At a recent press camp, the family owned Lemken Company showcased its latest products and innovations to an audience of 130 international journalists from over 27 different countries. The venue was the massive 10,000ha Gsuk family farm in Hungary.

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From their plough range, Lemken displayed its mounted Juwel 8 M and MV models which are available in three- to seven-furrow options. The M means this is a simpler version of the current Juwel 8, with all adjustments being done manually as there are no electro-hydraulics.

To cater for the increasing popularity of ISOBus-controlled ploughs, the new TurnControl Pro system is now available on the market.

This system allows all plough adjustments, such as working depth, angle, width, front furrow, etc, to be made from the tractor cab, provided the tractor is fitted with load-sensing hydraulics.

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Moving to the semi-mounted plough and Lemken displayed the latest improved Diamant II, which is available in five- to nine-furrow options. This latest version has OptiLine and hydraulic traction increase, which Lemken claims is a first in the semi-mounted plough market. This system allows the operator to adjust the plough’s line of draft and also increase the hydraulic traction, which consists of a ram that transfers some of the plough’s weight through the top link and on to the tractor’s rear axle. This results in less wheel slip and improved traction and efficiency.

Disc harrows

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On the cultivator side, the Heliodor 9 disc harrow gains a 45mm disc diameter increase to 510mm, which allows it to work deeper to a depth of 140mm. The Heliodor is available in mounted and semi-mounted formats, with working widths from 2m to a massive 16m, although it is unlikely that we will see a 16m version in Ireland anytime soon.

To cater for the increased size and weight, the 8m, 10m, 12m and 16m Heliodors are mounted on to Lemken’s trailed Gigant system carrier, which is able to shift a portion of its weight on to the Heliodor in order to increase disc penetration when cultivating tougher compacted soils.

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Lemken still offers the Rubin 12 for customers who require deeper cultivation from a disc harrow to a depth of 20cm to 22cm. The biggest change to this range is that Lemken will have a new 7m-wide version on the market for 2017.

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Lemken also showcased the new 4m to 7m Karat 12, which is to replace the Karat 9 in 2017. The main difference between the versions is an extra row of tines – four rows instead of three – which reduces the tine spacing from 28cm to 23cm, while the working depth range is increased 5cm to 30cm.

The closer tine spacing gives a more intensive soil mix, which, according to Lemken, should allow the Karat 12 to compete with disc and tine one-pass outfits from the competition.

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Lemken also took the opportunity to show off its new Vega trailed sprayer, which will be available with wider, rear-folding aluminium booms from November this year in sizes of 27m, 28m and 30m. The current Vega range, which comes in 3,000-, 4,000- and 5,000-litre capacities, is only currently available with booms up to 24m.

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The exciting news in the drill range is that the trailed Solitair 25 will be available in Ireland in 2017. The Solitair 25 receives a new plastic 3,000-litre seed hopper, which is fitted with a full-width lid for easier filling with big bags. The Solitair 25 also has a new vertical seed-dosing system and can be fitted with Lemken’s OptiDisc and OptiDisc M double-disc coulters, which was not an option on the previous Solitair 9 model. The Solitair 25 will be available in 4m to 6m folding units, while 3m, 3.5m and 4m rigid models will follow later. The Solitair 25 can be paired with Lemken’s full range of power harrows and cultivators, making it a very versatile drill for varying soil conditions.