Talking Gear Tuesday EP22 catches up with Cal from Newells Contracting near Forbes NSW...
of Broadacre Contracting
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Legends, welcome back to another Talking Gear Tuesday.
This one is a bit different because we went from day to night.
Literally.
We started in daylight watching Perry Farming’s R4045 defoliate cotton, and by the time we reached the camera sprayer, it was around 8pm.
It put on a good show though.
Cameras, boom lights and nozzles firing in the dark.
A full disco of lights.
Need a spray contractor?
If you need a spray contractor across the Darling Downs, Western Downs, Southern Downs, Maranoa, Border Rivers or northern NSW, give Dillon at Broadacre Contracting a call on 0439 300 380.
We help growers connect with contractors running conventional sprayers, camera sprayers and other specialised application gear.
Perry Farming has indicated it may have contracting capacity within roughly 200km of Goondiwindi, including places such as Mungindi, Moonie, Westmar, St George, Garah and Dalby, where the job and timing suit.
Whether it is fallow spraying, cotton defoliation, broadacre applications or targeted camera spraying, Perry Farming may have the gear to help.
If they cannot, Broadacre Contracting can help get the request in front of other suitable operators.
We generally say Dillon is available from 6am to 9pm, but if it is genuinely urgent, ring.
Come baling time, the phone can ring at 2am or 3am.
That is how agriculture works.
If there is gear in the paddock, our team understands the pressure.
If you have time, create an account and post a tender through My Account > New Tender Post > Post the job.
Available contractors in the Broadacre network can then see the opportunity and respond. Growers can also choose the verified-members-only option when a job requires additional trust signals.
Righto, let us rip into it.
For Talking Gear Tuesday Episode 20, Dillon and the Broadacre Contracting film crew are back with Henry and the Perry Farming team around Goondiwindi.
If you caught Episode 16, you would have seen us yarn about their cotton operation and John Deere CP770 cotton pickers.
This time, we are looking at the spraying fleet.
Three John Deere sprayers.
Each set up with a different purpose.
All using precision nozzle-control technology.
And the flagship of the fleet is a John Deere 412R fitted with See & Spray camera technology.
This is the bit of gear everyone has been asking about.
A machine that can operate as a conventional broadcast sprayer or use cameras to target green weeds in fallow paddocks.
Henry summed it up simply:
“It is one machine, two tools in the toolbox.”
According to Henry, Perry Farming can move between its normal broadcast setup and targeted camera spraying in about five minutes as part of its operating process.
Twist the turret to the required tips.
Select the operating mode.
Clean the cameras and lights.
Then get going.
We saw it operating at night, and honestly, it was impressive.
What stood out when talking with Henry was that the Perry Farming sprayers are not three identical machines doing the same thing.
Each sprayer has a defined job within the operation.
The R4045 handles cotton defoliation and irrigation work.
The R4150i is described by Perry Farming as its European-spec workhorse.
The 412R provides the camera-spraying option while still remaining capable of conventional broadcast spraying.
That is not just buying machinery.
It is building a spraying system.
Each machine has a defined purpose, and together they allow Perry Farming to cover a broad range of cotton, fallow and broadacre work.
Perry Farming uses its John Deere R4045 for clients with cotton in their rotations and for much of its irrigation-country work.
Henry explained that the machine can be configured to suit different wheel centres.
It spreads out to four-metre centres for irrigation country, then works on three-metre centres for dryland and broadacre situations.
It is also fitted with John Deere ExactApply nozzle control.
Henry really broke down how Perry Farming fits its gear out.
It seems to me they do not hold back where a feature can meet a client requirement or improve job quality.
I would say they have seen the return on that investment time and time again.
Or, more importantly, they have listened to what their clients require.
Client investment.
We touched on this in the Bourke Harvesting CR11 and AF10 episodes.
The best contractors do not necessarily buy machinery because it is the newest or flashiest.
They invest because a client need, operational problem or quality requirement gives that technology a purpose.
When buying machinery now, we often do not have the option to buy a completely bare package that only sprays and steers.
Machines arrive bundled with capability, then offer more options, software and subscriptions on top.
That raises an important question.
Are we actually using the features we are paying for?
Would growers and contractors prefer more choice between a basic machine and a fully optioned one?
Or should operations change to take advantage of the technology already built into the machine?
There is no one answer.
But at the end of the day, what is the point of paying the dough if the capability never comes back to you?
ExactApply is John Deere’s advanced individual-nozzle and pulse-width-modulation spray-control system.
Its job is to help maintain the selected application rate, pressure and droplet characteristics while machine speed and boom movement change.
Rather than controlling large sections of the boom as one unit, ExactApply can control spray at each nozzle body.
It is important not to oversimplify A and B as automatically meaning coarse and fine.
The droplet spectrum depends on the nozzle tips fitted, the pressure, the application rate and how the operator configures the machine.
A and B are two controllable nozzle positions.
The operator chooses tips that suit the intended application.
I wanted to explain this in a way that someone interested in spraying could actually digest.
A lot of technology explanations become an overload of corporate language and specifications.
The reader gets to the end and still does not understand what the machine is doing.
So, simply put:
ExactApply helps the sprayer put the right amount out of the right nozzle while reducing unnecessary overlap.
The solenoids pulse.
The machine adjusts for speed and turns.
Each nozzle can shut off individually.
The operator has more control without jumping out every time the job changes.
If any of this is still confusing, or you want to see it operating across the Darling Downs, Western Downs or Border Rivers, give Dillon a call on 0439 300 380.
I would rather explain it over the phone or connect you with somebody running it than have you reading brochures for another hour.
And to John Deere, RDO, Hutcheon and Pearce or any dealer reading this, if any part needs clarification, call me.
I would welcome the correction and the opportunity to film a deeper technical walkthrough.
Individual-nozzle shutoff means each nozzle can operate as its own section.
On a conventional system with larger boom sections, part of a section may continue spraying into an area that has already been covered.
That overlap can happen around headlands, waterways, trees, irrigation infrastructure and irregular paddock edges.
ExactApply reduces the control width from metres of boom to the individual nozzle body.
The main value is not a magical saving percentage.
It is more precise application, less overlap and stronger consistency.
John Deere reports chemical savings of up to approximately 5% through the ExactApply setup under its stated conditions.
Actual results will depend on paddock shape, existing section control, nozzle spacing, operator setup and how much overlap occurred before the upgrade.
A 3,000ha program sprayed four times per year at an illustrative chemical cost of $15/ha creates an annual chemical spend of:
3,000ha × 4 passes × $15 = $180,000
A 5% reduction in unnecessary application would equal:
$180,000 × 5% = $9,000
This is an example only. Use the actual chemical cost, passes and overlap data from your own operation.
For a contractor, the value is broader than chemical alone.
It includes:
As a contractor, your reputation and job quality are everything.
You cannot buy reputation after you have lost it.
Personally, I would start with job quality and risk.
Then I would calculate cost and payback from there.
The second sprayer Perry Farming discussed was its John Deere R4150i European-spec machine.
It follows the same overall precision-application philosophy, with Perry Farming describing ExactApply-style control across the fleet.
We have not independently verified the complete Australian specification of this particular imported machine, so I am not going to fill the section with brochure figures that may not match Perry Farming’s unit.
The useful point is the role it plays.
The R4150i is the general workhorse between the specialised cotton machine and the camera-spraying flagship.
It helps give Perry Farming flexibility rather than forcing one machine to cover every application requirement.
The machine that drew the most attention was Perry Farming’s John Deere 412R fitted with See & Spray technology.
John Deere Australia lists the 412R with:
Perry Farming discussed running a 36m boom with 50cm nozzle spacing.
The business deliberately chose the smaller 412R platform rather than moving into the larger 6,000L-class sprayer.
The reason was not that they did not understand the productivity advantage of a bigger tank.
It was because they were balancing carrying capacity against machine weight, compaction and irrigation-country requirements.
That is a contractor thinking about the grower’s paddock, not only the number of hectares between fills.
Every spray job I know is generally charged on a hectare basis.
Filling more often can reduce daily hectares.
So deliberately selecting the smaller platform to reduce weight says a lot about how Perry Farming approaches the work.
That is client investment again.
The cab is also fully optioned for operator comfort.
The Perry Farming machines use tinted windows, which the team sees as a way to reduce daytime glare and eye fatigue.
The right tint may slightly change night visibility, but long-term operator fatigue also carries real risk.
It is another example of Perry Farming treating the operator as part of the system rather than somebody who simply sits in the seat.
John Deere See & Spray Select uses boom-mounted cameras, lighting and onboard image processing to identify green weeds on fallow ground or standing stubble.
Once the system identifies a weed, it directs the required nozzles to apply herbicide to that target.
If the camera does not identify a weed, those nozzles remain off.
The machine also retains broadcast-spraying capability.
Lights above the cameras allow the targeted system to operate during suitable night conditions.
That is what we saw during filming.
The boom lit up.
The cameras were searching.
The nozzles were firing where targets were detected.
It looked like a disco, but every light and every pulse had a job.
One important distinction needs to be made.
John Deere’s current Australian See & Spray Select material officially describes targeted spraying on fallow ground.
Perry Farming uses its R4045 for cotton defoliation and other cotton applications.
Do not assume every See & Spray package, licence or software generation is approved for every in-crop use.
Always confirm the exact system, supported crop, product label and application use with the dealer and chemical label before operating.
John Deere reports an average herbicide saving of 77% for See & Spray Select under its stated fallow testing conditions.
Those results were gathered across more than 30,000 hectares of fallow ground in Australia, the United States and Canada under typical weed-pressure and operating conditions.
That is an average, not a guarantee for every paddock.
The result will change with:
The dirtier the paddock, the smaller the percentage saving is likely to become.
The cleaner the fallow, the greater the opportunity to avoid spraying bare ground.
For planning, I would rather use a conservative scenario and beat it than promise a best-case result.
A 3,000ha fallow program with four passes per year at an illustrative chemical cost of $15/ha would equal:
3,000ha × 4 passes × $15 = $180,000 in annual chemical
At an illustrative 50% reduction:
$180,000 × 50% = $90,000 less chemical applied
At the reported 77% average:
$180,000 × 77% = $138,600 less chemical applied
These are examples, not promises. Contractor rates, weed pressure, spray mix, product labels, operating costs and actual machine performance must also be considered.
The benefit is not only the chemical invoice.
Targeted spraying may also allow a grower to use a stronger or more expensive mix against the weeds that are actually present without broadcasting that mix across every square metre.
That may support:
A camera spray contractor is not only selling application.
They are selling targeted input management.
That changes the conversation from simply asking, “What is your rate per hectare?”
The better question becomes:
What does the whole job cost after chemical, water, application quality and weed control are considered?
The APVMA published its final paraquat and diquat review decisions on 23 June 2026.
Paraquat remains available, but with substantial new restrictions around rates, permitted uses, handling, personal protective equipment and environmental risk.
The APVMA states that the general maximum application rate will be 231 grams of active ingredient per hectare.
A higher rate may apply to technology-assisted spot spraying where the application is limited to no more than 30% of the total area.
Newly manufactured product must carry the updated conditions, while existing stock is subject to a two-year phase-out period.
This does not mean every camera sprayer can automatically apply any paraquat rate.
The product label, supported use, machine setup and treated-area limits still control what is legal.
What it does mean is targeted application technology has become even more relevant to weed-management planning.
When the available chemistry, maximum rates and use patterns tighten, growers and contractors need to become more precise about where the product lands.
Camera spraying may help apply a treatment only to identified weeds rather than placing it across the full paddock.
But the operator must still comply with:
Recently, Greeny from the Catch My Drift podcast asked me whether the paraquat changes would create more opportunity for camera spray contractors.
I went on a complete tangent, as usual.
But the core point stands.
When chemistry becomes more restricted and expensive, precision stops looking like a luxury.
It becomes part of maintaining access, managing cost and getting the result with the tools still available.
Henry nailed the whole thing in one line.
“It is one machine, two tools in the toolbox.”
The 412R can perform conventional broadcast spraying and targeted See & Spray Select work.
For Perry Farming, that has helped consolidate work that might otherwise have required another tractor and separate spraying unit.
That may reduce:
The five-minute operational changeover described by Perry Farming is important.
If changing from blanket to targeted spraying took half a day, the technology would lose a lot of its flexibility.
If the same sprayer can change modes quickly, it can respond to the paddock and job instead of forcing the whole program to fit one application method.
The value is not that camera spraying replaces every blanket application.
The value is that the operator has both options available.
For growers around Goondiwindi, Mungindi, Moonie, Westmar, St George, Garah, Dalby, Chinchilla, Miles, Tara, Surat or Roma, it is worth asking what application method best suits the actual job.
If your current contractor does not offer camera spraying, that does not automatically mean they are doing anything wrong.
Camera spraying will not suit every paddock or every application.
But it is worth understanding whether targeted application could reduce total chemical cost or improve the weed-control strategy.
I asked Henry what the client feedback had been.
He said it was mixed, mainly because the technology was still new to many growers.
As the owner, Perry Farming loved it.
That response is fair.
Growers are putting their crop, fallow moisture, chemistry and weed-control outcome in the contractor’s hands.
They are allowed to ask questions before accepting a new approach.
New technology does not earn trust from the brochure.
It earns trust from jobs completed properly.
As more growers see the machine operating, compare chemical usage and inspect weed-control results, the conversation should become less about whether the cameras look impressive and more about whether the paddock outcome stacks up.
I also asked Henry about camera life.
John Deere had not provided Perry Farming with a simple advertised camera-life figure.
Henry’s view was that they would probably run out of useful hours on the sprayer before the cameras gave up.
At the time discussed, the unit was a little over 12 months old and had completed around 1,800 hours without a reported camera failure.
The cameras are exposed to:
Bulldust around Surat or Roma would test almost anything.
So 1,800 hours without a reported camera failure is a promising start.
It is not enough to declare the lifespan settled, but it is enough to show the system can operate in a commercial contracting environment.
The questions worth tracking over the next few seasons are:
If you know the answers from your own experience, share them.
That is the type of real-world information growers and contractors need.
Broadacre Contracting connects growers with spray contractors across Queensland, New South Wales and Australia’s major broadacre regions.
You can post a tender outlining:
Available contractors can then review the job and respond.
Verified contractors display stronger identity and operational trust signals, and growers can restrict a tender to verified contractors where required.
Broadacre does not take a commission from the job or sit in the middle of your rate negotiation.
Paid members can access the poster’s contact options and message directly through the platform.
Registered free users can view tender details but cannot access the poster’s identity, phone number or direct messaging.
Whether you need fallow camera spraying, conventional blanket spraying, cotton defoliation or a full-season spray program, give Dillon a call on 0439 300 380.
These resources may help growers and contractors watch the episode, understand the equipment and find a suitable spraying contractor.
If you need a conventional spray contractor, camera spray contractor, cotton defoliation contractor or targeted fallow spraying around Goondiwindi, Mungindi, Moonie, St George, Dalby, Chinchilla, Miles, Tara, Surat, Roma, Millmerran, Pittsworth, Gunnedah or the surrounding regions, Broadacre Contracting gives you a clearer place to start.
Watch the Perry Farming episode, browse spray listings or post a tender so contractors can review the job and respond.
John Deere Australia currently positions See & Spray Select for targeted or broadcast spraying on fallow ground and standing stubble. It uses cameras and image processing to detect green weeds and activate the required nozzles. Supported applications can vary by hardware generation, software licence and product label, so operators should confirm the exact approved use with their dealer.
John Deere reports an average herbicide saving of 77% under its stated fallow testing conditions. Individual results can be higher or lower depending on weed pressure, weed size, paddock conditions, camera settings, boom height, travel speed and the chemical program being compared.
Yes. The See & Spray Select setup retains both targeted and broadcast spraying capability. Henry described Perry Farming’s operating changeover as taking roughly five minutes, including selecting the appropriate nozzle setup and cleaning the cameras and lights.
See & Spray uses cameras and image processing to decide where targeted spray is required. ExactApply controls how the solution is delivered through each nozzle, including pulse-width modulation, individual-nozzle shutoff, turn compensation and A/B nozzle operation. The systems work together, but they perform different jobs.
John Deere Australia lists the 412R with a 4,542L solution tank, a 9.0L engine producing 326hp, CommandDrive hydrostatic four-wheel drive and boom options up to 40.23m. Perry Farming discussed using a 36m setup with camera and ExactApply technology.
Yes. John Deere offers lighting above the cameras on compatible machines so See & Spray Select can detect and target weeds at night when operating conditions are suitable. The Perry Farming episode includes footage of the system running after dark.
The APVMA’s final June 2026 decision introduced lower general maximum rates and other substantial restrictions. A higher rate may apply to technology-assisted spot spraying where no more than 30% of the area is treated. This makes targeted technology more relevant, but every application must still comply with the current registered label, treated-area limits, PPE, buffer zones and other conditions.
It depends on annual hectares, passes, weed pressure, chemical costs, the contractor’s rate and how much product the targeted system avoids applying. Operations with large fallow programs and relatively low weed density generally have a stronger opportunity for savings. Growers should compare the complete cost per successful application rather than looking only at the contractor’s hectare rate.
Call Dillon at Broadacre Contracting on 0439 300 380 or post a tender through the Broadacre platform. Provide the location, hectares, timing, crop or fallow situation and whether targeted camera spraying is required so suitable contractors can assess the job.
Henry indicated Perry Farming may consider suitable work within roughly 200km of Goondiwindi, including areas such as Mungindi, Moonie, Westmar, St George, Garah and Dalby. Availability depends on timing, job size and whether the work fits the operation.
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