Hitting nuisance weeds. Saving multiple costs.

CONVISO® SMART

Innovative, broad spectrum weed control system for beet growers.
Powered by SMART KWS Seeds and Bayer crop science.
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Mark and Sonia's story

Mark and Sonia Dillon are fifth-generation Southland farmers and proud of it. They’ve been operating the family’s 380-hectare farm in Riversdale for over 25 years, and farm a total of 1000 hectares on other land either owned or leased. They also contract out to farmers doing ag work including baling, beet planting and lifting. If that isn’t enough, they run their own livestock.

The soil type in the region is generally very heavy clay, so the Dillons ensure they are lifting beet crops to avoid damaging soil with stock and can then deliver quality crops for summer and winter feed in a place that’s more suitable.

At the home farm, wild turnip required a lot of management, so when the opportunity arose in 2019 to trial the CONVISO SMART system, they leapt at the opportunity. Mark elaborates:

“Previously, we would have to spray the paddocks four times to control wild turnip. Now we’re just two sprays, so you don’t have to go over the paddock as many times and it just all saves time and diesel and money…”

Better Chemistry – for all.

Sonia likes to call the CONVISO SMART system “New Chemistry”. It’s given them the luxury of growing beet on land where they wouldn’t be able to grow conventional beet.

“It hasn’t had the best husbandry previously. It’s got a real heavy weed loading of bolters and wild turnip and this new chemistry just takes all that weed out…” Sonia reveals.

She also thinks it’s better for the environment.

We use less chemicals and it’s even better for the environment not having tractors going over multiple times, which is multiple loads of exhaust going up into the atmosphere – so, it’s way better for us…

- Sonia Dillon

Efficiency is the word.

Mark reckons he’s been growing beet for 13 years and harvesting for 10 and he likes to keep up with what’s going on in the beet industry. If there are any new crop varieties that are yielding better or chemistry, he likes to build on it. He’s also not shy of technical innovations.

“Any tractor we buy from now is auto steer. Just the efficiency of that and with variable rate on the sprayer…we want to do grid sampling around the farm so we can get a uniform fertility to increase yields and try to be more efficient…so, CONVISO SMART is just another efficiency tool for farmers.”

Sonia couldn’t agree more and has the final word.

“I'd absolutely recommend CONVISO SMART to other farmers, especially if they're growing in places that maybe conventional beet isn't really for them due to weed loading. It saves time and it saves money...”