3rd drill ?

Simon Chiles

DD Moderator
Michael Horsch chose to go with the no till demand, not ignore it. I'm sure he'll sell lots of Avatars and Focus TDs

I spoke to Michael Horsch some 17 years ago after a talk he gave to a local group and he very definitely got no till, however he said to me that all the time people wanted to buy drills and cultivators off him he was happy to carry on making and selling them.
 
Seedhawk! They just don't like selling them here because they'd rather sell a Topdown, Carrier & Rapid/Spirit instead
Exactly! They have stopped marketing and sale of the Seed Hawk in Sweden. A large farm of 3.000 ha could not even have one for a demo!
No-till is the worst nightmare of the farm machine business! They will only sell drills, small tractors & few spare parts! The tractors will last longer because of little power demand, and that means few repairs.....
 

Spud

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
YO62
The funny bit is @Clive sees a Fendt 724 as a small tractor at 8t+!
I have a 4m Bettinson on a 4.4t MF3075!
A wise man told me recently (after a spell driving a 620Quadtrac) that farming would have less compaction problems if we went back to Ford 5000's - ie don't create problems in the first place - which I guess you are attempting to do with no til.
As per a recent twitter discussion - there is no one size fits all solution for crop establishment. For a third drill id be looking at a McConnell Seedaerator. Why? Front cutting discs. Better lifting tine than most others. Disc coulters either side of the slug motorway potential either side of the slot. Firming/depth wheel. Following harrow. Independent depth control. British. 724 would pull it no bother. Minimal disturbance but still capable of removing compaction.
A strategic tool in the box?
 

clbarclay

Member
Location
Worcestershire
The funny bit is @Clive sees a Fendt 724 as a small tractor at 8t+!
I have a 4m Bettinson on a 4.4t MF3075!
A wise man told me recently (after a spell driving a 620Quadtrac) that farming would have less compaction problems if we went back to Ford 5000's - ie don't create problems in the first place - which I guess you are attempting to do with no til.
As per a recent twitter discussion - there is no one size fits all solution for crop establishment. For a third drill id be looking at a McConnell Seedaerator. Why? Front cutting discs. Better lifting tine than most others. Disc coulters either side of the slug motorway potential either side of the slot. Firming/depth wheel. Following harrow. Independent depth control. British. 724 would pull it no bother. Minimal disturbance but still capable of removing compaction.
A strategic tool in the box?
If we went back to using 5000's then the inevitable forum debate would be between those big heavy 2.5 ton tractors and the older smaller lighter tractors like Dexta etc.
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
The funny bit is @Clive sees a Fendt 724 as a small tractor at 8t+!
I have a 4m Bettinson on a 4.4t MF3075!
A wise man told me recently (after a spell driving a 620Quadtrac) that farming would have less compaction problems if we went back to Ford 5000's - ie don't create problems in the first place - which I guess you are attempting to do with no til.
As per a recent twitter discussion - there is no one size fits all solution for crop establishment. For a third drill id be looking at a McConnell Seedaerator. Why? Front cutting discs. Better lifting tine than most others. Disc coulters either side of the slug motorway potential either side of the slot. Firming/depth wheel. Following harrow. Independent depth control. British. 724 would pull it no bother. Minimal disturbance but still capable of removing compaction.
A strategic tool in the box?

I only see a 8t tractors as small because I used to have 25t ones ! - I guess that sort on complete nonsense somewhat recalibrates you head !

a 700 series Fendt / 6000 series JD is also the smallest tractor you would want safely on a 14t trailers or a trailed sprayer etc I guess

I would love to go smaller and lighter still but cant see it being a practical solution yet but I strongly suspect the future will be smaller than today

not a bad suggestion re a strip till drill as a 3rd option, however I can't really see a situation where I would want to work at any depth now really, i see such drills as more a stepping stone between full tillage and zero till or ideal in roots or mixed farming scenarios
 
I think you may have one eye to the brave New Gove world in which subs are being phased out for larger farms. In which case the only answer is a 10' Smyth drill which you can then pimp to your heart's content. May need some woodworm treatment though.
 

Cheesehead

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Kent
Surely if you're worried about compaction then one of these would be the best for sowing a field :whistle:
5037151008222_01c.jpeg
 

R J H

Member
buy a triton seed drill , drill in all weathers with it as long as tractor stays on top, plants very well when no other drill will, get an insurance policey for bad weather, this year proves it crops were planted when other drills were in the shed
 
buy a triton seed drill , drill in all weathers with it as long as tractor stays on top, plants very well when no other drill will, get an insurance policey for bad weather, this year proves it crops were planted when other drills were in the shed
Are you linked to Triton drills in anyway as you seem to be pushing them hard over 3 different threads?
 

RTK Farmer

Member
BASE UK Member
I’ve just had a 313 fendt which will pull my 750a and hopefully a Horsch co4 with low disturbance openers. It weighs in at a shade under 5 ton.
I mostly pull my drills like yours with a 415 pocket rocket. If i have to use the 716 it seems huge but necessary for grain trailer as Clive says. Will look at 313 for interest but in all honesty my tractors do so few hrs now and never strain on any job replacement seems decades away.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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