How Much Is Herbicide Costing You?
MARCH 20, 2017
We have been travelling extensively in the last few weeks, covering NSW, Vic, Qld, SA, WA and Tas, performing demos and engaging with farmers in all regions. There is one topic on everyone’s lips – the increasing cost of and resistance to chemical sprays used to try to control tough weeds.
Paul, a farmer in Western Victoria, fights with common weeds such as heliotrope and melons every season resulting in him turning to high rates of glyphosate and other herbicides to keep the populations under control. This year, Paul would have had to spend around $24/Ha ($16/Ha – chemical, $8/Ha – application) on one of his most troublesome paddock to achieve a complete weedkill. The heliotrope plants would have taken up to 2 weeks to kill, taking valuable moisture from the ground all the while.
Using the BROOKFIELD D130D, Paul remarked that he was able to “rip out 100% of his weeds” at a cost of only $12.20/Ha! That’s a massive saving of 50%!
Spraying
| Expense | Cost (/Ha) |
|---|---|
| Chemical | $16.56 |
| Application | $7.85 |
| Total | $24.41 |
Disc Chain
| Expense | Cost (/Ha) |
|---|---|
| Application | $12.20 |
| Total | $12.20 |
Not only this, Paul can use the same tool for many other applications including stubble knockdown in the same pass and levelling before seeding!
How much is herbicide costing you?
