Kuhn

The Kuhn LC 300 drill will be fitted on to a HR 3004 power harrow. The harrow is fitted with 10 rotors, with quick-attach tines or bolt-on options. The speed of the harrow can be changed via gears in the 250hp gearbox to increase the rotor speeds.

Safety is taken care of on the harrow via a friction clutch in case of a stone jam in the rotors. The scribes are harrow-mounted, thus staying with the harrow when the drill is dismounted.

Each side of the harrow features a side-board which keeps soil within the harrow and avoids ridging. Moving towards the rear of the harrow, it is fitted with a 550mm packer roller with tungsten carbide scrapers. There are various other roller options to suit different soil conditions.

Kverneland

Kverneland Ireland will have the Qualidisc Pro 3000 on show. Standard configuration is two rows of 12 discs, each with a diameter of 570mm. A farmer version of the Qualidisc has slightly smaller discs at 520mm.

Kverneland uses one disc per leg and one leg per mounting bracket or suspension unit. Each suspension unit also incorporates a pressed stop in the mounting bracket. All discs are 6mm thick and are heat-treated to increase lifespan. The discs are dished, but have a straight not a concave cutting profile.

The Qualidisc also features lateral disc adjustment to compensate for disc wear. Combined with the straight profile of the disc, John Colgan from Kverneland Ireland explained that the disc-cutting angle can be maintained throughout the life of the disc.

Also at the demo for the Kverneland group will be the new iPlough and the range of seeding equipment. They will also have the McConnel Seed Aerator in action.

Gregoire Besson

From French firm Gregoire Besson comes the Discomix 3000 disc cultivator. Handled in Ireland by Kilkenny-based IAM, the Discomix 3000 features two rows of 12 discs.

There are a number of disc options but IAM has opted for 630mm scalloped discs with a flat profile which are a substantial 7mm thick. Discs are mounted in pairs on a single arm connected to a rubber buffer suspension unit on the main frame.

The duo-disc design reduces the potential risk of blockages according to IAM. The firm’s single-leg design per two discs provides more clearance for material to pass through. The pair of discs are connected and run/drive together.

The discs are not maintenance-free; instead, the bearing hub is greasable. These are protected from over-greasing by a relief valve on the hub and are protected from contamination by a dust and a grease seal.

The firm will also have the Bomford Dynodrive in action, a novel cultivator with a direct ground drive.

Lemken

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.

Vaderstad

Cooney Furlong is the Irish distributor for Vaderstad cultivation and sowing equipment. On its demonstration plot, the company will be using the Top-down 400, a high-intensity multipurpose cultivator, performing both a full-scale shallow cultivation and a deep cultivation in one single pass.

It will be followed by the Spirit 400 drill. This is a disc-based drill with disc coulters and pneumatic seed distribution. Both of these machines will work at 4m.

Anner Agri

In the demonstration area, Anner Agri will put the Weaving GD 3000 M zero-till drill to work. This drill comes with a 1,600-litre Hopper, RDS Artemis Lite, GPS forward speed control, hydraulic fan, six coulters per metre, work, tank and road lights as standard. The principle behind the GD coulter design is based on a double-disc arrangement. The discs are set at an angle to each other so as to open up a slot to place the seed in before being consolidated by a trailing wheel.

Farmec

Farmec will be using the Sulky Xeos Pro Seed Drill in the demonstration area. This drill can be used as either a direct drill or mounted on a Cultiline power harrow for conventional one-pass use.

The fact that each of the disc coulters can apply up to 80kg of pressure makes it useful for all systems of seed placement.

Farmhand

The Farmhand demonstration will consist of the new 3m Amazone Catros disc (economy version) or a 4m Cenius 4003-2 cultivator with its two rows of cultivation legs, a row of levelling discs and a packer roller.

A decision will be made on the day as to which method will be used, depending on the conditions. These will leave the plot ready for the 4m Cirrus 4003-2 trailed drill to place the seed.

John Deere

The 750A All-Till drill will be used in the demonstration area. This pneumatic drill from John Deere can work in different systems – conventional, minimum or no till.

On this occasion, the drill will be used as a direct drill. The opening for the seed placement is opened by 18 457mm discs working at 16.6cm spacings, giving this machine a 3m working width.

Pöttinger

Reduced power, shallow cultivating and reducing unwanted soil disturbance and hence spreading of the problematic blackgrass weed are the drivers of this design, according to Pöttinger.

The updated Terrasem takes 15% less horsepower compared with the previous version, at a working depth of 5cm to 6cm. It is not designed for deep cultivating and works really well in stale seedbeds.

It is available with seed and fertiliser, in working widths of up to 9m. The drill has a minimum working speed of 10km/h. The theory is only to cultivate the ground needed for seed planting.

The low-disturbance Terrasem is fitted with two rows of waved discs, with each disc lining up with a seed coulter at a 125mm or 167mm row spacing. Discs are mounted in pairs and do not run at an angle like other designs.

WBD machinery

WBD are working two plots. On the first one, they will be using their UFO disc harrow and a maschio drill and harrow combination drill to get a crop established. On the second plot, they will be demonstrating their Attila subsoiler at a reduced depth and then place the seed using a maschio Gaspardo drill and harrow combination.

Horsch

Kellys of Borris will be demonstrating a 3m Joker cultivator with TG bar followed by Pronto 4m drill.

The Joker is a mixed tool cultivator using both discs and tines to till the ground. The TG bar can be fitted for deeper loosening of the soil. The 4m Pronto drill comes with a unique packer system for better seed placement at high operational speed. Turbo disc seed coulters with a uniformer reduce the risk of clogging.

Murphy Machinery (Heva)

Murphy Machinery will be showing a mounted Heva 3m disc and a 4m trailed disc. The larger disc folds for transport. There will also be a Heva front-mounted 3m press on display.

Noel Furlong

Noel Furlong will be demonstrating Claydon’s new drill to the Irish market – the Hybrid t4. It can be ungraded to a larger working width with the addition of bolt-on parts.

The combination seed and fertiliser hopper is split 60/40 and is also fed with a hot air supply which is taken from the hydraulic system. This is to keep moisture from the fertiliser and seed, to help prevent blockages and to keep the flow steady.

Read more

Under the Hood: From Crops and Cultivation to Canada and Crystal