Tillage Summer 2013 by FarmSmart

TILLAGE Summer 2013

Practical Fundamentals

Best crop establishment practice

Big Picture Masterclass

Case Study studies Case

Insight Bank Knowledge

Coping Controlled traffic Highthe horsepower tine but drillstext Title thewith same but text Title the same but text Title same but text TitleSimple the same variable soils farming cultivations + Tyre goes here in 2 lines goes here in 2 lines goes here in 2 lines goes here options in 2 lines

Ploughing perfection.

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Contents Tillage News

4- 7

What’s new in the tillage sector? Here’s a roundup of developments

Practical

8- 11

Establishing crops on a wide range of soil types for a number of Norfolk clients demands an adaptable set-up

Big Picture

12 -15

Case Study: 1

16 - 19

Case Study: 2

20 - 25

Insight: 1

26 - 29

Insight: 2

30- 33

Tech Update

34- 35

Reaping the rewards of controlled-traffic farming

Moving to min-till has been right for this Northumberland farm, despite severe weather-related issues last autumn Cultivating large areas of heavy ground poses big questions. Users in Lincs and Leics believe they have the answer Tyres or tracks? Tyres every time if top advice is heeded, say two highhorsepower East Anglian farmers Simple tine drills won great acclaim last winter. Our guide explains what’s on the market New tillage products and services

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Tillage Summer 2013

Tillage News

BURNING ISSUE

IS it time to look at straw burning again? Since it was banned in 1989 black-grass problems have worsened significantly, with herbicide resistant strains now causing real concern, and no new herbicides on the horizon to help. At the same time growers are facing increasingly severe stewardship of products like metaldehyde slug bait to meet EU drinking water standards. The pressure on agronomists to protect active ingredients through rotation, stacking of products, increased adjuvant use and cultural techniques is huge. That is why the Association of Independent Crop Consultants is encouraging the industry to look again at straw and stubble burning and open a full debate on the pros and cons, with a view to possibly bringing it back under licence, maybe within five years. Agronomists could be particularly well placed to recommend where responsible burning could be most beneficial, given their close understanding of weed pressures, crop potential, cultivation options, and local and environmental issues. But first we need industryfunded research to see how the balance of environmental impacts has shifted, and how burning should be done for most benefit and least risk. We know burning destroys weed seeds directly, and helps break the dormancy of blackgrass seed, boosting the effectiveness of stale seedbeds. Disease and pest reductions can also be expected. But issues

Tillage Summer 2013

with surface ash potentially locking-up pre-em herbicides need re-examining, along with methods for incorporating ash. Issues of safety, public perception, wildlife impacts and ecosystem changes also demand attention. If agchem applications can be reduced and yields improved there could be a real benefit to the carbon footprint of each tonne of crop produced. That must be worth pursuing. At this year’s Cereals Event the issue will be debated in the conference marquee at 1pm on Thursday 13th June. On the AICC stand (10-J-1004) Peter Brumpton, an AICC Council member and director of agronomy firm Arable Alliance, has created plots of winter wheat and rape, which were infested with herbicide resistant blackgrass seed last autumn and then subjected to straw burning and normal practice, to further stimulate the debate. Visit us at Cereals and tell us whether burning has merit.

Sarah Cowlrick is chief executive of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants, which has 244 members advising on over 1.2 million hectares www.aicc.org.uk; aicc@farmline.com 01730 823881

FarmSight update

EW FarmSight service packages for John Deere’s AMS GreenStar wireless system now connect equipment, owners, operators, dealers and agricultural consultants to improve productivity and increase business efficiency. The aim is to improve profitability by sharing information as well as sustainable practices to reduce overall input and running costs. Machines equipped with JDLink wireless technology are permanently ‘online’, so can be monitored via the internet using a computer, tablet or smartphone. With a customer’s permission the dealer can proactively diagnose what is happening with the machine and help operators improve performance, coordinate fleets during harvest and use field data for agronomic analysis. “Remote diagnosis is saving our customers time and increasing their harvesting productivity,” says Jonathan Hibbert of Midlands dealer Farol. The four service packages are: Uptime: Remote monitoring and service support designed to maximise machine uptime and ensure preventive maintenance and faster repairs. Performance: Monitoring fuel consumption on individual machines to maximise efficiency. Logistics: Moniitoring multiple machines to increase the efficiency of larger fleets – for example optimising combine and grain trailer logistics during harvest. Agronomics: Help and advice with business decisions to improve productivity and profitability.

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Tillage News

Combination drill surge

lacing seed and fertiliser in one pass is regaining popularity as growers recognise the merit of improved establishment, lower cost and better weed

control. “Although popular in Scotland combination drilling lost favour in England recently, mainly due to the high work rates of seed-only

drills,” says Stephen Burcham, general manager of Horsch UK, where combination drills now account for 20% of sales. The firm’s Duett Coulter with Precision Placement of Fertiliser (PPF) is available on drills from 3m to 12m, placing a band of fertiliser about 30mm below the seed, which is placed just above and to the side, with tine harrows and tyre packers providing consolidation. “Precisely placing fertiliser can reduce phosphorus and potassium applications by up to 30%,” says Mr Burcham. Weeds between rows miss out on fertiliser to help cut herbicide costs. Adding a double hopper adds 5-10% to drill cost, which can be covered by year one savings

TILLAGE LIVE! T

illage Live, the national cultivations event, provides a unique opportunity to not only see all the latest cultivations and crop establishment equipment

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at work, but also the chance to discuss current advice and new ideas with industryleading experts. Scheduled for Wednesday 11th September at West Hall Farm, Welton, Lincolnshire the large working demo site just to the north-east of Lincoln (post code LN2 3QF) is made available by kind permission of JJR Farms. The event, which runs from 8am to 3pm, offers operators hands-on experience with the latest equipment and the

chance to compare performance on the same soil type on the same day. NRoSO and BASIS will be available. Tillage Live is organised each year by the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) on behalf of the industry. Last year it attracted thousands of visitors to see around 55 exhibitors, with 24 working demonstrations. For the latest information and ticket details see www.tillage-live.uk.com

Tillage Summer 2013

Tillage News

Cereals Event beckons

CEREALS 2013 on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 June near Lincoln provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on how cultivation and establishment strategies can be improved for the coming autumn. With over 490 exhibitors and virtually every industry expert on-hand it is a great place for arable farmers to investigate new approaches to spur businesses forwards after such a dismal period. Hundreds of crop plots illustrate the latest technical messages, including variety choice, agchem strategies and nutrition advice. Machinery options include extensive static displays and a working demonstration area. Cereals boasts an extensive conference programme too, examining political, financial and technical issues through the established Arable Conference (in partnership with the Oxford Farming Conference), a new series of Technical Seminars (in association with Farmers Weekly) and Business Forums (with principal event sponsor HSBC). Tillage magazine is represented on stand S-G-819, so do pop along for a chat. More info at: www.cerealsevent.co.uk

Tillage Summer 2013

SPAREX

Parts supplier Sparex has invested over ÂŁ4.3m in new facilities to enhance its next day delivery service and expand its total product range to 50,000 items. A new Technical Centre and central distribution hub in Exeter are complemented by a state-of-the-art warehouse at Sittensen in Germany to bring the cut-off time for next day delivery to 6pm. Sparex also manufactures parts in the UK at its ISO accredited Spenco facility.

Cutting compaction

study by the French National Research Institute of Science and Technology for the Environment and Agriculture shows tyres can cause less compaction than tracks. IRSTEA measured soil compaction rates on a 3.5ha plot after a loaded combine passed over it with either

Michelinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CerexBib 800mm Improved Flexion (IF) tyres, 900mm IF tyres or caterpillar tread tracks on three 760mm rollers. On soft ground tracks increased soil hardness by 55%, which was 9% more than where IF 900mm tyres inflated to 1.4 bar were used. On hard ground the tracks were found to exert uneven pressure, with peaks corresponding to the impact of the rollers of up to twice those under IF tyres, which distributed load evenly across the whole footprint.

Don't forget to register on the new website www.tillage.org.uk for updates and for the latest news. 6

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Tillage News

Soil and Water Management

he UK can become a world leader in soil-water management systems, says Professor Shane Ward,

New OSR system

n OSR establishment system with high output, low power requirement and reduced grass-weed seed germination has been developed by Cousins of Emneth and crop production specialists Hutchinsons. The Micro-Wing is based on a V-Form soil loosener with 10 Micro-Wing tines working at

newly appointed Director of the Soil and Water Management Centre at Harper Adams University. “Soil is the base resource for the agri-food and bio-resource sector, and is fundamental to the sustainability of those production systems,” he explains. “Harper Adams is ideally positioned to play a leading role in the national effort to address the requirements of modern agricultural production systems in respect to soil and water; and how to manage our soils

70-100mm, preceded by in-line trash-cutting discs, and followed by razor ring press wheels to consolidate the seeded areas in the cultivated ‘leg zone’. With just 20% of the soil surface disturbed moisture loss is minimal, horse power requirement is cut, fuel efficiency improved and weed seed germination reduced, particularly for black-grass.

within the context of ongoing extreme weather events.” Professor Ward specialises in integrating engineering with life sciences and has developed collaborative research programmes with industry and led several national and EUfunded projects. He also takes up the newly created role of Professor of Soil and Water at the University, where experts are conducting world-class research and engaging with industry and the wider community through a 500ha production and research farm.

Activity of residual grass-weed herbicides is also optimised. The system suits band application of slug pellets and fertiliser, and can be retro-fitted to all Cousins V-Forms.

Terradisc revamped

ottinger’s new range of Terradisc compact disc harrows, branded as the 1001 Series, has 3 pointmounted and trailed versions in working widths of 3-6m. A key change is the new Twin-Arm system. Each arm is secured on a wide clamping bracket and equipped with two new concave scalloped discs to enhance stability. Disc angle is said to be constant and will not move sideways even in heavy soil. Discs are thicker

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and 13% larger than previous machines. Hydraulic adjustment and presetting of working depth is now standard. On trailed versions the chassis is folded forwards to keep the centre of gravity in front of the rear roller, helping

apply extra weight to the discs. The outermost discs are depth adjustable and all disc harrows are fitted with edging plates. A tine harrow with tangential 14mm thick tines is available as a mounting option.

Tillage Summer 2013

Practical

Flexibility is the

Soils ranging from blowing sand to heavy clay pose a stiff challenge for any establishment system. Louise Impey headed to Norfolk to find out how one farmer/contractor’s system ensured all was drilled by mid-April.

he ability to cope with a whole range of soil types and very varied rotations were uppermost in Norfolk grower and contractor Nick Doig’s mind when he first started the quest to replace his drill over two years ago. In addition, the 30 mile journey between his two farms was another important consideration, as the drill had to be robust and suitable for roadwork, as well as manoeuvrable enough to make frequent travel between sites as straightforward as possible. Farming and contracting on all

Tillage Summer 2013

soils – from heavy clays to blowing sands – many of which have root and vegetable crops in the rotation, meant Mr Doig needed to have the flexibility to be able to drill a variety of combinable crops right through the autumn and into the spring, regardless of the conditions. “Where we are drilling after vegetable crops, the land has usually been destoned,” he points out. “That means there is often a lot of tilth, which can be hard to consolidate. It’s a case of having to drill through it.”

Tilth “bow wave” Some drills tend to form a ‘bow wave’ of tilth ahead of the packer in this situation, he reveals. “That makes it much more difficult to drill accurately, and to an even depth. I wanted to avoid that type of problem from happening with our new drill.” His previous Simba Freeflow drill had performed very well and been cost-effective to run and easy to maintain, he recalls. “But it was more suited to the heavier land. Our needs had become a bit more complex over time. The

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Practical

key in Norfolk Nick Doig wanted a drill to cope with all soil types and conditions. Pottinger C6 has served well in two contrasting seasons.

home farm is very light land, while the other is traditional Norfolk breck land or sandy heathland, which can get very wet. “Our clients’ farms are different again. So we encounter a huge range of soil types and conditions over the area that we cover, in most seasons. Recent unpredictable weather has added to that challenge.” Mr Doig’s research led him to look more closely at the Pottinger Terrasem C6, which appealed for a number of reasons. Having seen a prototype of the 6m drill at a previous Cereals Event and

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viewed the drill in operation, he could see the potential of a trailed one-pass system which combined cultivating, consolidating and drilling, but also had the packer positioned immediately behind the discs. “That had immediate advantages for our situation,” he says. “It achieves good seedbed consolidation and gives the drill the better manoeuvrability that we require. It has larger wheels and tyres than some of the others on the market, which were less likely to suffer from punctures on our flinty land.

Transport key Equally important was the fact that the drill is transported on four wheels when it is on the road, with the middle two wheels being raised to improve stability. “I liked the fact that it was stable and steady on the road, as well as being sturdy. It makes a big difference on narrow country lanes and has an in-built safety element.” The Terrasem folds to a 3m transport width, he points out. “On the land, it’s easy to pull. We were using a 300hp tractor at

Tillage Summer 2013

Practical

A good stand of wheat drilled with the C6 – photographed mid-April.

first, but we’ve switched to using a 250hp one.” Mr Doig now has two drilling seasons behind him with the Pottinger Terrasem C6, and has been very pleased with its performance. The contrasting weather conditions have created a good test and put the drill through its paces, with both very dry and very wet soil conditions being encountered. “Interestingly, where I did get stuck in the wet this year, it wasn’t because of the drill. It was the tractor that struggled and stopped. Wet soils don’t seem to bother the drill.” At Overy Farm, Quidenham – the base for NMD Ltd – the rotation consists of winter cereals, potatoes or onions, carrots or parsnips and pigs. The pigs remain on the land for two years before being moved around, providing plenty of soil fertility. “Pigs have a reputation for leaving the land in a mess,” acknowledges Mr Doig. “But they have their advantages too.” One of those is that they root everything out of the soil. “So they’re very good to have after potatoes. We have a very low nematode count on this land, which I’m convinced is due to them finding all the tubers and preventing pest carryover.”

Tillage Summer 2013

Pigs help with primary cultivations after roots.

Straight into stubble Once the pigs have done their two year stint, the land is subsoiled and ploughed, before being drilled. “The Terrasem C6 can be used on ploughed ground, without any problems, or it can go straight into stubbles. “You can also work with the front discs up, as you can put good pressure on the coulters. So it gives us all the options.” After potatoes, the beds are levelled and the soil is then compacted. Subsoiling follows that operation, before drilling can take place. Following winter cereals – both wheat and barley are grown on the farm – the land is ploughed and pressed, then drilled. On the other farm, the land is heavier and contains flints. Sugar beet is no longer grown there, so the rotation comprises winter cereals, oilseed rape and linseed, with grass being used as a break and to support a sheep enterprise. “Some of the crops are grown for seed, to add value. Our break crop options are more limited on that farm, so we look at ways of achieving premiums.”

Mid-April finish Despite this year’s tough conditions Mr Doig had everything drilled, including spring linseed, by mid-April. He has used the drill to sow most combinable crops, including

winter and spring cereals, oilseed rape, stubble turnips, linseed and beans. “It copes with all of these very well.” He tends to start his drilling work in August, with oilseed rape and stubble turnips. This is followed by wheat and barley – which he tries to get in early on the lightest land – with beans being drilled when conditions are right. “We’ve moved away from winter beans because the herbicide options are so limited. But we may introduce spring beans again in the future. That will be possible because the drill handles the larger seed size with ease.” Having potatoes and sugar beet on some of the farms that he contract drills means drilling can go on right through the winter and up until the end of March. “This year has really stretched out the drilling window and seen us working in some less than optimum conditions. However, the crops have come through pretty well and are looking much better than expected.” He estimates that he can drill up to 150 acres per day with the Terrasem C6. “Field size is the limit rather than drill capacity,” he points out.

Wearing parts Wearing part costs were investigated at the time of purchase. “It’s difficult to know how much they’re going to cost

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Practical

Working behind a 250hp tractor the C6 can establish up to 150 acres a day in good conditions.

C6 is not the cheapest, but it certainly provides considerable flexibility, says Nick Doig.

over time. But my calculations were based on needing to replace some of the discs after five years and I worked out that the Pottinger drill should cost me less than some of the others.” His previous Simba drill had needed three sets of tips per season, with each tip costing £3, he recalls. “If the land caps and becomes very hard, the wearing costs would rise. But we’ve had the opposite of that this year.” Despite its large working width, the Terrasem follows the contours of the ground. This is achieved by coupling the single coulter units via a 3-point linkage on the packer frame, as well as the use

of a four piece hinge between the coulter rail section and packer. “It’s a heavy drill, which can put people off,” acknowledges Mr Doig. “But the weight of the machine is fully supported by all wheels at the end of each run, so there’s less potential for compaction. And instead of wheel mark eradicators, it has discs behind the wheels to take the tyre marks out.” It has proved very simple to hook on and off, as well as easy to clean out and maintain. “Calibration is also straightforward and the drill is very accurate. On the last field I drilled, it was within 0.1% accuracy.” The 6m Terrasem has one seed

distributor head, with a maximum of 48 outlets. Together with its precision metering system, seed placement is uniform and the tramlines are shut off automatically, with the seed rate being reduced accordingly. The standard Pottinger specification is equipped for tractors with ISOBUS, allowing GPS precision drilling, where required. “It has met our expectations, without exception,” ends Mr Doig. “It wasn’t cheap at around £60,000, but it allows us to operate across a whole host of conditions. I’m confident that we’ll get good performance from it for years to come.”

Pottinger Terrasem C6 Drill Working Width

Filling height

2.55m

Coulters

Number of distributors

Row spacing

125mm

Length (without trailed lines)

Disc coulter diameter

380mm

Transport width

Individual coulter pressure 40-120kg

Transport height

2.9m

Number of harrow discs

Approximate weight

Diameter of harrow discs

46 510mm

Seed hopper volume

3000 litres

Seed hopper extension

3950 litres

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Horizontal folding bout marker

8.6t

Minimum power required Packer tyres

7.5m

190hp

12 x 425/55 R17 Lower link hitch

Tillage Summer 2013

Big Picture

Boosting arable soil productivity Why squash the life out of your most precious agricultural asset, the soil, when there is an obvious alternative? Controlled traffic farming is one of the options for boosting arable soil productivity, as Andrew Blake discovers.

reserving soil productivity is a priority that can’t be ignored, particularly after the ghastly 2012 summer and autumn. So what can be done to radically improve prospects? Management strategies can be tweaked, as a long-term NIAB TAG study is highlighting (see page 15). Or a more radical approach can be adopted,

Tillage Summer 2013

slashing machinery and fuel costs, delivering environmental benefits, and all without any yield loss. Too good to be true? Not at all, says one Bedfordshire farmer, who has made the move to controlled traffic farming (CTF). Robert Barnes’ contract farming business, run from Roxhill Manor Farm, near Bedford with his father Anthony, covers about

Robert Barnes’ CTF system delivers pinpoint accuracy. An auger extension could further reduce chaser bin wheelings.

2000ha over soils ranging from light sands to heavy clays. For many years the all-arable operation has produced a range of crops, mainly winter wheat and oilseed rape, using a range of conventional machinery. But the impact on the soils of that heavy equipment crisscrossing the fields has become a growing concern.

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Big Picture “Five years ago we were using a lot of kit and I began to worry that it was becoming so big that we might not be able to rectify the damage we were doing. We need to understand and appreciate the importance of what goes on in our soils. Abuse your worms, for example, and you lose drainage.” His latest conventional production system, based on a Challenger 765 tractor, 4.5m Simba Solo, 6.6m Cultipress, 8m Vaderstad drill, 40m Bateman sprayer and 10.5m cut Claas combine, ensured that very little of any field escaped potentially damaging wheelings. “There wasn’t much left untrafficked, and the damage in the autumn could be immense,” says Mr Barnes. So, four years ago, he decided to trial a fresh approach based on a nominal 12m controlled traffic zero-till farming system

using satellite guidance. “You need a good GPS for pass to pass accuracy every year. Our RTK, provided by Trimble through AS Communications using a base

“In practice the switch hasn’t proved expensive with the sale of equipment more than offsetting the cost of the new.” station at the home farm, is accurate to 2cm.” In practice that allows the machinery’s wheelings (left) to cover less than 20% of the field area (right) instead of 80% as with the previous approach (see diagram on p14). “With zero-till and controlled traffic working, which allows the machinery to work in beds, there is the potential to reduce our

seed rates, agrochem and fertiliser applications, but we haven’t seen any drop in yields,” he stresses. Matching the CTF system’s equipment required careful thought, but the sale income from his previous machinery more than covered the cost of the new which was first used on a field scale in 2010. Starting point is a Claas Lexion 600 nominal 12m cut combine actually cutting 11.98m. A purpose-built 12m Dale Eco-drill was fabricated in the farm workshop with a coulter removed to sow 11.66m. “Operating at this width meant we had some cut width to spare,” explains Mr Barnes. The grain-only drill, which has a 5t hopper and an auto-steered axle, is hauled by a 360hp Fendt 936 fitted with Michelin tyres – 620/75R30 front and 800/70R38 rear. Working at 8km/hr it can sow

Cultivating Quality Swift. An efficient stubble cultivator characterised by its versatility, good mixing ability, levelling capability and low draught requirement.

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Cultus. An aggressive cultivator with exceptional mixing ability that leaves a fine tilth. Changeable depth during operation makes it perfect for the precise farming.

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TopDown. Both cuts and mixes in one pass. Extremly versatile, all tools can be used independently. Produces a seedbed in one pass.

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Tillage Summer 2013

Big Picture wheat using just 7litres/ha of fuel. For spraying he employs a Bateman RB 55 self-propelled machine on a 2.2m wide track matched to the system with a boom width of 35m – one nozzle being blocked off on each side of a standard 36m boom. Managing the straw is a key part of the system, both to ensure smooth drill working and to boost the soil’s organic matter, explains Mr Barnes. “We’re making sure that the energy from the sun which it contains is returned to the soil.” Mulching with a 12m

inputs and seed rates. “We strongly believe that we’re simply guardians of the land we cultivate and are custodians of the surrounding countryside which we manage on behalf of future generations,” he says. “We need to look after this precious asset with care to enable us to ensure its sustainability. CTF reduces nitrous oxide and CO2 emissions, and reduces nitrogen run-off into watercourses. “It also saves fuel and time. We saved 50,000 litres of diesel in our first year alone, and if we can

Tim Chamen notes that the soil beneath the chaser bin wheelings (left) is cloddier than in the non-trafficked area (right).

Spearhead Starcut 1210 rotary machine has proved effective, a bonus being that it can work on long stubbles and so speed harvesting rates, he notes. During harvest an OutTrac system is used with the combine working on 2.8m wide tracks, the grain collecting tractor on 2.2m and grain chasers on adjustable axles which put the wheels out to match the combine. Altogether this results in a trafficked area of only about 17%. Mr Barnes hopes that some means of extending the combine’s unloading auger may in due course allow that figure to become even lower. The precision offered by CTF adds to that which he already employs to map yields and guide nitrogen, phosphorus and potash

Tillage Summer 2013

get the rotation right I’m sure we’ll be able to reduce our pesticide use even more. By keeping the blackgrass on the surface, for example, it’s easier to control.” According to Tim Chamen of CTF Europe, with whom Robert developed the system, the switch has been well considered. “I think I first spoke to him about CTF 15 years ago,” says Mr Chamen. “Since then he has gradually put all the pieces in place, much of which has involved changing his mind-set and deciding when and how he was going to implement it. “In practice the switch hasn’t proved expensive with the sale of equipment more than offsetting the cost of the new. Following a great deal of thought, the transition was, I believe, relatively

easy; and he now has a much simplified production system requiring considerably less time and effort to operate. However, attention to detail is paramount, and Robert is no stranger to that. “If a move to CTF is turning out to be costly, then it’s either being done incorrectly or over the wrong timescale.” Mr Barnes says that at first it was hard to persuade some of his contract farm customers to adopt CTF. “They really didn’t like seeing what they felt looked messy in the autumn. But now they’ve seen the results more are

A CTF system requires careful machinery matching.

coming round to the idea.” No-till methods have received a mixed press, notes Mr Chamen. “There has been many a report of poor yields in the first few years and maybe up to five. “In a random traffic system that’s probably mostly down to the build-up of compaction before the soil organisms, driven by extra organic matter, start to re-create porosity in the topsoil. “This happens at varying rates in different soils and, of course, under different machinery pressures. “With CTF, this problem is eliminated at the outset, which is why so many of our members only go to no-till when they can also introduce CTF. And, as Robert says, his fuel use has gone down dramatically but with no reduction in his and his client’s yields.”

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Big Picture

Options aplenty under scrutiny Only through trials over several years can the interactions between various soil modifying methods be properly assessed, says Ron Stobart.

ong term NIAB TAG studies on ways to boost arable soil fertility by several different methods are starting to bear fruit. Rotations, cultivations, cover crops and various additions to soils, such as green waste compost, are all well known to affect crop production. But only through experiments over several seasons can their true combined impacts be properly assessed, stresses Ron Stobart. Mr Stobart, who oversees two projects on large field scale plots in East Anglia, outlines some of the useful findings emerging.

Soil porosity “Improving soil structure and porosity helps rain to penetrate more easily, allows the land to retain more moisture during droughts, and reduces run-off and erosion,” he explains. “And it should allow growers to manage their farming systems to become more resilient to extreme weather patterns which seem to be becoming more common.” After six years of the 10-year New Farming Systems project* comparing the effects of a permanent clover sub-canopy against single-season legume mix and fodder radish cover crops established ahead of spring crops, it is clear that all offer yield boosts to some degree. But only the permanent clover sub-canopy significantly

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affected soil porosity, and that effect only became apparent after three years of the rotation, notes Mr Stobart. “In practice brassica species, such as the radish, are relatively easy to establish, but can lead to volunteer and disease problems in following crops. Legumes, like the clover, tend to be harder to establish and are generally slower growing.”

Green waste Adding green waste compost annually at 35t/ha has been particularly promising, boosting wheat yields on average by 7%, he notes. “It has also notably improved the soil characteristics by improving water infiltration rates, nutrient levels and organic matter. Over a four year period the phosphate index went from 3 to 4, the potash from 2 to 3 and the magnesium from 2 to 3. And the organic matter in the top 10cm was raised by 1.5%. Straw incorporation over 20 years lifted it only by around 0.2%.” The NFS project is also exploring the interaction of tillage regimes and cover crop use. “While a shallow non-inversion tillage approach alone has resulted in a tighter soil profile, compared to plough and deeper non-inversion tillage, the use of deep rooting cover crops combined with shallow tillage is

Ron Stobart of NIAB TAG.

showing some potential to increase yields and improve the consistency of crop performance.” The STAR (Sustainability Trial in Arable Rotations) project** is examining the interaction between four rotations and four cultivation methods. Mr Stobart says that so far rotation alone on the clay land seems to have had little impact on soil strength and, unsurprisingly perhaps, a winter cropping-based approach produces the best cumulative margin.

Best margins However, the encouraging message after six years is that although ploughing is tending to deliver the highest yields, the cultivation system offering the best margins is, on average, a “managed approach”. “That’s where the methods are chosen on a seasonal basis to best suit the conditions and the crop,” he explains. The main problem, not unexpectedly, has been a buildup of grass weeds in the noninversion continuous wheat plots. “Rotation and cultivation techniques, particularly grass weed control through soil inversion, are becoming increasingly important in light of developing resistance and withdrawal of key herbicide ingredients.” * Supported by Morley Agricultural

Tillage Summer 2013

Case Study

Northumberland min-till switch

Min-till benefits seen in Northumberland in autumn 2011 were frustratingly put on hold last season. But their return is keenly awaited for the coming autumn, as Andrew Blake reports.

fter discarding ploughing in 2011 and adopting a more versatile machine as his primary cultivator, Northumberland farmer Anthony Rutherford had hoped to see the benefits of the changed strategy repeated this season. The benefits of moving to reduced tillage were significant – in terms of timeliness, labour and fuel costs, and improving soil structure. However, like many of his neighbours around Burnt House Farm, Nedderton, near Morpeth, he found last autumn’s sodden

Tillage Summer 2013

land almost impossible to work – with any machine. As a result only about 20% of his intended winter crops were sown. “They were the worst conditions I’ve known since we came here in 1979,” says Mr Rutherford. “In 2011 we had 685mm of rain. Last year we had 1225mm and it rained pretty well all through September, October and November. “Even after the floods of 2008 we could at least get back on the land for drilling in October.” Consequently, this season’s

mainly winter cropping-based system has been severely disrupted.

Wide range of soils WPR Farms, which he owns and runs, consists of about 1820ha covering a wide range of soils. The main crops are usually feed wheat, feed and malting barley and oilseed rape, plus some oats and beans. But last autumn’s dire conditions meant four-fifths of the land had to be spring-cropped with a potentially significant impact on returns.

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Case Study

Anthony Rutherford – keen to embrace reduced tillage benefits of improved timeliness, lower fuel costs, reduced labour and improved soil structure – all seen in 2011.

“Our target yield for winter barley is 8t/ha and we aim for 9.75t/ha with the winter wheat,” says Mr Rutherford. “The wheels have certainly come off this season.” The land, part owned, rented and contracted, ranges from light sands to tough clay-based soils and includes restored open-cast mine workings; and he had been well pleased with his changed tillage strategy based around a Simba SL700.

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LD optional tine aids deep soil loosening, without surface disturbance.

Until a few years ago crop establishment was mainly through ploughing followed by further cultivation and powerharrow combination drilling. “We switched because we simply couldn’t cover the ground with our old system,” explains Mr Rutherford. “We might have had two or three people ploughing and they’d be going solidly for seven weeks, with a similar team on power-harrows. Now we can do 4,000 acres with three people and a bit of harvest help.” The initial switch to non-inversion methods began with an SL500.

Disc angle is easily adjusted to cope with varying conditions.

“That did an excellent job, but on some of our rougher and heavier land we felt we needed more effective consolidation, so we swapped to the SL700, which has Simba’s big 700mm DD rings fitted.

Ideal seedbed “They leave the seed-bed well consolidated and weather-proof, so that our two Vaderstad cultivator drills can work into it without further passes. “There’s no one machine that’s ideal for every soil we farm, but

Tillage Summer 2013

Case Study the SL700 does a good job right across the whole range. Otherwise we might need three different cultivators. “It takes some pulling, especially on the heavier soils,” he admits. “We use a 550hp Cat 865.” Several other similar cultivators were explored, including the TopDown from Vaderstad, he notes. “But I particularly like the consolidation we can get from the DD rings.” He says the ability to change the discs’ working angle is important and having sets of both ST and LD legs means the nature of the deeper cultivation can be modified. “We generally work about 8-10 inches deep.”

Oilseed rape The ST legs are used for most cultivations, the LD legs being fitted for establishing oilseed rape. However, sowing rape via a box mounted on the machine has

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proved less satisfactory than drilling, he notes. “We get more consistent results by using the Vaderstad following the SL700 because the drill also acts as

“We simply couldn’t cover the ground with our old system. Now we can do 4,000 acres with three people and a bit of harvest help.” a cultivator. “On some of our soils we don’t want to create too fine a tilth, because they can run together if it rains. But some of the restored open-cast land can turn really solid when the weather’s dry, and any machine that isn’t well enough built would be pulled apart. “We can adjust the disc angles so it does the right job.” Hauled at 10-11kph in the autumn of 2011 the SL700 created a good level surface to help pre-emergence

herbicides work well, he notes. That year it cultivated almost everything. “We ploughed only about 200 acres that were going into oats, because we didn’t have time to create a proper stale seed-bed.” Daily output, given the average field size of about 12ha, was 6080ha a day, and costs were down, he notes. “It was certainly cheaper than ploughing, but the big thing was timeliness.”

Soil benefits However, he also believes his soils are becoming more workable and healthier. “We can certainly see more earthworms because we’re creating and maintaining the right habitat for them. They make the soil much more friable than it was a few years ago, because they aerate the soil and work in some of the trash where it can break down.

Case Study “The SL700 moves a lot of soil and does a very good job of incorporating trash and consolidating the seed-bed, so we don’t normally need more work ahead of the drill. Where we do need to do another pass, we use a UniPress to finish off the seed-bed.” Given its clear cut advantages over ploughing in his particular circumstances, Mr Rutherford hopes a return to more normal conditions this autumn will allow him to return to non-inversion tillage and the benefits it brings.

Great Plains Simba SL cultivator SL cultivators from Great Plains Simba (with new green livery now replacing former Simba yellow) are designed to undertake several operations in one pass. With working widths of 4, 5, 6 and 7 metres respectively, the SL 400, 500, 600 and 700 models feature a disc-tine-disc

configuration, with a single row of Pro-Active disc units followed by two rows of ST tines, another set of discs and a 600mm DD Lite rear roller (700mm DD roller on the SL 700). The aim is to work at shallow depths with the discs and deeper depths with loosening tines to provide two distinct operations within the machine, unlike other machines that operate on a twinpass principle, where deeper working tines, for example, have to supplement the working operation of discs. That can result in a compromise where clods are boiled to the surface, reducing seedbed quality, explains Great Plains Simba. Two rows of 500mm or 600mm (7m model) Pro-Active discs, one ahead of the tines and one behind, chop and incorporate the surface trash. Spaced at 250mm, the discs give improved contour following and stone protection. Adjustable disc angling

allows the aggression of soil working to be varied – an acute angle giving maximum stubble mixing in one pass and a shallower angle chopping down ploughing when required. The SL tines shatter the soil profile at depth without bringing clods and subsoil to the surface. Settings are easily adjusted to cope with various soil types, conditions and residue levels. The rear DD roller (600mm diameter on SL400, 500 and 600 models and 700mm on SL 700) consolidates the ground through to depth to leave a fine, level, weatherproof seedbed. Optional extras include air brakes (in lieu of hydraulic), eightoutlet OSR kit, and low disturbance (LD) tines in lieu of ST tines, to restructure at depth in the root zone without disturbing or inverting any weathered tilth from the surface. Pro-Edge Points specially designed for the ST tine are quick and easy to fit and

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Case Study

aul Langford is a busy man. He’s responsible for the dayto-day running of field operations across 6000ha cropped by Lincolnshire Field Products, a £140m turnover farming and haulage operation based near Spalding in Lincolnshire. Almost half the land, which varies from grade one silts to heavy silty clays, is cropped with brassicas – cauliflowers, sprouts and several types of cabbage. A further 600ha grows potatoes, while sugar beet accounts for a further 920ha. Cereals – mainly wheat – and some oilseed rape make up the rest.

“The idea is to get the soil lifted then subsoil it and drill.”

Cultivating success in a veg and roots rotation Flexibility is the key when it comes to working heavy soils, especially when timetables are tight. Tillage magazine visits two very different farming businesses to hear how they are coping Horsch Terrano 6 FM has coped with large volumes of trash to leave a good finish, says Paul Langford.

Tillage Summer 2013

Flexibility and reliability are crucial when it comes to cultivations, and were the key drivers behind the decision to purchase one of Horsch’s first Terrano 6 FMs in the UK, an all-round cultivator designed for medium and heavy soils.

Trash

“We were specifically looking for something that could cope with large volumes of trash and leave a good finish, particularly after potatoes. We trialled a prelaunch Terrano FM in the summer of 2011 on some ex-veg land. The feedback from the guys that use it was this was the bit of kit they wanted,” says Mr Langford. Two seasons of post-potato work have proved the FM’s capabilities. “The idea is to get the soil lifted then subsoil it and drill. The Terrano has proved ideal – it gives a very good mix in a single pass, and copes very well with high levels of trash.” The Terrano’s frame height of 75cm helps and the tine arrangement is key. Its 21

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Case Study TerraGrip tines are carried on four bars, spaced at 112cm per row while achieving a 28 cm spacing overall. This ensures free flow of soil and trash, while 37cm-wide side wings fitted behind the points ensure all soil is moved and maintains intensive mixing throughout the profile, especially with shallower operations. “The FM has a good aggressive mixing action – it doesn’t leave much on the surface, so there’s nothing to block the drill.” The deflector fitted to the tine above the point twists progressively, allowing soil to flow around the tine rather then pressing up against it, similar to a plough mouldboard. This, coupled with the fact there are fewer tines than on many comparable machines, means less power is needed to pull it. “We use a 765 Challenger putting out 320 hp,” says Mr Langford. “That still makes it grunt now and again – you are moving a lot of soil across 6m.” The Terrano FM is also fitted with what is described as a “Tractive Power Amplifier”. This transfers a vertical load of 1.4t onto the rear axle of the tractor via the drawbar. Primarily designed to boost traction it also aids depth control, especially in more variable or compacted conditions often found after

Depth control Accurate and consistent depth control is another of the FM’s key features, says Paul Langford. The 60cm TerraGrip tines have a 60cm radius making them suitable for both shallow and deep cultivations. Lincolnshire Field products’ machine runs at a depth of 15-25cm, depending on soil type and previous crop.

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potatoes, says Mr Langford. “You can really feel the machine pull itself into the ground – you know it’s not going to rise out.”

Multiple passes

Another slot where the Terrano looks well suited is spring cultivations after late-harvested vegetables. “We usually plough at this time, but that can lead to problems on heavier soils,” he explains. “Once you get to March, soils can easily dry and bake. The intention is to use the Terrano shallow at first, let the soil weather, then repeat a couple more times going progressively deeper, creating a seedbed from the top down without losing moisture.” The Terrano should also cope well after sugar beet. “I think it could replace the plough in a lot of situations. We’ve not had a lot of chance to experiment yet with last autumn being so wet, we were restricted in how much we could drag and drill. But we usually plough to get rid of residue, and the Terrano has shown it can deal with that. We’re looking at using it on a couple of thousand acres a year.” “We’ve ended up with a pretty flexible system,” says Mr Langford. “The cultivator deals with trash better, pulls better and leaves a better finish for drilling, and it can cope with a wide range of conditions and keep going “It is something you need to fully understand to get the best out of it, but once you have it set up it’s pretty precise.” Depth is controlled via the packer roller and front support wheels, and adjusted using spacer clips on the push rods. A hydraulic stepless adjustment option is also offered. In wet conditions the packer roller can be removed, in which case the central transport wheels can be brought into play to

Lincolnshire Field Products

when things get a bit sticky.”

Based at Spalding, Lincs 6000ha brassicas, potatoes, sugar beet, wheat, OSR Soils – Grade 1 silts to heavy silty clays Markets: • Brassicas – leading retailer • Potatoes – multiple retailers via Branston and QV Foods • Wheats – 50% groups 1, 2 and 3, 50% feed Key arable machinery: 6 Challenger MT765s Horsch Terrano 6 FM cultivator Horsch Airseeder CO8 drill Knight 7m cultipress Vaderstad carrier 8m cultivator 4 Kuhn 6m power harrows 3 Standen Baselier (2x6m, 1x4m) rotary cultivators 2 Alpego 4m power harrows 2 Kuhn 3m rotavators Knight 6m discs 2 Lemken 8-furrow ploughs 4 Kverneland 7-furrow ploughs 2 Knight 24m sprayers Agrifac 36m sprayer 2 New Holland 9080 combines 30ft headers 3 Standen T3 potato harvesters

control depth, an option that can also be used in soft or wet going. “The double RollFlex packer wasn’t originally designed to come off. We suggested it would be a good idea so you can lift wetter soil, leaving it more open to let it dry out. We now have this option fitted, as do new FMs.” The system came into its own last autumn, lifting some very rutted potato fields so they were level enough to plough.

Tillage Summer 2013

Case Study

Coping with boulder clay for wheat and rape

chieving good establishment across 300ha of winter wheat on the heavy boulder clays at Muston, Leicestershire is testing enough in a normal year, let alone an autumn like 2012. But all the planned winter cropping was drilled and most has survived the winter in good shape, says Leigh Donger who, with his father, operates an 800ha mix of rented and contract-farmed land as RH Donger and Sons from Peacock Farm just west of Grantham. Mr Donger, a fourth generation tenant, grows 600ha of winter wheat and oilseed rape, and grass and stewardship on the rest. Nearly all the land is unforgiving boulder clay. “Ploughing is a non-starter on this soil and we do as little as possible,” he says. Oilseed rape is established behind the farm’s seven-leg subsoiler, but the wheat is drilled into cultivated soil. After trying many different makes and combinations of cultivator over the past 15 years with varying degrees of success, the farm’s latest purchase appears to have resolved what, in hindsight, was a key problem. “We were moving too much soil,” he notes. “We were bringing up too much heavy clay and burning too much diesel to achieve a reasonable seedbed.” The large, widely spaced discs on the previous machine were part of the problem. “You had to get them in 12-15cm otherwise you were left with uncultivated lines running up the field.”

Shallow mixing

Leigh Donger – farming 800ha of wheat and OSR on unforgiving Leicestershire clay.

Tillage Summer 2013

Having heard good reports from his uncle, William Donger, who had tried a pre-production model, he decided to buy a Horsch Terrano 4 MT, specifically designed for shallow mixing and deep loosening.

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Case Study

Drilling progress

The benefits of moving less soil have been very noticeable, says Mr Donger.

Deep loosening tines work between banks of shallow-working discs.

Thirty-six 52cm diameter discs are carried up front in two rows, producing an overall spacing of 125mm. This and the high turning speed of the small discs means the DiscSystem, as it is known, can run relatively shallow and still achieve good mixing even where trash levels are high. Working depth can be controlled hydraulically from the driver’s seat independently of tine settings. The 4m wide MT has 11 TerraGrip tines in two rows providing an overall spacing of 40cm. This, plus the 85cm frame height, provides ample clearance allowing trouble-free working even

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when going deep in trashy soils. The tines are fitted with a breakback mechanism set at 500kg. Each tine is fitted with narrow 40mm LD (low disturbance) coulters. These are designed to provide ample loosening at depth but minimum lift, leaving rough soil and raw clay down below. Depth adjustment of the tines is controlled via spacer clips, which can be fixed onto the push rods on the packer frame. In soft or wetter conditions the centremounted wheels come into play for additional depth control. “We used this option quite a bit last

Drilling started on 28th September, after a fortnight’s weather delay. “The Horsch Airseeder CO8 can average 130-140 acres a day behind the Challenger, and after a few breaks for rain we finished on 11 October,” says Leigh Donger. The system worked well in the tough conditions, he adds. “I think the Terrano MT leaves a more waterproof finish than other cultivators, with the water able to drain away better. Going shallower and faster also meant we could keep going when others would have stayed in the shed.” The CO8, bought secondhand in late 2011, also played a key role in getting crops established in less than ideal conditions, he adds. It is fitted with Duett coulters, which bandsow the seed, so has just 32 tines set 25cm apart. This reduces the draft requirement dramatically and allows even trashy soil to flow freely through the machine. The rear tyre packer is also self-cleaning, he notes.

Working behind a 320hp Challenger MT765C the cultivator can be worked at up to 12kph – the faster the better to aid mixing action.

Tillage Summer 2013

Case Study

RH Donger and Sons

Small discs turning at high speed make for a good mix even where trash levels are high.

autumn!” says Mr Donger. p24 A single row of discs, also independently adjustable, then levels the soil ready for the SteelDisc packer to consolidate the work.

Power demand The combination of wide tine spacing and narrow coulters reduces power requirement and allows the machine to be pulled fast enough to optimise the DiscSystem’s intensive mixing action and tilth production. The Donger’s 320hp Challenger MT765C is well up to the job. “You need a minimum of 8kph and we like to run at 11-12kph,” he comments. “As well as setting up the final seedbed we also want to create

a stale seedbed to encourage as much blackgrass as possible to chit – it’s a real problem on this land.” The low disturbance action also minimises the amount of deeply buried seed brought to the surface, he adds. The machine arrived on the farm last summer, and did well in the tough season. It was used on all the oilseed rape stubbles, and on 30ha coming second wheat, going in as soon as the combine had finished. “This ensures the straw is mixed into the clay immediately, as once rained on these soils become impossible to cultivate for days after.” Spot work rates of 4-5ha/hour were typical, helped by the recently adopted RTK AutoSteer system. After a follow-up light tine and

Muston, near Grantham. 800ha – wheat, OSR, grass, stewardship Soil type – boulder clay Key machinery: Tractors Challenger 765C; JD 7820; JD 6920 JCB Loadall 530-70 Horsch Terrano 4 MT Horsch CO8 drill Chafer Sentry trailed 40m sprayer Claas Lexion 580 9m combine Simba 6.6m Cultipress TWB 7leg subsoiler c/w Techneat seeder and Nutri-start Opico 12m rolls press a few days later, necessary last autumn to cope with a few clods flicked up by the steel press in the damp conditions, fields were left for blackgrass to germinate. Few appeared in what was a high dormancy season and drilling started at the end of September. “In a normal year we’d be quite happy holding off a bit to help control difficult-to-manage blackgrass,” says Leigh. “But it’s good to know we have a system that can also cope with the worst the weather can throw at us. We certainly can’t complain about

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Tillage Summer 2013

Insight

While TB Fairey & Sons considered a tracked machine, the decision was taken instead to replace a wheeled 8 series John Deere with a ‘single-wheeled’ – rather than ‘double wheeled’ – 9430 artic series tractor on Trelleborg TM900s.

Tyres trump tracks in East Anglia

Selecting, inflating and weighting. Get those right, suggest tyre and tractor makers, and a wheeled machine can match a tracklayer for in-field performance, with road travel and versatility benefits to boot. Two East Anglian farmers explain.

yre technology for high horsepower tractors has advanced significantly in recent years, with longer footprints, improved tread patterns and flexible carcass walls that allow running at lower pressures. Despite that, many large farms looking to haul the likes of 6m one-pass cultivators, 12-furrow ploughs and 8m drills still seem to see crawlers as the first option in the 350-500hp prime mover sector. Given the significant difference in purchase price and running

Tillage Summer 2013

cost of a wheeled tractor compared with a tracklayer of comparable horsepower, the traction and compaction benefits of the latter need to be significant to justify the additional money. On two East Anglian farms that recently renewed their main tractors, the crawler option came beneath that of taking technical advice on tyre selection and set-up to ensure the tyred tractors they selected performed on a par with possible tracked alternatives.

Based near Linton, Cambridge, TB Fairey and Sons Ltd established 1,280ha (3,200ac) of wheat and OSR on its own and neighbouring ground by October 22 last autumn, despite the difficult conditions, fully justifying its decision to replace one of its two high-hp conventional tractors with a wheeled artic rather than a crawler, believes the business’s main tractor operator, Jim Tarry. Carrying out cultivations and drilling in conjunction with a neighbour, the farm had been

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Insight

In order to improve the speed of operations on its own land and that of the neighbouring farm, TB Fairey & Sons three years ago renewed its two main tractors. While one made way for a similar but newer and larger 8 series John Deere, the other was replaced with a wheeled articulated 480hp 9430 in order to increase daily workrates. While there had been some interest in switching to a tracked machine, Mr Tarry is convinced that the business’s owners made

the right decision. But ensuring the tractor is on the right tyres at the right pressures, and is weighted properly, has been key to its success, he believes. “When the farm owners were considering buying the tractor, John Deere advised us that to get the power to the ground it would be best equipped with duals. But after consulting with Treadfirst, our local agricultural tyre supplier, they suggested we take some further advice on other options for this type and size of tractor that would be more practical. “On 900/60 R38 TM900s on Trelleborg rims, it appeared we could achieve the balance of pulling power and flotation we were looking for, without significant transport width issues.” The tractor works with a 6m Gregoire Besson Helios onepass cultivator, 10 furrow Gregoire Besson articulated plough and seven-leg Tim Howard subsoiler, plus a 6.5m Vaderstad Rexius Twin press. Unusually, the artic is equipped with a front linkage, and onto this is hitched a Guttler press to help level and fill holes in ploughed land ahead of the Rexius. Mr Tarry reckons this further improves the tyres’ travel on soft ground, and is probably worth two gears in terms of forward speed. The 9430 is 3.2m wide, so

The 9430 comfortably operates TB Fairey’s 6m Gregoire Besson Helios at 8.5-10km/hr at 11in deep, says Jim Tarry.

A full set of wheel weights was specified to help achieve as much traction as possible from the tractor and its tyres.

“Advice to alter the tyre pressures to suit the weight distribution of the tractor in work meant we were able to reduce wheelslip to as low as 8% at times.” running two conventional John Deeres, an 8520 and an 8335, as its main tractors, on land that varies from boulder clay and flinty chalk to light land. Oilseed rape and first wheat is established using minimum tillage, while plough-based systems are retained for sugar beet, winter barley and second wheat.

JD 9430 artic

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does require an escort for road travel. But this is never more than four miles, and the machine is far narrower than it would be on duals, and more comfortable to drive on the road than a crawler would be, reckons Mr Tarry. “Although we have some stony ground, the fronts have done 2,750hrs, and should have at least another 1,000hrs in them. You need weight to pull weight, and on Trelleborg’s advice we specified the tractor with a full set of wheel weights, while this year we also ran a one tonne block on the front linkage when not using the press. The tractor comfortably operates the 6m Helios at 8.510km/hr down at 11in, and there’s plenty of traction.” “We had 1,200 acres of rape drilled by August 25, and 2,000 acres of wheat sown by October 22, which shows how well the tyred tractor coped with the conditions. Trelleborg’s advice to alter the tyre pressures to suit the weight distribution of the tractor in work, so that the fronts are slightly firmer than the rears, meant that we were able to reduce wheelslip to as low as 8% at times. With the front press firming the ground, the tyred tractor travelled well, and left behind a good finish for the drill without the headland smearing and compaction that crawlers can create in these sorts of less

Running a Guttler press on the tractor’s front linkage further improves travel on soft ground, and is worth two gears in forward speed terms, says Jim Tarry.

Tillage Summer 2013

Insight machine, they could not justify renewing their existing six-yearold 320hp AGCO Challenger MT765. The crawler had been used primarily for top work, cultivating and pressing on land initially moved by the Quadtrac and plough or TopDown, the Case IH machine then switching to the drill.

Other tasks

Replacing an AGCO Challenger MT765 with a Fendt 936 has allowed Michael and James Sapsed to do more with their secondary tractor.

Versatility bonus from tyred Fendt 936

n Michael and James Sapsed’s 920ha (2,300 acre) combinable crop unit near Royston in north Hertfordshire, a switch back to a wheeled machine for one of its two main cultivation tractors has resulted in greater versatility with minimal compromise to field performance. Farming with his father Michael, Mr Sapsed practises a mix of ploughing and minimum tillage to establish wheat and oilseed rape on mostly clay land with a relatively low stone content. For second wheats the land is ploughed with a 12 furrow Gregoire Besson behind a Case

Tillage Summer 2013

IH Quadtrac 500, but for first wheats and oilseed rape, a sequence of cultivation with a 6m Vaderstad TopDown followed by pressing with a 10m Vaderstad Rexius Twin is practised. A Vaderstad Rapid 8m drill is common to both systems, sowing both wheat and rape. Having recently added the 500hp Quadtrac to the top of the farm fleet in order to increase ploughing and cultivation capacity, the Sapseds decided that, after a couple of seasons working the two machines alongside each other and having moved away from a trailed sprayer to a self-propelled

“Although the two worked well together, we felt we couldn’t justify running or renewing two crawlers, and we also needed greater versatility from the machine, as a crawler is limited in the other tasks that it can be used for, whereas we had plenty of other uses for a wheeled tractor, such as trailer, chaser bin and tanker hauling,” explains Mr Sapsed. “Newer tyre technology also means that ground contact and weight distribution have improved a lot, and that led to us looking last year at the options for replacing the Challenger. It was a matter not only of deciding which wheeled tractor to go for, but also what wheel and tyre equipment to equip it with.”

Occasionally escorting a dualled tractor is cheaper than investing in a more expensive, less versatile crawler, says James Sapsed.

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Insight “We were also keen to retain levels of grip and flotation as close as possible to what we were getting from the Challenger.” A Fendt 936 was the final choice, providing a few more horsepower than the Challenger, as well as a continuously variable transmission, and cab and front axle suspension.

Ground contact Given that it would be performing many of the same tasks as its predecessor, the Sapseds were keen to maximise the amount of ground contact that could be achieved with the tractor when compared with the tracklayer, and so sought advice on the best wheels and tyres with which to equip it. “While we wanted the versatility of a wheeled tractor, we were also keen to retain levels of grip and flotation as close as possible to what we were getting from the Challenger, to pull implements such as our 10m Vaderstad Rexius Twin. We knew that Trelleborg had developed its TM900 tyre in conjunction with Fendt, and we talked with Trelleborg about the best size and arrangement for the work we wanted the tractor to do.”

Taller tyre pays Trelleborg agricultural manager Neil Sharman’s advice was to go for a taller tyre rather than a wider profile, with calculations showing that the long footprint of 710/75 R42 tyres would actually be much more suitable than wider 800mm section rubber, allowing more wheel weight to be added and

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putting more cleats in contact with the ground. “We also looked at 900s, but Neil’s point was that, as pulling power was our main aim, if dualled up and paired with 600/70 R34s on the front, the 710s would be our best bet for both traction and flotation. As most of our land is in a block, road travel isn’t a big issue, and having gone from a crawler, we wanted to maintain as much grip as possible. This way we have the ground contact we want, and can weight the tractor up for primary cultivations, yet still have the convenience of being able to remove weight for secondary cultivations and drilling, and convert the tractor back to a 2.7m-wide machine for road work.”

Set-up When it was delivered ahead of last autumn, Mr Sharman visited the farm to help set up the tractor and its tyres for best performance. “We measured the weight distribution of the tractor and weighted it accordingly for the traction we need,” explains James. “If you’ve got good boots and the tractor is weighted right, then a wheeled tractor can do just as good a job as a crawler in terms of output and fuel use, and with the long footprint of the 710 TM900s, we get more tread for our money. “With Neil’s help we found that, when ploughing on land with our seven-furrow Gregoire Besson, we could put more lugs on the ground and vastly improve grip and performance by reducing pressures from 24psi (1.65 bar) for road work to 17-18psi (1.171.24 bar), and for low-speed movement between fields we could travel without reinflation. For topwork with duals, we can

reduce pressures further than that, down to 10psi (0.69 bar) all-round, giving the tractor a really light footprint. “Road travel is usually no more than five miles maximum, but most land is within the home block, and escorting a wide tractor still makes more sense than investing in a more expensive, less versatile crawler in our current situation. Last season it worked with our chaser bin in summer before switching to the plough and then being dualled up for pressing, spring tining and drilling.

Drill duty While it wasn’t the intention to drill with the tractor, last year it sometimes proved just too wet for the Quadtrac as we struggled to get the seed in the ground behind the tracks, but we were able to keep a bit of tilth with the drill behind the Fendt on the duals. The crawler was only useful to us in the autumn, but we make use of the tractor all

The Sapseds’ Fendt 936 works with a chaser bin and then a plough on singles, before being dualled up for pressing, springround.” tining and drilling. year

Tillage Summer 2013

Insight

Time for the tine drill

With many min-till systems struggling in the wet, simple and lightweight tine drills have become increasingly popular in recent autumns. Martin Rickatson spoke to suppliers and users about how the machines fit in on larger farms.

The Maschio Primavera, imported by Opico, features four rows of straight tine coulters with low-cost replaceable tine tips - a boon for Matthew Curtis of Pensford, Bristol last autumn.

ounted drills that do without the complexity of cultivation elements, discs, drawbars, chassis and axles, and simply feed their seed down the back of tined coulters, have come into their own in both conventional and min-till situations in the past few seasons. With no discs or packers to bung up with soil or trash, and a lightweight touch courtesy of their fully-mounted, no chassis design, the latest generation tine drills have found their way onto an increasing number of arable units as a back-up or even a replacement for more complex cultivator-type machines. Matthew Curtis, who farms 1,000ha from Stanton Wick, Pensford, near Bristol, of which 760ha is under arable cropping, runs both a 6m Vaderstad Rapid and a 3m power-harrow combination in his machinery fleet, but during autumn 2012 was able to drill only his oilseed rape and 12ha of cereals with the

Tillage Summer 2013

Rapid, his primary drill. “The Rapid is a good drill, but if it comes wet, then the fact that it’s a big machine that’s heavily built does go against it,” he says. “Not only does it require a lot of power to pull it, but the discs can tend to block with soil and trash. “We run the combination as a back-up machine, but power harrowing is a slow operation, and at only 3m wide it can’t cover all our ground if things are too wet for the Rapid, and we decided ahead of last autumn that we needed a high output drill capable of matching the capacity of the Rapid if things turned wet.” “I wanted something that would work on top of ploughed and pressed ground, as our combination drill does, and a tine drill looked to be the best option, given that there are few moving parts or elements to block up. A Maschio Primavera 6m model was ordered in time for autumn 2012. Given the wet conditions

that followed, which confined his bigger cultivator drill to the shed, the decision would appear to have been a timely one. “We didn’t manage to drill any winter cereals with the Rapid last autumn, as it proved just too heavy for the soil conditions the rain created, added to which the discs have a tendency to block up in wet ground. “The benefit of the Primavera is that it’s simple and light, and being tractor-mounted it can be carried on the hydraulics in wet spots, which transfers more of the drill’s weight onto the tractor to boost traction. We have got the Vaderstad bogged at least once this spring. “Generally we’re able to work fast with the drill, up at 1214km/hr, and at those speeds it matches the output of the Vaderstad. That’s also helped by the fact that, being fully linkagemounted, it’s very manoeuvrable, which is a big help in that we have small field sizes averaging 15 acres (6ha), and we can use smaller headlands, which means fewer wheelings and less compaction, a big factor in the wet autumns we’ve recently had.”

Feeling our way "At the moment it's a case of feeling our way and trying out different options. Obviously without the discs it doesn't have any cultivation effect, but then it is a lot less power-hungry." While a Simba ST is used ahead of the Rapid, Mr Curtis is still unsure of the best method of land preparation in front of the Primavera. “Last autumn we put it on some land that had been cultivated with the ST, which didn’t look like it would handle the Rapid, but to be fair the Primavera also struggled. I think that in a normal year we will run with the ST and then a Vaderstad Carrier pass before the

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Insight tine drill. This autumn will hopefully give us a better understanding of what the Primavera can do.” Introduced to the UK market 18 months ago when Opico took over Maschio’s UK import arrangements, the Primavera comes with 1,500 and 1,700-ltre hopper options, and features straight tine coulters with low-cost replaceable tine tips, set over four rows to allow good trash and soil flow and said to be suited to both

conventional and min-till work. They are followed with dual covering harrows. Maschio uses its own landwheel-driven metering system, with drive transmitted to the seed rollers via a triple-cam stepless gearbox. A simple slide and marker is used for setting and adjusting the seed rate. The firm incorporates an air by-pass system into the pneumatic arrangement which is

claimed to enhance the effectiveness of the air flow and improve by 25% the consistency in the amount of seed that is delivered to each outlet, even when working at high rates on sloping ground. A close-coupled design brings the centre of gravity as close as possible to the tractor, further aiding the drill’s suitability for mid-sized tractors, claims Opico, which says that it can be operated at up to 12-16km/hr.

Simple solution in Leicestershire

On Kuhn’s Megant, the four rows of tines are followed by angled covering discs and individual solid rubber press wheels – well suited to Tom Watchorn’s Leics mixed farm.

eicestershire farmer Tom Watchorn, who oversees the arable side of his family’s 400ha mixed unit at Scalford, near Melton Mowbray, has only recently switched away from a Suffolk coulter drill, having two seasons ago replaced a 6m Massey Ferguson 510 pneumatic with a 6m Kuhn Megant. “The MF drill was 20 years old, and in the recent wet autumns we were finding that the Suffolk coulters weren’t coping well with wet soils, and were frequently blocking up,” says Mr Watchorn. “I wanted something similarly simple to replace it, primarily to sow cereals, as we use a subsoiler-mounted seeder for oilseed rape, and planned to retain the MF drill for sowing grass, as it is still capable of

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doing a good job of sowing at the sort of shallow depth needed for grass seed.” In recent years, the business has reduced the number of tillage operations it performs on the farm’s mix of medium-heavy red soils and heavier clays. “We plough about 20 per cent of the farm each year, with the remainder subsoiled and either power-harrowed or pressed ahead of the drill. After the plough, we either knock the land down with a press and sow behind that, or go straight in with the power harrow/drill combination. With its Suffolk coulters, the MF drill required a seedbed that was worked down quite finely, giving it a tendency to slump.” Wanting a machine with similar

simplicity to the MF, and with experience of Kuhn equipment through ownership of one of the French firm’s power harrows, two years ago Mr Watchorn bought a 6m model of the company’s Megant tine drill. While in its first season it was worked behind a Case IH Magnum 230, last year its partner was a lighter, lower-powered New Holland T7040, which was found to be more than capable of handling the drill. “We chose the Megant because while we wanted to move away from the Suffolk coulter, we preferred the simplicity of a tine drill to a discbased machine.” Kuhn equips the Megant with four rows of coulters, with standard curved tines or optional straight units for stonier conditions. These are followed by angled covering discs and then individual solid rubber press wheels. Mr Watchorn’s drill sows wheat and barley into pressed or power-harrowed ground, and is followed by a pass with Cambridge rolls to firm the seedbed. That approach has produced much improved results, even when working in wetter soils, he says. p32

Tillage Summer 2013

Insight

WHAT THE OTHERS OFFER

Occasionally Sulky’s Kronos, escorting imported a dualled by RECO, tractor has straight, is cheaper semi-rigid than investing coultersinstaggered a more expensive, less over versatile five rows.crawler, says James Sapsed.

Kongskilde’s Vibro Seeder uses separate distribution heads for each drill section to reduce seed transport distance and so increase accuracy.

ECO is a recent entrant to the tine seeder market, with the Kronos, from its French drill partner Sulky. Comprising three models of 4.8m, 5.6m and 6.0m with 1,700-litre hoppers, the Kronos is reckoned to have a power requirement of 20-25hp/m. Tine coulters on the Kronos are staggered over five rows, the straight, semi-rigid units claimed to be effective at depth placement even in hard or stony soils. Sowing depth is governed by ground wheels at the front and a FarmFlex roller at the rear.

Tillage Summer 2013

Sulky suggests potential workrates of up to 5ha/hr at speeds up to 12-15 km/hr. Lincs-based direct drill specialist Dale Drills now has a more conventional machine with a lower power requirement in its line-up, in the shape of the Mounted Tine Drill (MTD). It uses four rows of low draught tines developed from the firm’s Simba FreeFlow conversion kits. The narrow, forward-facing tines are said to create sufficient tilth to surround the seed without

forming slots in the ground. Dale does not use a rear roller, and points out that this means there are no wheels or packer to block, and drilling can therefore take place on damper soils than might otherwise be possible. Metering is via an RDS radar. KRM’s Soladrill NS Plus range replaces the 799 from its Spanish partner Sola. Available in 4m, 4.5m, 4.8m, 5m and 6m widths, its 125mm-spaced coulters are mounted in four rows. The tip of each coulter is designed to maintain the same shape and sowing performance as it wears, and each is mounted at a shallow angle so that, for each vertical movement of the coulter, the spring moves a correspondingly small amount for greater pressure – and therefore sowing depth – as the coulters follow ground undulations. Overall sowing depth is set by a central adjuster, working through a parallel linkage. A heavy-duty following harrow is fitted at the rear, while up front an integrated two-row cultivator is optional. Offset over five rows, the tine coulters on Kverneland’s Accord TS Evo are set symmetrically on the rearmost row to improve seed depth accuracy and levelling. They are fitted with leaf-spring autoreset overload protection. A tine in front of each landwheel levels the soil and ensures even and steady running, claims the firm, pointing out that this is a prerequisite for the seed depth control with tine seeders. The tine arrangement means seeding can be carried at an angle to the previous cultivation operations. At the rear, Kverneland fits a twin row precision following harrow, with single-row V-harrow and press wheel options.

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Insight

The Dale Drills MTD uses four rows of low draught tines developed from the firm’s Simba FreeFlow conversion kits.

Offset over five rows, the tine coulters on Kverneland’s Accord TS Evo are set Kongskilde’s 4/5/6m Vibro of working width,and withlevelling. individual symmetrically on the rearmost row to improve seed depth accuracy

A four-row drill, Kockerling’s AllSeeder uses 70x12mm tinesfor said to giving a short Seeder features individual, external metering each, produce minimal vibration. distribution heads for each section seed transport distance and better

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accuracy, claims the firm. Metering is mechanical, via a stepless gearbox governed by a landwheel. Tine coulters are curved, sprung units set over four rows with 630mm between them. A hydraulic accumulator system maintains the working width of the tines on the wings. Depth is governed by front and rear wheel pairs set outside the frame. A four-row drill, Kockerling’s AllSeeder uses 70x12mm tines said to produce minimal vibration, fed by a single external distribution head. A hydraulicallycontrolled crossboard ahead of this can be used to knock down rougher ground. At the rear, Kockerling fits its trademark STS open-format press rings, designed to fill with soil and aid drive through soil-soil contact. In mounted form, the drill comes in 3m and 4m folding versions. Launched earlier this year, Weaving Machinery’s 3-8m Sabre seeder features three rows of angle-adjustable tungstenpointed tines, designed to be as narrow as possible to minimise soil disturbance. At the rear are two rows of levelling tines. An RDS auto-calibrating metering system allows on-the-move seed rate adjustment Willow Farm Machinery, which imports French firm Carre’s drill range, offers the 3.56.0m Pentasem, which, as its name suggests, sets its tine coulters out over five rows. The fan can be powered by either the tractor’s hydraulic system or its pto. Metering is governed by radar via an RDS Artemis system. Under-frame clearance is 430mm. The 3-6m mounted Samourai Contour, from Techmagri, features leading sectional rubber packers, and three rows of rigid 15mm chisel point tungsten carbide tine coulters. Each has its own rubber press wheel following immediately behind.

Tillage Summer 2013

Tech Update

Cenius mulch cultivator One-pass

potato beds

AMAZONE’s new Cenius 4002-2T 4m folding trailed mulch cultivator supplements the firm’s existing range of 3, 3.5 and 4m mounted and 3m rigid trailed models. Requiring less lift power from the tractor, soil damage is reduced thanks to reduced rear axle load when lifting at headlands. The three row stagger of tines, spaced at 28.5 cm, followed by a simple set of levelling discs, allows versatile operation from shallow stubble cultivation to medium soil tillage, to deep loosening and

seedbed preparation. For shallow work there is a choice of a 250mm goose foot or 170mm duck foot tip; for intermediate work a 75mm inversion share; and for deeper work a 50mm narrow share. A Vario-Clip quick change system is available. Options include the Special, with shear bolt stone protection, and Super with 3-D spring breakaway tines for sideways and upwards tine movement around obstacles, and a choice of five following rollers.

Row crop cultivator

Danish firm Kongskilde’s new mechanical row crop cultivator – the Vibro Crop Intelli – is equipped with camera steering and GPS section control to aid work in irregular shaped fields. Available in 50cm row width for

Tillage Summer 2013

12 and 18 rows, and 75cm row width for 8 or 12 rows, it uses a camera mounted on a new hydraulic side-shift frame and a control box in the tractor cab to ensure constant following of individual rows. Accuracy down to about 2.5cm means work can be very close to plant rows, with each individual section able to be hydraulically lifted out, aiding crop cleaning all the way to the headland, even on oblique work, so cutting the need for herbicides.

ONE-PASS seed-bed preparation can produce excellent conditions for potato establishment and yield, according to an independent trial by SRUC in Scotland. Tillerstar-prepared plots gave one of the highest total and marketable yields, with no significant difference in quality compared with the best traditional cultivation treatments,

says Lesley Pratt, commercial director at George Moate. “The only real difference is that the Tillerstar used just one pass instead of three, making significant savings in time, labour and fuel.” One Lancashire grower reckons to have cut establishment costs by £245/ha. Beds are prepared using an upward-cutting bladed rotor to cultivate the soil and throw it backwards on to a set of four flexible finger star rollers. Stones and clods are conveyed forwards, dropped across the full width of the bed and covered by ‘clean’ soil as the machine continues working.

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Tech Update

Preview

Kuhn Cultimer L and Optimer+ Strategies for the autumn, to cope with the legacy of the past 12 months, will be a key theme of the Autumn issue of Tillage, out in late-August.

Tillage is published three times a year and is provided free to all farmers, contractors and businesses that fulfil the qualifying criteria of more than 50ha of cropping. For all others a subscription costs ÂŁ12.00/year. Contact: FarmSmart Publications Ltd Killington Hall Farm, Killington Kirkby Lonsdale, Carnforth Lancs LA6 2HA

UHNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cultimer L stubble cultivator (top) has three rows of twin spring loaded, non-stop mechanical tines operating at a pressure of 600kg at the point to provide strong ground penetration, followed by a row of levelling discs and a roller. Models are available in 4, 5 and 6 metre working widths, with a 350mm duck foot share for shallow 3-7cm stubble cultivation or an 80mm point for deep tillage down to 35cm. There is also the option of an 80mm point and

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350mm fin combination for stubble cultivation to 15cm depth. The new Optimer+ range (bottom) is designed for shallow (0-10cm) work, with two rows of curved 510mm diameter discs, levelling tines, and a choice of rollers at the back including spiral roller, T-ring, or DD ring. A robust disc hub incorporates twin conical bearings, double sealed in a cast iron casing, for strength and reliability. Trailed machines come in 4, 5, 6 and 7.5m widths.

Tel: 0845 6522 326 Fax: 0845 6522 327 www.tillage.org.uk Editor: Charles Abel editor@farm-smart.co.uk Publisher: Andy Newbold andy@farm-smart.co.uk Advertising sales: admin@farm-smart.co.uk News: Marion King press@farm-smart.co.uk All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, this includes photocopying or on any information storage or retrieval system without the prior consent of the publisher. We accept no responsibility for unsolicited features or photographs, which will not be returned. By submitting copy, text or pictures to the magazine you are agreeing to their publication either in full or edited.

Tillage Summer 2013

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