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  • Seed Terminator
    • for John Deere
    • for Case IH
    • for New Holland
    • For CLAAS
    • for Massey Ferguson
    • Register Second Hand Terminator
  • Journey to here
  • Contact
    • Meet the Team
    • Dealers
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  • R & D is in our DNA
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  • Combine Harvester Setup
  • Integrated Weed Management

R&D Aim: Maximum Kill 

Net benefit

Net benefit $/hectare favours killing as many seeds as possible even at low capture rates. We have been modelling the cost benefit and have found with over 50% capture of weed seeds in the front of the header, you are better off getting as many weed seeds as you can with the Seed Terminator. Our engineering team are targeting maximum kill to maximise benefit.
​
Interestingly, 30% capture or less and lower kill models make more sense.

​We have also developed a new mill technology 'High Capacity Screens' that offers an alternative value proposition; market competitive kill results, lower power, wear and cost + plugs into the Seed Terminator. It was introduced to the market in 2018 and is available as a retrofit option to all Seed Terminator owners now.
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Moisture content changes seed resistance to impact.

The graph below shows the effect of weed seed moisture content when relying on impact alone for Reduced Seedling Emergence (RSE% or kill), for example the red line shows 4 impacts at 70 meters per second; at 10% moisture content it has high RSE or kill, but at 13% moisture it drops to 90% and at 17% moisture the kill is 70%.

​What does this mean? In high moisture content scenarios impact alone has significantly reduced efficacy. The second point here is that if there was a drop in mill speed, relying on impact alone, the green line shows 4 impacts at 50 meters per second at 10% moisture the kill is just over 60%.

​What does that mean for Seed Terminator? The Multistage Hammer Mill Technology has three stages of screens to classify material for size, the chaff material and weed seeds must be smashed small enough to fit through each stage of screens. 
 
Multiple stages enable high capacity while maintaining pulverisation to consistent level at a range of rotational speeds.
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Kill regardless of RPM & Moisture thanks to 4
​Modes of Action > 
Kill regardless of speed. 
The Seed Terminator Multistage Hammer Mill technology uses impact + shear + crush + grind to kill weed seeds ensuring consistent kill at a range of speeds 2250-3000RPM. 

Effective Mill Speed

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How long does it take to change out the multistage hammer mills?
It takes approximately 20 minutes to changeover screens. Simply remove the chutes, undo 5 bolts and swap the screens over. 
Will i be able to use the latest mill technology in my seed terminator? 
Yes, the Seed Terminator tech platform will be able to slot in the latest mill technology. We want this to be a future proof solution. 

Independent Testing

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South Australian Grains Industry Trust funded research conducted by Trengove Consulting in 2017 found ryegrass weed seed kill was 93% at 2250 rpm and increased to 98% or greater at normal operating speeds (2500–3000 rpm). Results also showed more than 99% control of several other species including wild radish, brome grass, wild oat, bifora, bedstraw and tares and increasing chaff flow rate (harvest rate) did not reduce control of these species.
< South Australian Grains Industry Trust funded research into Weed seed control at normal operating speeds & settings.  ​Stationary efficacy testing for Model Year 2017

Power and wear is the enemy, or is it?


If you are not using power or wearing material you are not killing weed seeds.
You can e
xpect approximately 0.5 L/tonne more fuel in wheat. The theory says that the minimum fuel to kill 98% of weed seeds is 0.3L/tonne
  • This doesn’t account for no load power
  • Also doesn’t account for any chaff seed cushioning
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“You can’t expect it to turn stuff into flour for no power draw cost” 

​​- 
Simon Reynolds, WA

Power Equation 
Ptotal = Pdrive + Pno load + Pprocessing 

Processing Power

How many seeds do you want to kill? The Energy to Kill weed seeds (ryegrass) from Nicks thesis, the energy to kill ryegrass seeds, damaging (vs reduced seedling emergence or kill)  follows this curve. its not a step curve, as not all the seeds are the same. Below minimum energy there is no seed kill or damage.

Aerodynamics and their role in no-load power

As you can see from the images here, there is a turbulent wake behind the truck, creating hot air which is wasted energy. These aerodynamics (along with rolling friction) is largely why a truck uses more fuel/km than a sports car. At Seed Terminator we spend a lot of energy manufacturing the profiles of our components and making them aerodynamic. At 300km an hour the reduction in turbulence is compounded, allowing us to minimise the no load power.  
Dr Nick Berry Thesis, BEng(Hons) 'Optimisation of an impact mill that processes chaff exiting a combine harvester to devitalise annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) seeds'
dr_nick_berry_rotor_impact_mill.pdf
File Size: 7059 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

R&D Aim: Wear

With 500+ machines in the paddock we've learned a huge amount about wear. With this knowledge under our belt we are adjusting our thinking on wear; "if you are not using power and not wearing out steel you aren't actually killing weed seeds." This means we should minimise wasted wear by minimising soil into the mills but maximise weed seed capture and weed seed kill, because cutting lower to capture more weeds is akin to applying a high dose of chemical; it costs more, but it's more effective. 

Mill wear is not repairs and maintenance, its closer to a drum of chemical. ​

1 | Regional

Soil type is a huge factor in wear. Mostly the soil that causes the wear, if you aren't getting soil in the front it doesn't matter what the soil type is, unfortunately  its inevitable you will particularly when harvesting low to the ground. This ends up the mill.  

3 | Related to Harvest Speed

Front bouncing due to high speed and tyres lifting sand up and throwing it into the front or the harvester cleaning fan. 

2 | Front technology is Key

Low cut heigh with a rigid front can get a lot of sand. We've found flex fronts can be much better can double or triple the life of a mill in equivalent crops in equivalent soil types. 

4 | Crop Types

Legumes can be worse. Canola almost protects wear parts. If the target is to kill as many weed seeds as possible, you need to cut as low as possible to ensure maximum capture of those potentially HWSC or herbicide resistant weed seeds. 
AeroIMPACT 3 focus is design for manufacture – reducing cost, improvement in metallurgy and optimisation of power. Our long lasting mill technology wears evenly 
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< Internal photo of AeroIMPACT 3 mills at 320 hours in Western Australia, taken after harvest December 2019

R&D Aim: Uptime


​Uptime is a big focus for us, the most important thing we can do is not interrupt the harvest operation. ​This means minimising mill changeover time, ease of maintenance and developing systems to improve the speed of checking grain losses. 
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Cleaning Shoe Performance is Unaffected.


​Seed Terminator causes no restrictions of airflow within the harvester cleaning shoe = confidence in the accuracy of grain loss checks = confidence in your harvester setup to minimise grain loss.

R&D Aim: Header Performance

Uptime with Proven Mechanical Drive

With 400 harvesters in the paddock over 2021 harvest and a combined total of 950 harvests, the Seed Terminator Mechanical Drive is paddock proven.
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Not all mills are created equal.

Aerodynamic tungsten coated mill technology for even wear, reduced no load power and long lasting performance. ​Changeover time? 20 Minutes, simply slot in the latest mill tech and go.  
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^^ Top Brand New AeroIMPACT3 mills
^ Bottom AeroIMPACT3 Mills after 320 hours in Muntadgin, WA
why is no load power important?
Quite simply because power used to run the machine (no load power) is wasted power. ​
How does aerodynamics affect no load power?
At 300km/hr would you rather be in a Ferrari or a truck? ​Aerodynamics (along with rolling friction) is largely why a truck uses more fuel/km than a sports car. At Seed Terminator we spend a lot of energy manufacturing the profiles of our components and making them aerodynamic. At 300km an hour the reduction in turbulence is compounded, allowing us to minimise the no load power (think wasted power). 
why do we need maximum power going into weed seed kill?
When Dr Nick Berry studied the power and impacts required to kill a single ryegrass seed in his PhD back in 2010 he discovered there is a minimum energy requirement to devitalise the weed seed. In simple terms if the mill technology isn't using this minimum energy its not actually killing the weeds. 
Power Equation Ptotal = Pdrive + Pno load + Pprocessing 

Minimum Energy Requirement is 15 kJ/kg (this is EXCLUDING no load power)
Do all mills use the minimum power requirement to kill ryegrass?
We encourage farmers to check this information, we believe in continuous testing to continously improve for better outcomes for Farmers. There is new benchmark testing data out as of 2021. 

The latest development in Mill technology 

HIGH CAPACITY SCREENS

​Our High Capacity Sceens have been designed to allow the operator to continue harvesting in tough conditions. Providing kill rates between 82-90% depending on mill speed and weed seed type. They are compatible with all Seed Terminator screen tech, and can be installed in 20 minutes. 
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Grain Capture or
Weed Kill?
​Both. 

We work to create harmony between the Header and Seed Terminator so you don't have to decide between capturing grain and killing weeds as you harvest.
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​We all know weed seeds are present at harvest; the fate of these seeds depends on seed shed, cut height, threshing parameters, and aerodynamic properties of the seed. Which is why we are investing in people to help set up the harvester for both aims.  ​
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"Herbicide Resistance has global significance with 263 weed species identified as resistant to 164 herbicides in 95 crops in 71 countries.”

- HEAP, I. 23/09/2021 www.weedscience.org

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Seed Terminator Factory
Adelaide (by appointment only)
23 Aldershot Road, Lonsdale SA 5160
Perth Distribution Centre
Unit 1, 3 Craft Street, Canning Vale WA 6155
Spares Orders
​M +61 492 943 421 
​spares@seedterminator.com.au

Keagan Grant Product Specialist NSW
​M +61 459 701 633 keagan@seedterminator.com.au

Mark Bastian Commercial Manager for SA
​M +61 428 517 316 mark.bastian@seedterminator.com.au 
Brett Asphar Product Specialist for WA
​M +61 427 213 389 brett@seedterminator.com.au

Tom Slatyer Commercial Manager for WA
​M +61 438 789 160 

tom.s@seedterminator.com.au
Ned Jeffery Commercial Manager for VIC
M +61 409 969 227 ned@seedterminator.com.au
Kate Gellard Sales Administration +61 430 953 371 or kate@seedterminator.com.au based in the Adelaide factory
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