Australian farmer says “if I move on to a different farm, Hustler’s still gonna be my number one purchase”

“It’s been designed by farmers that really know what you need to use,” says Paul Zahra of Baringhup West, Victoria in Australia of his Hustler Applic8r LX1150 mounted boom sprayer. “It’s a well made product, simple to use, and from your tractor, you can actually see everything that’s going on.” His sprayer isn’t his only Hustler product either and the farm is the home of a set of Softhands LM100 bale handlers and a Hustler Chainless TX205 bale feeder. Watch Paul’s story to find out more about his operation!

Paul Zahra farms in Baringhup West, a small locality in central Victoria, Australia. Farming activities are well developed in the area, predominantly sheep and lambs grazing, but also crops and apple orchards. Paul’s operation is 400 acres, a bit smaller than the average size farm in the region, and is focused on cops and a bit of sheep.

When Paul and his family arrived on the farm, they had almost no farming equipment but “a very old sprayer that really wasn’t suitable for what we wanted to do,” he said. So Paul had to equip the farm from scratch. 

“Being relatively new to the farming game, I spent most of my time looking online to find out what the best product was to use for our operation, and I found Hustler. I found them to be a great company with a great product,” Paul explained.

Paul decided to buy a Hustler Applic8r LX1150 boom sprayer. “I decided it was the right one for me. It’s a well-made product, simple to use, and from your tractor, you can actually see everything that’s going on,” he detailed. “So you don’t have to get out of your tractor every time to know when the waters going down or whether your pressures are incorrect.”

“It just makes the ease of operation very good”

The Hustler Applic8r sprayer is used for all types of applications on the farm – from herbicide to fertiliser. “You might use it three to four times a year, it just depends on how the season’s going and what you need to do,” Paul said. The Hustler has been a “great unit” for Paul.

Hustler prides itself to develop its products alongside farmers and numerous employees come from a farming background or are in any way related to the agricultural industry. Much of the trialing of new equipment is carried out by end-users in the field, and around the world to ensure that Hustler products meet the demands of a global market. Hustler gear is thoroughly and regularly torture-tested and exposed to different types of environments, from to freezing temperatures of Lapland. 

“It’s been designed by farmers that really know what you need to use, and how you need to use it.”

The Applic8r sprayer range being fully customisable, Paul chose to add a 12-metre SonicBoom (hydraulic-folding boom) to the 1150L tank of the unit. The SonicBoom is an excellent and solid feature, the operator “being able to adjust the spray” according to the job that needs to be done.

Paul is happy to get “an even spread, which gave us a much better result at the end of the day.”

“I can’t emphasise enough how good the product is”

“Since we’ve been up at the farm, we’ve bought a number of Hustler products actually,” Paul said. Indeed, the farm is the home of a set of Softhands LM100 bale handlers and a Hustler Chainless TX205 bale feeder. 

“The Softhands are great,” Paul started. “Once we bale the hay we can store it quite easily and it doesn’t damage the hay, it’s made very well,” he continued. The Softhands LM100 bale handlers are built specifically for round bales with no-pitch points that could damage the wrapping of the bales. 

“We’ve also purchased a bale feeder to feed out the sheep,” Paul said. The Chainless trailed square and round bale feeders are self-loading, suitable for feeding out any bale, round or square, and it maximises feed use. A Chainless trailed bale feeder minimises feed waste by feeding out into narrow windrows to make the feed more accessible to animals and all but eliminate damage from hoof trampling, manure spoilage, and animals laying down on the feed. More efficient use of power, savings on machinery investment and faster bale feeding all add up to impressive fuel economy – made possible by the hydraulic drive system at the heart of every Hustler Chainless trailed bale feeder.

“The quality is good and more importantly the backup service is fantastic”

“I think that I would use them forever moving forward and even if I move on to a different farm Hustler’s still gonna be my number one purchase,” Paul concluded. 

Do you want to know more about Hustler’s Applic8r boom sprayer range or other great products? Contact us today, you’ll be glad you did!