This factsheet is for arable and mixed-cropping growers deciding how to protect an existing crop, establish the next crop and avoid compaction during an unusually wet spring.
Before putting any machine into the paddock, ask two questions: Can the soil carry it, and can the job still be done properly? If the answer to either is "no" wait, lighten the load, change the route or use another application method.
Key points
- Start with the job that cannot wait
- Decide whether the paddock can carry the machine
- Reduce the load and keep traffic under control
- Protect application quality as well as the soil
- Work out why the same areas stay wet
- Use maps and sensors to answer a paddock question
- Operator checklist