Based in Robertstown, close to Naas in Co Kildare, Tony McNally is a tillage farmer, who also runs a land reclamation and plant hire business. Growing a mix of winter and spring cereals across 300 acres, with a further 400 acres farmed on contract, Tony runs a traditional plough till sow system. In recent years, Tony was considering upgrading his plough. Always one to look to the future and not afraid to think outside the box, he began researching the Kverneland 3400 S plough, which is designed for in-furrow and on-land ploughing. After some research, Tony travelled to the UK to see one in action. Happy with what he saw, Tony felt that the on-land ploughing while using GPS with auto steer was the way to go. With the help, advice and service of his local dealer Swaine Agri, Tony purchased a new 3400 S at the tail end of last summer, and used it to plough for the winter crops.
Why ‘on-land’ ploughing?
“I decided I wanted to go down the route of on-land ploughing solely to shift all operations onto auto steer. Before this, we were sowing, fertilising and spraying on auto steer, with all passes sync’d to the same AB lines. In my opinion, it was a no-brainer to go down this route for ploughing, but I was sceptical, I kept asking myself why is no one else doing this in Ireland? I try and sow as much winter corn as possible, and I wanted to be able to sow every furrow that we had ploughed ahead, before I finished up for the night. At least then if it rains overnight, I’m onto fresh ground in the morning and we’re back ploughing up dry ground,” explained Tony.
“Prior to this, I was running two five-furrow ploughs ahead of the 3m one-pass. With the five furrow, two ploughs were too much ahead of one drill, while one plough wasn’t enough. Then when three tractors were going together and I was busy with digger work, it’s hard to get a second good plough operator, and your ins and outs can get messy,” he added.
Tony said he opted for ‘on-land ploughing solely to shift all operations onto auto steer’.
Tony mentioned that ‘on the road, the plough pulls like a trailer’.
3400 S
The 3400 S models are offered with from five to seven furrows. The famous plough manufacturer has said it’s easy to swap from in-furrow and on-land ploughing, or vice versa, with the driver having fingertip control. Kverneland says its 3400 S stepwise offers comfort with lower lift requirements than other brands. It offers manual working width adjustments in steps of 5cm (2”), while the headstock No 300 provides the necessary strength for a smooth reversing. It’s equipped with a 120 x 200mm frame. In its on-land configuration the plough’s massive offset (up to 3.85m) allows the tractor to be positioned exactly to the driver’ s requirements.
The manufacturer says it offers smooth turnover action thanks to an efficient parallel linkage system which hydraulically moves the plough into a balanced position. It comes with optional automatic front furrow adjustment, while mechanical front furrow adjustment comes as standard. All Kverneland ploughs now come with a memory system that maintain desired working depth settings after the reversing cycle.
Leg design
Kverneland has said the aero-profile design of the legs and the 80cm under-beam clearance improve the soil flow in high-residue conditions.
Previously using a box-iron type leg, the latest design legs are pre-shaped to limit welding that could weaken plough parts. As with previous Kverneland auto-reset legs, they remain hollow to reduce weight and pulling forces. The leaf springs of the auto-reset can be easily added or removed, depending on the necessary release forces. This mechanical leg protection system is the same as what is used on the 2500 i-Plough.
Tony uses the body No40, with a working depth of 12-35cm and a working width of 30-55cm.
When ploughing, Tony works on-land, sharing the same AB lines with the tractor behind sowing.
Skimmers
The skimmers can be centrally adjusted. The right and left working depth can also be adjusted simultaneously, saving time. To adjust, the operator uses the spanner and adjusts the screw or unscrew the central bolt. This prevents the operation having to be repeated for each leg. Manure and maize skimmers plus trash boards are available as well as plain or notched disc coulters in 18” or 20”.
Plough body
Having run Kverneland reversible ploughs since 1983, Tony for the first time, specified slatted boards on his new 3400 S. “I went for the slatted boards this time for the simple reason that some of the ground we plough is very light, and it sticks to the boards,” Tony explained. “This in turn makes the plough harder to pull. I have seen slatted boards in action, and they have been working well for people so I said I would specify them. To date, it’s a decision I’m very happy with. They are working out very well, and always bury thrash and turn over the sod really nicely.”
The 3400 S can be kitted out with one of seven different plough bodies, one of which is plastic and two of which are slatted. The slatted options are the No.30 and the No40. The No40 is a larger board, and like the well-known No. 28 and No. 38, the No40 is Kverneland’s answer to ploughing with modern tractors with wider tyres. Wide empty furrow bodies Nos 28, 38 and 40 shape and move the soil further away from the landside, increasing the furrow bottom width by as much as 25% compared to body No9. The body No40 is designed for wet, sticky, abrasive, stony conditions. It has a working depth of 12-35 cm and a working width of 30-55 cm. Tony also opted for the hydraulic depth control wheel.
Transport
Kverneland claims its latest generation of mounted and semi-mounted reversible ploughs have safer transport features and higher performance at the forefront. Many of the new features on these ploughs were incorporated into the design of the iplough, which was launched in 2017.
To maximise safety, Kverneland says its latest plough is designed to behave like a trailer. The pivot point of tractor/plough is in the middle. It curves; there is no tilting out.
“On the road, the plough pulls like a trailer. It’s a brilliant design. When you meet the tractor and plough on the road head-on, you wouldn’t think there is a plough behind, its that neat and tidy. Changing over from the working position to the transport position is very simple, it takes two to three minutes,” explained Tony.
Verdict
“I am absolutely delighted with the plough. It has surpassed my expectations. It’s the only machine I have ever bought that I can’t pick out any fault with, it’s been flawless.
“My tractor fleet consists of two Valtras, a Q265 and a T235. Both run Valtra auto steer through Novatel on the RTK network, which is accurate down to 2cm. I farm and work the same land each year, and since 2015, I have it mapped out, with the same AB lines for all work.
“When I plough the field, I work on-land, and share the same AB lines with the tractor coming behind who is sowing. The plough is working at 3m wide, the same as my 3m one-pass drill. The system worked incredibly well last autumn.
“Each day we ploughed, we sowed every inch, leaving fresh ground for the following day’s work. Typically, we are achieving an average output of 3.7ac per hour, with forward speeds around 7.5-8.5km/h. With my previous New Holland T7.210 and Kverneland ES85 five furrow, I was burning 8l/ac, ploughing in-furrow at 8-9in deep. Last autumn, with my new Valtra Q265 and Kverneland 3400 S six furrow plough, ploughing on-land, I was burning an average of 6l/ac. With this, I was ploughing deeper, at 10in, to try get under an old plough pan. I can’t say for certain was the fuel savings on the new tractor or the plough, but it was consuming less fuel.
“The decision to buy the 3400 S with the option of on-land ploughing cost around €10,000 more, but it’s something that has been a game changer for me and I couldn’t recommend it enough,” said Tony.
Likes
Does excellent work.Works really well on auto steer.Very neat on the road.
Spec
Model: 3400 S.Number of furrows: Six.Interbody clearance: 85/100cm.Underbeam clearance: 80cm.Furrow width: 30-55cm.Weight: 2,280kg.Plough list price: €68,000 plus VAT.
Based in Robertstown, close to Naas in Co Kildare, Tony McNally is a tillage farmer, who also runs a land reclamation and plant hire business. Growing a mix of winter and spring cereals across 300 acres, with a further 400 acres farmed on contract, Tony runs a traditional plough till sow system. In recent years, Tony was considering upgrading his plough. Always one to look to the future and not afraid to think outside the box, he began researching the Kverneland 3400 S plough, which is designed for in-furrow and on-land ploughing. After some research, Tony travelled to the UK to see one in action. Happy with what he saw, Tony felt that the on-land ploughing while using GPS with auto steer was the way to go. With the help, advice and service of his local dealer Swaine Agri, Tony purchased a new 3400 S at the tail end of last summer, and used it to plough for the winter crops.
Why ‘on-land’ ploughing?
“I decided I wanted to go down the route of on-land ploughing solely to shift all operations onto auto steer. Before this, we were sowing, fertilising and spraying on auto steer, with all passes sync’d to the same AB lines. In my opinion, it was a no-brainer to go down this route for ploughing, but I was sceptical, I kept asking myself why is no one else doing this in Ireland? I try and sow as much winter corn as possible, and I wanted to be able to sow every furrow that we had ploughed ahead, before I finished up for the night. At least then if it rains overnight, I’m onto fresh ground in the morning and we’re back ploughing up dry ground,” explained Tony.
“Prior to this, I was running two five-furrow ploughs ahead of the 3m one-pass. With the five furrow, two ploughs were too much ahead of one drill, while one plough wasn’t enough. Then when three tractors were going together and I was busy with digger work, it’s hard to get a second good plough operator, and your ins and outs can get messy,” he added.
Tony said he opted for ‘on-land ploughing solely to shift all operations onto auto steer’.
Tony mentioned that ‘on the road, the plough pulls like a trailer’.
3400 S
The 3400 S models are offered with from five to seven furrows. The famous plough manufacturer has said it’s easy to swap from in-furrow and on-land ploughing, or vice versa, with the driver having fingertip control. Kverneland says its 3400 S stepwise offers comfort with lower lift requirements than other brands. It offers manual working width adjustments in steps of 5cm (2”), while the headstock No 300 provides the necessary strength for a smooth reversing. It’s equipped with a 120 x 200mm frame. In its on-land configuration the plough’s massive offset (up to 3.85m) allows the tractor to be positioned exactly to the driver’ s requirements.
The manufacturer says it offers smooth turnover action thanks to an efficient parallel linkage system which hydraulically moves the plough into a balanced position. It comes with optional automatic front furrow adjustment, while mechanical front furrow adjustment comes as standard. All Kverneland ploughs now come with a memory system that maintain desired working depth settings after the reversing cycle.
Leg design
Kverneland has said the aero-profile design of the legs and the 80cm under-beam clearance improve the soil flow in high-residue conditions.
Previously using a box-iron type leg, the latest design legs are pre-shaped to limit welding that could weaken plough parts. As with previous Kverneland auto-reset legs, they remain hollow to reduce weight and pulling forces. The leaf springs of the auto-reset can be easily added or removed, depending on the necessary release forces. This mechanical leg protection system is the same as what is used on the 2500 i-Plough.
Tony uses the body No40, with a working depth of 12-35cm and a working width of 30-55cm.
When ploughing, Tony works on-land, sharing the same AB lines with the tractor behind sowing.
Skimmers
The skimmers can be centrally adjusted. The right and left working depth can also be adjusted simultaneously, saving time. To adjust, the operator uses the spanner and adjusts the screw or unscrew the central bolt. This prevents the operation having to be repeated for each leg. Manure and maize skimmers plus trash boards are available as well as plain or notched disc coulters in 18” or 20”.
Plough body
Having run Kverneland reversible ploughs since 1983, Tony for the first time, specified slatted boards on his new 3400 S. “I went for the slatted boards this time for the simple reason that some of the ground we plough is very light, and it sticks to the boards,” Tony explained. “This in turn makes the plough harder to pull. I have seen slatted boards in action, and they have been working well for people so I said I would specify them. To date, it’s a decision I’m very happy with. They are working out very well, and always bury thrash and turn over the sod really nicely.”
The 3400 S can be kitted out with one of seven different plough bodies, one of which is plastic and two of which are slatted. The slatted options are the No.30 and the No40. The No40 is a larger board, and like the well-known No. 28 and No. 38, the No40 is Kverneland’s answer to ploughing with modern tractors with wider tyres. Wide empty furrow bodies Nos 28, 38 and 40 shape and move the soil further away from the landside, increasing the furrow bottom width by as much as 25% compared to body No9. The body No40 is designed for wet, sticky, abrasive, stony conditions. It has a working depth of 12-35 cm and a working width of 30-55 cm. Tony also opted for the hydraulic depth control wheel.
Transport
Kverneland claims its latest generation of mounted and semi-mounted reversible ploughs have safer transport features and higher performance at the forefront. Many of the new features on these ploughs were incorporated into the design of the iplough, which was launched in 2017.
To maximise safety, Kverneland says its latest plough is designed to behave like a trailer. The pivot point of tractor/plough is in the middle. It curves; there is no tilting out.
“On the road, the plough pulls like a trailer. It’s a brilliant design. When you meet the tractor and plough on the road head-on, you wouldn’t think there is a plough behind, its that neat and tidy. Changing over from the working position to the transport position is very simple, it takes two to three minutes,” explained Tony.
Verdict
“I am absolutely delighted with the plough. It has surpassed my expectations. It’s the only machine I have ever bought that I can’t pick out any fault with, it’s been flawless.
“My tractor fleet consists of two Valtras, a Q265 and a T235. Both run Valtra auto steer through Novatel on the RTK network, which is accurate down to 2cm. I farm and work the same land each year, and since 2015, I have it mapped out, with the same AB lines for all work.
“When I plough the field, I work on-land, and share the same AB lines with the tractor coming behind who is sowing. The plough is working at 3m wide, the same as my 3m one-pass drill. The system worked incredibly well last autumn.
“Each day we ploughed, we sowed every inch, leaving fresh ground for the following day’s work. Typically, we are achieving an average output of 3.7ac per hour, with forward speeds around 7.5-8.5km/h. With my previous New Holland T7.210 and Kverneland ES85 five furrow, I was burning 8l/ac, ploughing in-furrow at 8-9in deep. Last autumn, with my new Valtra Q265 and Kverneland 3400 S six furrow plough, ploughing on-land, I was burning an average of 6l/ac. With this, I was ploughing deeper, at 10in, to try get under an old plough pan. I can’t say for certain was the fuel savings on the new tractor or the plough, but it was consuming less fuel.
“The decision to buy the 3400 S with the option of on-land ploughing cost around €10,000 more, but it’s something that has been a game changer for me and I couldn’t recommend it enough,” said Tony.
Likes
Does excellent work.Works really well on auto steer.Very neat on the road.
Spec
Model: 3400 S.Number of furrows: Six.Interbody clearance: 85/100cm.Underbeam clearance: 80cm.Furrow width: 30-55cm.Weight: 2,280kg.Plough list price: €68,000 plus VAT. 
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