Farming In Focus - Summer 2023

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Jarrod Stephenson, Cadmac Machinery Wagga Wagga and Wodonga Centre

have probably outstripped the cost of owning a Speedtiller ® , it’s also their availability. If you can’t get them, you can’t get them. Whereas if you’ve got the machine parked in the shed, it’s there and ready to go, isn’t it? “We have moved more of the bigger machines in the past few years, maybe coupled with the Instant Asset Write-Off, and perhaps conditions are more favourable, too. But I think the difficulty obtaining weed spraying chemicals has also forced a few to look outside the box.” Jarrod grew up on a cattle station in the NT near Pine Creek before moving to the Riverina district about 20 years ago. He owned a steel fabrication business as well as holding other business

After a number of wetter-than- average seasons, weed control is a major issue on farms and especially for broadacre cropping operations. Coupled with a spike in the cost of chemicals and fertilisers, many farmers have been picking up the phone to Jarrod Stephenson of CadMac Machinery Sales and Service. Jarrod, the General Manager of the company’s retail operations in Wodonga and Wagga Wagga, has noted a strong uptick in sales for one product in particular. “We have seen a big influx in the last couple of years on the K-Line Ag Speedtiller® as people are turning to other methods to manage weeds,” he says. “It’s not just that the chemicals

management roles before joining CadMac about 5 years ago. He enjoys the challenge of working in a diverse region that includes mixed use farms, broadacre cropping, fruit orchards and vineyards, but says that 2022 was especially challenging for many of his customers. “It’s been very wet. We’re only just getting headers going now, and we’re a couple of days off December. So there’s been a lot of failed crops,” he says. “It’s a big commitment to put the crop in the ground. If it looks like it’s going to be a good season, you throw a fair bit at it. And then you get all that rain and get to this point of the year and you’re looking at a failed crop. It’s different to a drought year, where

“We have seen a big influx in the last couple of years on the K-Line Ag Speedtiller ® ” says CadMac’s Jarrod Stephenson

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