| Tillage
u-drill delivers accuracy and output for Yorkshire grower
W e encounter soils that extend from limestone through to heavy clay , but without the luxury of land being ringfenced , we also have to spend time on the road travelling between locations ,” explains Pete who runs the business with his parents David and Sue , and brother Ben .
The south Yorkshire family farming business runs a 1,200- acre arable operation from Hawkhouse Green Farm near Doncaster , which extends over a 23-mile area and comprises four different locations .
“ It was important for us to choose a drill that performs every bit as good on the road as it does in the field , because we ’ ve found roadwork to be particularly hard on our equipment .”
He says the farm tried a variety of drills while looking for a suitable replacement for their 4.8m MSC – the farm ’ s first min-till drill .
“ Going wider was a no-brainer for more output , so we looked for a 6m model ,” he says . “ But because our Case Puma 225 struggled with our old 4.8m MSC , we were expecting to need more power , particularly on the banks with a 6m drill .”
With extra power in mind , the firm geared up to a Quadtrac to get more output from min-till cultivations ahead of drilling . But so far , Pete says the new drill has only been used behind the Puma 225 .
“ The u-drill rides on top of the seedbed rather than in the soil , and I ’ ve found that my Puma can pull it all day long at 15kph , dropping to 10kph on the steeper banks .”
The combination of seed placement accuracy , operational friendliness and performance is what drew Pete Atkinson of David Atkinson & Sons to the u-drill .
“ We don ’ t have to fill the hopper , so we can travel lighter when working on the steeper parts of the farm .”
While the bulk of the cultivations workload is under a min-till regime , Mr Atkinson says the farm does plough rotationally , in particular for second wheats .
“ We are using kit and techniques to try and keep on top of blackgrass , and we are also considering spring cropping too ,” he says . “ There are some areas that we farm which are wet and very heavy – if you don ’ t get them drilled in plenty of time during the autumn , you ’ re not going to get them until spring . And this was another reason to up the ante with a larger drill .”
When it comes to output , he says field size and location eats into productivity , though the extra working width does compensate .
“ We go from 1.5 acres up to 100-acre field sizes , so there ’ s a lot of fiddling about moving , but 100 acres / day is comfortable ,” he adds . “ The drill is so easy to use , and has such good output , that I can easily fold up and head back into the yard to refill with seed , leaving the others to prepare more land in front of me .”
Typically , land is min-tilled using a 3.6m deep loosening cultivator pulled by the Quadtrac to make the most of its five subsoiler legs , discs , spring tines and double press format . A pass with a 6.3m shallow cultivator then follows , stale seedbeds are sprayed , then drilling and rolling completes the process .
Should weather conditions deteriorate , a power-harrow drill combination is available as a last resort .
“ Since we bought the u-drill , we ’ ve been comfortably on top of the autumn workload ,” he adds . “ We demo ’ d the unit from Farmstar in 2015 and it stayed on the farm .”
“ What we really like about the drill is the way it buries seed – placement is consistent and accurate , and it leaves nothing exposed on top of the seedbed .”
He believes a lot of this increased performance is a result of the way the drill prepares , levels and consolidates ground ahead of the coulters .
“ We ’ ve not yet come across any field conditions that have beaten the u-drill ,” he says . “ It has done a great a great job in every field we ’ ve drilled and is a big step up in many respects .”
The 6m u6000 uses a central chassis to offer a reduction in weight without compromising strength . A centrally mounted hopper packs a 4,350-litre capacity and uses two electricallydriven Eldos seed metering units . Electric metering has also led to GEOcontrol capability , with halfwidth shut off and variable rate seeding included in the standard specification .
Optional weigh cells can be fitted to the hopper , to further extend functionality and the drill is fully isobus compatible .
Up front , an 800mm diameter packer levels the soil . Two rows of aggressively pitched , 450mm conical discs then follow – each disc gets Kv ’ s clever 3D breakaway protection system to handle stones and obstructions .
Pressings on each disc arm allow breakaway movement , but return each disc to its correct working position to maintain its location and cutting angle .
Packing ahead of seeding is by a 900mm diameter offset wheel packer , reducing draft with its low rolling resistance .
Kverneland ’ s twin steel disc coulter , the CD , gives 12.5cm row spacings . Lightly profiled , this coulter requires less pressure to penetrate soils and leaves more of the 100kg coulter pressure to be transferred to depth guidance and press wheels . A choice of S-type or finger following harrow completes the process .
A fully-programmable management system lets the operator initiate a headland sequence with wheels , discs and coulter bar all capable of automatic operation in timed stages , using one button .
“ I do like the Tellus display ,” he says . “ It is one of the easiest terminals I ’ ve ever used . Setting a headland sequence is straightforward , and the drill lifts and lowers its sections in order – it is very clever and very precise .”
He adds that drill calibration is very easy to carry out , adding that electronic tagging on different metering rollers prevents you fitting the wrong roller for the seed type .
“ This drill is so easy to set up and use , that there is no excuse for not recalibrating every time I change seed varieties ,” he says .
Equally importantly , Mr Atkinson reports that the u-drill is solid on the road .
“ When folded for transport , the central two rear wheels are raised off the ground , leaving a pair of wheels on each side of the drill in contact with the road , so it rides solidly and tows like a trailer .”
“ It is much easier for us to move between blocks of land ,” he adds .
Kverneland will demonstrate a 6m u-drill at Tillage Live www . farmingmonthly . co . uk September 2017 | Farming Monthly | 21