Efficient spraying helps NSW farmer cut costs and stay ahead

Crestmead, Queensland (21 August, 2025) – For North Star beef and grain producer, Angus Siddins, keeping on top of weeds while protecting precious soil moisture is a non-negotiable. Managing more than 7,500 hectares at ‘Yannarie’, he’s built his farming system around conservation principles – and machinery that supports those goals.

It’s this approach that has him eyeing the new John Deere R975i trailed sprayer, a model designed with efficiency, precision and lower running costs in mind.

Mr Siddins runs a mixed operation of beef cattle, wheat, barley, chickpeas, sorghum and both irrigated and dryland cotton. He’s an advocate for no-till farming, preferring to manage weeds through spraying instead of traditional tillage.

The 36-metre boom spray with TerrainCommand™ Pro automatically maintains a constant spray height on uneven ground.

“We are in the business of farming moisture before anything else, and no-till farming gives us the fullest bucket at the start of the season,” Mr Siddins said.

“Spraying is the key component of our system, the driver that enables us to preserve stubble, reduce weeds and retain moisture.”

In 2023, he added a John Deere 412R self-propelled sprayer with See & Spray™ Select to his machinery line-up – a decision that has already paid dividends. Now, he’s looking at the MY2025 R975i trailed sprayer to expand both capacity and efficiency across his enterprise.

“Spraying is the key component of our system, the driver that enables us to preserve stubble, reduce weeds and retain moisture,” Mr Siddins said.

The R975i is built with productivity in mind. It comes equipped with a 7,500-litre tank featuring PowrSpray™ technology for rapid filling, mixing and rinsing, a 36-metre boom with TerrainCommand™ Pro for consistent spray height on uneven ground, and a 3-metre track spacing to suit controlled traffic farming.

Optional See & Spray Select camera technology can identify green weeds as small as 1.5cm and trigger targeted herbicide application, reducing chemical use while improving control.

“The R975i trailed sprayer is attractive to us because it provides more capacity, less compaction, and the running costs are lower, which is what it’s all about now – reducing costs to increase profitability,” Mr Siddins said.

“The See & Spray Select technology has proven to be hugely beneficial in getting across the country efficiently. Everything is based on time, so if you can do that more efficiently with less downtime, you’re just miles in front.”

John Deere’s See & Spray Select integrated camera technology, which detects green weeds as small as 1.5cm in fallow and triggers a targeted treatment application.

John Deere Production and Precision Ag Marketing Manager, Royce Bell, said the R975i shares many of the advanced features found in Deere’s self-propelled sprayers.

“In addition to See & Spray Select the R975i trailed sprayers have all the integrated technology similar to our self-propelled sprayers with G5 Display and data captured through Operations Center as well as other great features,” Mr Bell said.

He highlighted the unique tank position, mounted between the trailer chassis, which lowers the centre of gravity and improves stability. The TerrainCommand™ Pro boom system ensures uniform spray application, while Solution Command and Active Pause simplify chemical handling and minimise risk during filling.

“As well as accurately controlling weeds, the R975i conserves moisture through its spacing for controlled traffic farming,” Mr Bell said. “And growers who just want to run a trailed sprayer on its own can still access the versatility of in-season and summer fallow spraying through choosing See & Spray Select.”

For Mr Siddins, efficiency and cost-control remain the key motivators. With a proven self-propelled sprayer already delivering results, adding the R975i to his operation is the next step in staying productive – and profitable – well into the future.

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