Seed Terminator expands war on weeds

The Australian-made Seed Terminator has formed a new alliance with New Holland and Case IH in the war on weeds in broadacre cropping systems.

The new agreement offers the expanded dealer network of both Case IH and New Holland to provide to their respective customers the ground-breaking mechanical weed seed device.

CEO at Seed Terminator, Paul Sandercock, said it was an important and proud moment for South Australian company.

“To expand our reach with CNH Industrial means farmers are more able to quickly adopt harvest weed seed control and accelerate their steps in controlling herbicide-resistant weeds,” Paul said.

The Seed Terminator, designed and made in Australia, is a simple attachment for combine harvesters that terminates seeds before they become weeds. Ongoing university trials in Australia and overseas show the device is capable of killing up to 99 per cent of rye grass seeds.

It targets herbicide-resistant weeds that have survived in-season control – a growing problem worldwide. The first pilot Seed Terminators were introduced in 2016, and now over 650 machines are operating across three continents.

Weeds are a costly problem for grain farmers. In 2016, Australia’s Grain Research Development Corporation estimated the cost to weeds to Australian grain growers of about $3.3 billion annually. The council also put the cost of herbicide resistance at $187 million a year, for herbicide treatment and other weed-control practices.

 “These may be the only herbicides we ever have to control weeds and allow us to produce food, and we’re destroying them at an alarming rate,” warns farmer and Seed Terminator inventor Dr Nick Berry.

“We need technology to preserve those chemicals, allowing us to produce enough food, to feed the world.”

 “We started this company on the principle of getting this technology to as many farmers as possible as quickly as possible, and as economically as possible. This agreement with CNH Industrial Australia is the next significant step.”

Tony Peters, Business Development Manager for CNH Industrial ANZ, said the availability of the attachment through both the Case IH and New Holland dealer networks for their respective combines would enable the CNH Industrial network to be the one-stop shop for this outstanding mechanical weed control method.

“Case IH and New Holland are listening to farmers’ weed control issues and by giving their farmers access to the market-leading Harvest Weed Control, show their support of this innovative technology,” he said.

Customers wishing to order a Seed Terminator for their 2023 new combine purchase and take advantage of finance offers should contact their dealer as soon as possible. Those customers with an existing Case IH or New Holland combine and looking to install a Seed Terminator for the 2023 harvest, should also discuss their requirements with their Case IH or New Holland dealer.