A TRUSTED CONNECTION TO CROPLANDS

Location: Narembeen, WA
Enterprise: Mixed, moving towards 100 percent cropping
Crops: Wheat, barley, oats, lupins, canola
Farm size: 5,500 ha owned plus up to 7,000 ha leased
Generation: Fourth generation farmer

After more than a century on the same country, Michael Mortimore knows one thing. If you do not stay ahead of weeds, they will get ahead of you.

Farming in the Narembeen region of Western Australia, “Morty” runs a large mixed enterprise that is steadily shifting towards full cropping. With scale comes pressure, particularly when it comes to managing resistant ryegrass and maintaining yield without blowing out chemical costs.

That is where spot spraying and the right equipment have changed the game.

A trusted connection to Croplands

Morty’s introduction to Croplands came through a long‑standing personal connection. A mate from agricultural school, Scott Craig, was working in the industry when Sonic machines were operating locally before becoming part of Croplands.

A chance catch‑up at the pub led to a closer look at the machine sitting in Morty’s yard. After a few questions and a deeper dive into what it could do, the decision was made.

“That’s all she wrote,” Morty said.

The machine setup

Morty now runs a Sonic 7000 with a 36m WEED-IT boom, equipped with WEED‑IT sensors, twin tanks and twin pumps.

This setup allows him to switch between blanket spraying and spot spraying, or both in the same operation. For Morty, that flexibility is critical.

If you have got areas under 10 percent weed pressure, you can go nuts on what is actually there.

— Michael Mortimore, Owner/Operator

“When I had wheel speed sensor issues early on, that was around Christmas time. Not many people would show up then,” Morty said.

That reliability matters when timing is everything.

An investment in the future

Morty is upfront about the cost of technology like WEED‑IT and advanced spray systems. But he sees it as unavoidable.

“It is a capital investment, but if you do not pay for this technology now, you will pay for it at some stage,” he said.

By tackling weed issues early, Morty believes growers set themselves up not just for the current season, but for decades to come.

“Get on the front foot and use every tool in the box to help your operation.”