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Getting cereal crops in the ground at this time of year is often a scramble if and when the good weather arrives. Ploughs and power-harrow drill combinations are the most popular machines used to get the job done as they’re seen as “bomb-proof”.
One contractor in Tipperary was using this system but had to make a choice.
When the good weather arrived, Pat Murphy was on his own.
Casual labour to drive a second tractor was getting harder to find so he had to streamline his business. He couldn’t afford to hire a full-time driver but had to cover the acres, get the crop in the ground and do it on his own.
This and another off-farm income stream meant Pat had to make more efficient use of his time.
This is when he looked at strip-tillage – the combined cultivation and seeding process whereby a band or strip of ground is cultivated in front of a seed coulter. The space between the bands is left untouched so just a strip of soil is cultivated.
A lot of seeding equipment manufacturers have some offering in this line of equipment but Pat chose the Claydon Hybrid 3m model which has a 1t-capacity hopper.
“I looked at a few other machines but for the size of tractor I have combined with the weight and ease of use I chose the Claydon.”
The machine has four different parts in contact with the soil. The first step in the process is a leading-edge tine that creates a drainage channel to a depth of approximately 3-4in in front of every seed coulter in cereals. This is adjusted to 5-6in for beans and oilseed rape.
My winter barley did 4.25 t/ac, I had exceptional winter wheat yielding 5t/ac, the oats did 3.75 t/ac and my spring barley yielded 3.5t/ac
An A-share follows, placing the seed in a 5in band to the left and right of this drainage channel thanks to the seeding boot fitted to the rear.
“A narrower coulter is used for beans as these have to be sown deeper away from crows,” Pat explains. After the seed is placed in the band, “batter-boards” or levelling boards cover over the seed and lastly pig-tail tines level the soil. Depth wheels on either side of the machine run on uncultivated ground.
On the day we visited, Pat was sowing Belfry hybrid barley at 6.5 stone per acre (102kg/ha) into bean stubbles that had been sprayed off after harvesting with plenty of chopped bean stalk residue left on the surface. First impressions were good – Pat was able to cover the ground at 11km/h. The other observation was the absence of any other tractor in the field preparing the ground. This truly was a one-man operation.
Sitting into the tractor with Pat, I got a first-hand feeling for drill. The 158hp Claas 620 was purring along nicely. All that could be heard behind the cab was the hydraulically driven fan.
“Sometimes if the weather is really good I can sow the headlands first and the middle of the field afterwards so I can lift the drill at exactly the right time.”
I asked Pat what was his experience of the drill so far since he bought it in the spring of 2014.
“What I was doing with the old system was great but something had to change. I sold my three-year-old plough so I was committed and I had to make it work. I bought the drill and the customers came to me.”
I asked Pat had he any issues going down the road of the Claydon system. “The biggest challenge I had in the first one or two years were stones. Once I had drilled the field once or twice this was almost eliminated apart from the odd one. Also, you have to be more on the ball with crop management as unchecked pests can become an issue.”
I raised the issue of weeds in such a system compared to a plough-based system.
“I recommend using some sort of a light harrow after harvest on the stubbles to get the weeds to grow so they can be sprayed off before sowing. On my own crops I use a 3m Amazone Catros which works fine and there is no difference between the weed pressure in this system compared to what I was doing before.”
Rotation also becomes more important. “Typically, the customers I am sowing for start off with beans as this drill is perfect for planting them deep and the beans are great to root. This is then followed by winter barley or winter wheat, oats and winter wheat or winter barley again.”
Costs
The running costs of the system are interesting. “The tractor is using 3-5 litres depending on the ground, wearing parts are €3/acre to €5/acre and I charge €35 plus VAT per acre to do the work. The saving is the fact that you’re not ploughing or rolling before the drill.”
Output and yield
Pat estimates he can cover 3-4ac/hr and 4ac/hr at his leisure in good ground in larger fields. This is at 10-12 km/h.
Pat keeps in touch with his customers and none have reported loss in yield since changing to the strip-till system. Even his own crops averaged impressive yields this year.
“My winter barley did 4.25 t/ac, I had exceptional winter wheat yielding 5t/ac, the oats did 3.75 t/ac and my spring barley yielded 3.5t/ac, so I’m very happy”. Typically he will cover 600-750 acres per year with the drill between winter and spring sowing.
In a previous season, he planted over 1,000ac. This is spread across beans, wheat, oats, barley and oilseed rape. Leaving Pat I asked him had he any regrets going down this road.
“No. I’m happy with the change I have made and so are the few customers I have. I’d give up tillage before I’d go back to the system I was using before.”
According to Claydon, the price for the 3m hybrid strip-till drill start from €45,000 + VAT.
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