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Matthew Gray was recently named the Ag Leader ANZ Dealer of the Year, ahead of 60 other dealers across Australia and NZ.
Rotorura business Unearth Ag has been recognised as one of Australasia’s leading independent precision agriculture technology providers.
Director Matthew Gray was recently named the Ag Leader ANZ Dealer of the Year, ahead of 60 other dealers across ANZ. Gray has more than 20 years’ experience in intensive farming, farm machinery and precision agriculture technology.
Raised on a mixed cropping and livestock farm near Gisborne, he completed a Bachelor of Commerce at Lincoln University, followed by a graduate exchange program with Ohio State University.
Working at a large agribusiness with interests in farm supplies, crop protection, farm machinery, agronomic services, finance, insurance and farming in Kentucky, Gray was mentored by well-known UK agronomist Phil Needham, who encouraged US farmers to adopt intensive European cropping systems that ultimately helped double Kentucky’s average wheat yield in 20 years.
He returned to New Zealand and worked as a farm machinery operator, service technician, precision ag product specialist and precision ag business manager before establishing Unearth Ag in 2016.
“Our goal is to help farmers and contractors to gain a true view of the performance of their cropping operations, thereby helping to improve their productivity and profitability,” Gray says. “This can be anything from simple guidance systems, through to fully automated maize planters, precision control systems for sprayers and spreaders and yield monitoring.”
Unearth Ag works closely with maize growers throughout the upper North Island.
“As a precision ag specialist, I help fill the gaps between what comes with machinery and what you can do with aftermarket options. Typically, our customers start with auto-steering before they realise the potential of this technology.”
Gray suggests that beyond auto-steering, there is only a small step to being able to precisely apply inputs based on known yield data. He also believes that the incorporation of ISOBUS technology in modern machinery is a game-changer, giving farmers modularity in hardware, allowing different brand GPS displays talk to rate controllers.
His focus on the Ag Leader range allows entry-level steering systems right through to precision application, yield monitoring and data management, using proven, easy to use, and durable technology made in North America.
“It’s a good product that is backed by people who know what they are doing and is backed with ongoing technical support,” Gray says.
www.unearthag.com
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With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
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