide implements, or operating in the flat, hazy light that often blankets the Canterbury Plains.

Most farmers who move from manual steering to a decent guidance system can expect to burn five to twelve percent less diesel across a season.”

Chris says such technology doesn’t have to be expensive.

“Not all GPS systems are equal, but choosing the right level of accuracy can prevent unnecessary spending.

SouthPAN, which is free and works anywhere with a clear sky view, is already accurate enough for mapping tasks and jobs that don’t demand precision.

At the next level up, services like CentrePoint RTX offer near-RTK accuracy once they have converged, making them ideal for spreading or spraying where consistent two-to-three centimetre repeatability is valuable.

Farmers wanting instant, high-accuracy performance for tasks like precision planting or strip-till will still find RTK hard to beat; although it’s worth remembering that RTK will never pay for itself through fuel savings alone.

Its value comes from a combination of factors including time savings, reduced overlap, lower fatigue, and the ability to manage inputs more precisely.”

Product placement is the other thing growers should be thinking about in terms of input efficiency.

Smith notes that even a basic guidance system typically knocks two to seven percent off chemical or fertiliser use, while adding section control tightens this further, often delivering total savings of more than ten percent once overlap is removed on headlands and around awkward field shapes.

“The real step change comes from variable rate application (VRA).

Across a set of typical New Zealand paddocks, nitrogen savings of five to twenty percent aren’t unusual, while phosphate and potash can drop by ten to twenty-five percent.”

Lime is often the standout, with well-mapped paddocks showing reductions of twenty to fifty percent as over-supplied zones are corrected rather than blanket-treated.

Seed savings are normally smaller but can still add up, Smith notes.

He says to make VRA genuinely effective, several pieces need to work together.

The cost of upgrading to VRA-capable equipment is usually around $20,000 over a standard machine, but in years when fertiliser prices spike, payback can come surprisingly quickly.

Machinery setup is another area where savings can be made, says Smith.

“Many jobs on an arable farm simply don’t require a large tractor, yet the temptation to jump on the most comfortable or most powerful machine is strong.

Matching horsepower to the actual job can cut fuel use by twenty to forty percent on lighter tasks.

The difference between a 100-horsepower tractor burning eight to ten litres an hour and a 200-horsepower machine burning up to twenty litres adds up quickly.”

Tyre pressures are also important; correcting inflation can save five to ten percent in fuel during light work and up to twenty percent for heavy machinery.

Lower pressures in the paddock reduce wheel slip and improve traction, while higher road pressures reduce rolling resistance on the way home.

The key message?

Small refinements, applied consistently, can deliver significant savings.

All growers can implement some of the ideas listed above and, over time, move towards using them to their full potential.