T12000 Planter Release

Gason Agriculture released the new T12000 planter machine at Victoria’s Wimmera Machinery Field Days in March. Design engineer Tom McCluskey says it is a much-anticipated wider version of the Gason NT8000 narrow transport planter which was released last year. 

The folded wings on the T12000 measure to a height of 5m and a width of 6.5m, allowing for road transport compliance under new agricultural vehicle rules.    

The new machine will update and streamline Gason’s broadacre planter range.  It will be available in 10 metre and 12 metre working widths, known as T10000 and T12000 respectively, complementing the NT8000’s 8m width. Standard tine spacings are 200mm, 250mm and 300mm. 

“We’ve been working on it for six months, essentially from scratch. The tines and hardware were existing, but the frames are all new. It’s very similar to the NT8000 in layout, but we wanted to get that 12m working width, so it’s wider in the centre frame. The 10m version has shorter wings, but we expect there will be most interest in the 12m version.” 

Tom says the prototype machine has already been sold, but will be showcased at the Wimmera Machinery Field Days near Horsham, in western Victoria, before going to work. 

“The machine was sold off computer drawings, before the prototype was completed, it’s a testament to our dealer and customer’s confidence in our machinery. The plan is to have the prototype working hard this season to validate our extensive computer stress analysis and then to work on building stock machines that will be available next season. 

Tom says having a machine in the field will allow the team to make any tweaks before we build more for next summer’s market. 

“We’ve tried to keep this machine simple and robust, rather than complex. By working towards a simplistic design, we always see real benefits in reliability and price. The tine units are well tried and proven and we have got confidence in the design, so I can’t imagine there would be much that would need to be changed, besides a few tweaks. The design features a single row of 500/50-22.5 high floatation tubeless tyres and a rigid pull which makes for a strong and manoeuvrable  machine”. 

The frames are fitted with Gason’s Scaritill or Hydratill tine assemblies, which can provide breakout force from 140 to 310 kilograms. 

Tom says the hydraulic tines allow the operator to “back off the breakout if you’ve got rocks in the paddock”, while continuing to get the job done. For the new design, clearances have been increased and it has been built stronger to take advantage of the manufacturing technology we have now.  

The T-series planters have been designed to be compatible with 3m controlled traffic farming practices and with Gason’s range of parallelogram and frame-mounted press-wheels.  

Tom recommends pairing the T12000 with a Gason Air Seeder to provide a complete planting package.