The Challenger is up for Duty! | Vlog 500

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]I don't think they need my help. I'll just do Matt's job and hold the camera.

[00:00:06]Feel a bit like a schizophrenic cat at the moment.

[00:00:16]Oh yeah, that's pretty good.

[00:00:29]Well guys, good day. It's new day. Uh, welcome. It's been um a trying 24 hours. I haven't picked up the camera much.

[00:00:42]Um, but we've just been having lots of little things going on. So, we've just had the second stripper arrive. Uh, so what what's happening? We're just loading up the plastic in the back. I just put the front on then. Um we've been having trouble um what's we've worked out the boys here Scotty and then we just couldn't figure out why they're leaving a little bit behind and um tightening it up and so it just wasn't making sense. So what they found has happened is um the planter we think one of the planters there was two planters one of them might have been on imperial which is accumulative the the area you know from the center out I think it's about 2 cm roughly every meter or 40 in you know by the time you get out to your 12 m it's a bit out so what's happening I'm just trying to find a good example here I can't really but I I fill. I'll show you an example when I can find it.

[00:01:45]But what's happening is when it's off, it lays the plant over like that and it'll pick all the stuff off the top side, but it leaves stuff on the bottom side. So, it's just not not doing as good a job as it as it normally would.

[00:02:01]And particularly this year, it's been um stripping beautifully. Like everything's just coming right off. So, it's probably the boys are just a little bit sad cuz they're wanting to do a real good job.

[00:02:12]So, um which I I get and obviously we'd like to get all the cotton off as much as we can, but that's just bit of a challenge. So, just said to them, we just got to keep going. So, that's what we're doing. Um they've been mucking around with the front trying to just widen them out a little bit. Um but the rows are different. So, here's a good example here. So you can see this side of the plant has got nothing and then this side's got it. So the plant would have leaned that way and um obviously it struggled to get the the stuff on the bottom.

[00:02:49]Um so you can just sort of see a bit of bit of white out there, but what are you going to do?

[00:02:56]So that's taken quite a bit to um resolve what was actually going on. And the boys thought they were going mad.

[00:03:03]They probably are going mad, but at least there was a legitimate reason.

[00:03:08]Um, so that front's set up a bit different. This one's just metric. So, we're just going to see how that goes.

[00:03:16]Um, the same with the picker front. The picker heads, you just wind a crank handle basically. But these here, you got undo bolts and all sorts. So, I'll um show you what what you do here. I was saying when they change over for the spacings, it's about a a six-hour job cuz you got to uh adjust the length of the hydraulic hoses because each unit lifts up. So, you just got the U-bolts. It looks easy. It's got Ubolts and then you just slide it, but you got to take the weight off. And then these guards here, you've got to they got different guards for the different spacings. So, yep. adversity, but it's pretty cool that we got something to harvest to be honest. So, I'm pretty pretty stoked about that. Um, and then the other issue was obviously the air cut. So, but Matt's going there now, which is good. Um, we got it sorted for the moment.

[00:04:15]Yeah.

[00:04:18]>> I don't think they need my help. I'll just do Matt's job and hold the camera.

[00:04:24]>> They're pretty heavy, too. E, those things.

[00:04:29]So I think from memory they hold five up there. Five rolls and each roll is about 25 rounds.

[00:04:48]I got me offside a little here.

[00:04:52]We're um we got our measuring devices.

[00:04:57]We're going to go and uh measure some cotton. We'll go and mark it out. We'll put the pink tape on the fence. Um so we had confirmation.

[00:05:07]Uh we got the Gonomist. They measured the planter for us. So yeah, one was metric, one was imperial.

[00:05:14]So, we're going to go and walk. We'll start here at the refuge just there. And then we'll just walk up to the end of the paddic. Try and mark this bit out before the sun goes down.

[00:05:26]So, Li's uh got home to school to uh help us measure, which she was really happy about.

[00:05:34]Weren't you, Li?

[00:05:35]>> So happy.

[00:05:36]>> Oh, yeah. You should have seen if looks could kill, I would have been dead, right, guys? Well, because um it's an accumulative error, we're just going to measure the whole width. So, it's 11 m to the outside to the outside of the planter. So, and if it's imperial, it'll be 11.3 or something.

[00:05:58]And um so, yeah, we're just going to do go along, measure it. So, that one's on 11. There we go.

[00:06:06]So, that's a metric. So, we'll mark it.

[00:06:09]Um, and we're just going to work our way up. So, I'm going to leave the GoPro here cuz it's extra weight and we'll go and do some measuring.

[00:06:18]Well, guys, we got that section marked out. Um, we've put tape along every run that we need to do uh with the metric. So, we got all the way up to the end here. We just run out of daylight, didn't we? We'll have another go tomorrow. Uh, at least that'll get the boys going in the morning if they get to this this paddic.

[00:06:42]So, it's about uh 15 cm overall difference with that 12 m between magic and Imperial.

[00:06:54]Doesn't sound like much, does it? It's just enough. So, anyway guys, we'll uh I'll call us. We'll go and see how the boys are going with the pickers and we'll um I'll see you tomorrow. Good on you.

[00:07:24]We're back again. We're um boys here are getting the strippers ready to go for a new day.

[00:07:30]We're um just been changing the Well, I haven't just these brushes and and wipers in the front. Um they just wear out a bit. We got Eno here. He's from Germany.

[00:07:45]>> So, he's uh he's working for Scotty during the the cotton season. So, it's a bit different. He was saying before in um what do you 41ks to drive to town?

[00:07:57]>> Yeah. 21ks >> to to get home at night. Um, which you know for us is just that's just pretty close actually.

[00:08:04]>> Thank you.

[00:08:04]>> And he he was thinking that's pretty wild. You have a left and a right and you're there. Eh, >> it's the other side from the com.

[00:08:13]>> That's right.

[00:08:14]>> Yeah, different perspective. So, yeah, he's enjoying his time over here and it's um good to see. Um, so yeah, they just been um getting everything ready to go to battle again. Uh, we didn't quite get this paddic done last night. boys, but they come um close.

[00:08:30]Um so the the rain is talking more positive than negative as far as some coming. So that's good. The other one there is just about ready to go, too. He's uh he did a hydraulic hose last night, so they'll get that sorted. Um so yeah, that's the progress report.

[00:08:50]Feel a bit like a schizophrenic cat at the moment. Matt's going to have a lot of fun trying to put all this together.

[00:08:58]going here, there, and everywhere. So, we been on the cotton, me and Li finished marking the paddic. Um, now we got the spreader. We've hooked up the big cat. Well, I'm in the process, I should say. I've just got to put the pin in a bit more, hook the electrics up, and we'll see whether it's going to all torque. Theoretically, it should. Um I don't know. We're just we're going. So bit of rain. They're talking more up than down. So we're just going to go and try and put a little bit of rear out where we've done the planter with the dry sewing. So Matt's on the other planter with the blue tractor. So it's busy. We got the weeder going. Uh the cotton's still going. Um Phil's just going to bring the truck back shortly.

[00:09:50]Uh he's emptied out the wind seed.

[00:09:52]Um, yeah. So, we're just going. So, I'll try and get this um just worst thing.

[00:10:00]Well, it's good when they're hooked up these 50 mil pins, but the downside is me and there.

[00:10:06]It's a tight fit, so you nearly need two people to hook the sucker up. Um, so yeah, we'll see. Not ideal track machine on the splitter, but it's only um 80 hectares. So, we're just going to get it out for the sake of time and even if we go a bit slower, make sure all the fillings are in place. So, we'll be getting rapid.

[00:10:31]Right. Got it all working here. Um all hooked up nice. I just put the uh Which one are we? Click that.

[00:10:42]Yeah, just changed the oil flow. So, it's pretty spot on as far as that drill's hooked. So, I'm just going to get a bit in here now. Phil's coming in the truck in about an hour.

[00:10:59]So, I might just um start filling this up and uh yeah, maybe give it a go. We'll just see. I don't know what we should have the gate on.

[00:11:13]125. Yeah, that's probably pretty good, eh?

[00:11:28]We're getting full.

[00:11:37]Oh, we nearly got seven ton in now. I think they can get 9 ton in, but I got to take it about 10ks down the paddic. So, I don't want to um have it spilling everywhere.

[00:11:56]I'm going to jump out cuz I'm going to overfill it.

[00:12:12]Oh yeah, that's pretty good. I could get more in the front, but Right.

[00:12:22]Ah. Oh, thank you. That's good. E.

[00:12:27]>> Yeah. Easy with two, isn't it? There it is. Got a bit of weight in. The old tires have got a a bulge, so that's good. We're going for comfort. Oh, well, guys, we're on the road.

[00:12:40]I just uh you guys that um have track machines, you know what they're like when I say that they buck like a mule over those bumps. And uh tell you what, I've been very impressed. Oh, there's a big old R.

[00:12:56]been getting a few of them now that she's getting a bit dry, but been very impressed with um this thing's got that floating hitch on it, man. Live. You can see it moving. Maybe not too well from the camera here, but boy, she's impressive.

[00:13:13]It's just taking all that probably like 80% of the kazazz out of the um tractor and um it's just making the the hitch ride real smooth. So, yep.

[00:13:28]Note yourself if you're going to put a track machine on something. Oh, he's getting excited, aren't you, bud? You can see him.

[00:13:38]He's a bit too big for you.

[00:13:42]He tune you up. Um, but yeah, I think it's sort of nearly a must have in that floating hitch. You can sort of see it bouncing around there with um especially a track one.

[00:13:55]I didn't notice it moving in the blue tractor. Probably the visibility is not quite as good either. Um, as far as where the cab is, but yeah, you can see it really clear.

[00:14:10]I don't even know the rate we're meant to be doing. Hey, I better check with Phil. I imagine we'd be a block. We got over six ton of barley to make there last year. So, I suppose we want to jam a fair bit on, but knowing that it's going to be a most likely a dry year, too. We don't want to Yeah, that's the dilemma, isn't it?

[00:14:33]Generally, we like to put in what we take out at least.

[00:14:39]But yeah, if it's a dry year, it might just sit there. But any mull over that while I'm driving down the road here.

[00:14:49]Well, we made it. Just fired up the spinners. Then there's a pre-start button here. All right, not that one.

[00:14:58]Ah, get out of that.

[00:15:01]Uh, pre-art. There we go. Pre-start mode.

[00:15:07]See if that goes now.

[00:15:10]We'll have a look.

[00:15:15]I don't think that No, that hadn't pre- started, has it?

[00:15:24]I've done something wrong and see what I've done wrong. Hit my coverage.

[00:15:32]I probably need to put that on. That's why.

[00:15:36]There we go.

[00:15:43]Right.

[00:15:45]Then we go off.

[00:15:49]Yep. Righty.

[00:15:52]So, we're doing 20 20ks. 21ks.

[00:15:57]We're putting some product out.

[00:16:01]Just sort of see it in the sunlight.

[00:16:05]It's good with the auto steer on the all the headland here. though I did a somehow we made a mistake when I mapped it. So I've got a gap I've got to fix up. So I'm going to put the camera down and I'll fix that up while I think about it. I got some dust hanging.

[00:16:25]She's um very still out there.

[00:16:30]Going about 20ks an hour.

[00:16:34]It's about as fast as I'm going to go without getting rattled out.

[00:16:39]Don't want the tracks getting too hot either.

[00:16:42]So, our old float hitch is working like a charm.

[00:16:49]Uh, we decided talking to Phil, we're going on with 240 kilos of um, ura, which should be about 100 110 units, I suppose.

[00:17:03]Um yeah, it's probably not quite the replacement value, but we um I don't at this stage it's a bit drier.

[00:17:14]We got more in the silo so for the shed.

[00:17:18]So if it if the season does go with us, we can we can jam more on down the track. So that's sort of our thinking there. rightly or wrongly.

[00:17:28]Uh there's lots of different strategies with um nitrogen application, there's lots of strategies just within neighbors, yet alone states and then worldwide, I'm sure.

[00:17:42]Yeah, it's all very different.

[00:17:45]So, I'm uh Oh, yeah. I've just got to do more of my headland here.

[00:17:54]Got to get used to getting over it a bit quicker. I've got um just on the little screen there, but that's about 3800 kilos.

[00:18:04]So, a bit over halfway.

[00:18:07]Um yeah, I should get up to this little tree tree line over here, I reckon. Easy enough.

[00:18:17]And I reckon about by the time I'm done, I reckon Phil will be here. So, Phil and dad, they got to bring the or fill the truck, then bring the organ out. So, um yeah. Well, guys, we run her out.

[00:18:30]I uh just got the truck driving now.

[00:18:33]That's good timing.

[00:18:36]Oh, here's the or first.

[00:18:39]Oh, thank Barney. Hey, Barney. He's very obedient.

[00:18:55]We need about um probably another 10 ton.

[00:19:02]So I'll just go and fill it and put uh do about 15 hectares and then come back fill it right up and then Phil can leave that'll keep them going at the back. So we'll go and build that out.

[00:19:26]Wow. I've just done me little 15 hectares. They're topping me up again.

[00:19:36]Just it tickles my fancy.

[00:19:39]Um, just being able to plug in the tractor, any tractor and go with all this electronics. It's a simple things in life really, isn't it? But how good was that? Just hook it on and go. And the thing that's um impressed me, not only that, but me me rates like spot on. I I did the old analog just to double check and it's uh about uh 242 kilos per hectare. So our target was 240.

[00:20:12]So yeah, how good is that? Not having to worry about calibrations and all that stuff. Now, I just changed the spinner speed for the section control. It was going probably a bit too hard, we felt.

[00:20:26]So, that's going good. You just come to a point run and you see it drop down the RPMs on the spinner and the belt slows down on that side. It's just Yeah, it's all very exciting when it works, isn't it?

[00:20:41]So, we're kicking some goals. So, we'll try and get this. So, I've only got another 40 hectares to go or 35. And then tomorrow we will, um, move down to the next block. It's down the road a fair bit. So, um, and then we'll get into that where Matt's been sewing the lin.

[00:21:02]That's the plan, I think. So, I need And the other good thing with this that we're loving is that we got the scales.

[00:21:09]It was a bit of an optional extra, of course. Everything costs more like the dual chains and that but how good is that?

[00:21:20]So I know I need 8 1/2 ton or 8.4 ton to finish the B cuz I don't really want to go back home with much in the bin. So I might have a you know couple hundred kilos maybe. That's what I'm sort of aiming on. Um just makes it so easy you're not guessing.

[00:21:39]So, we're on the final run here.

[00:21:44]Going to have about 200 kilos left, 300 kilos, something like that. So, I just haven't got mapped in. There's a little tree area there. So, that just means it's a little bit out, but I'll um I might go and shut the gate at the back so it doesn't rattle out going back home. And um yeah, we'll call that mission success.

[00:22:11]So just loving all this section control.

[00:22:16]It's unreal.

[00:22:18]Just makes it so handy and we're not wasting heaps of product.

[00:22:26]Anyway, we'll leave you there, guys.

[00:22:27]I'll um rattle me way home and have some uh get ready for a new day tomorrow.

[00:22:34]Thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next one.