Are their any other zero till drills (with a similar tine as used on the Amazone Condor drill) available in the uk?

[Pilatus]

I ask, as the above tine is a superb tool for zero till seeding, in stony soil conditions as long as drill is driven slowly, tines pushes stones to one side allowing seed to be planted in to soil,rather than a disc coulter "RIDDING OVER THE STONE LEAVING SEED ON THE SURFACE!!!!". Have Vaderstaad stopped making their tined zero till drill , is the Simtech Aitchison drill any good "DRIVEN SLOWLY"?
I only ask as a retired on looker ,as zero till must be the way forward on many soil types, BUT I would think changing to Zero till on "VERY HEAVY STRUCTURELESS CLAY IN ONE SEASON" would be a financial disaster ,it does not look that easy on Cotswold brash.
I look forward to your comments ,even if you ask why I am I asking !!!
Sorry but I like to keep up to date with forward thinking farming techniques even though not farming any more.

 

[Farmer Roy]

No idea about the UK, not familiar with the “Condor” tyne assembly, but there is an absolute plethora of choice here for imported North American or locally produced tyne planters

In broad scale arable farming here, we don’t talk about “zero till” planters any more, as by default all new ones are anyway.
I can’t remember the last time I saw a new “conventional” planter, or if anyone ( locally or NA ) even builds them anymore.
Zero till planters still work just as well in conventional tillage systems anyway, just not vice versa . . .

 

[Pilatus]

No idea about the UK, not familiar with the “Condor” tyne assembly, but there is an absolute plethora of choice here for imported North American or locally produced tyne planters

In broad scale arable farming here, we don’t talk about “zero till” planters any more, as by default all new ones are anyway.
I can’t remember the last time I saw a new “conventional” planter, or if anyone ( locally or NA ) even builds them anymore.
Zero till planters still work just as well in conventional tillage systems anyway, just not vice versa . . .

I am surprised Vaderstaad ,who now own Seedhawk ,are not selling a zero till drill in the Uk any more using the Seedhawk coulter assembly . The may still be doing so but I can’t see it promoted on their website.
Of course the Vaderstaad top down is such a popular implement in the Uk , that they would be shooting themselves in the foot if they promote zero till .

 

[Brisel]

Vaderstad would rather sell you a Topdown, Carrier and Rapid drill. That's why they have stepped back from selling Seed Hawk drills over here. That's a daft strategy though I would imagine they are watching the success of Horsch and their extensive range of drills. Horsch would rather sell 1 not till drill than nothing if the farmer is only buying 1 item, not a complete tillage system.

The Condor's coulter design is only a variation on several others available. The closest would be the Dale, then the Seed Hawk design that Dale used to have before Vaderstad bought the company & marketed Seed Hawk themselves. I haven't included the Horsch CO/Sprinter in my list as they don't have depth/closing wheels in the same fashion as the Condor/Dale/Seed Hawk. No doubt I've forgotten lots of other tine drill designs.

Condor trailed seed drill

The Condor trailed seed drill works with individually guided ConTeC pro sowing coulters and row widths of 25 cm and 31.3 cm/33.3 cm, meaning that extensive crop production methods can be used in arid continental regions.

www.amazone.co.uk

 

[Acke]

I am surprised Vaderstaad ,who now own Seedhawk ,are not selling a zero till drill in the Uk any more using the Seedhawk coulter assembly . The may still be doing so but I can’t see it promoted on their website.
Of course the Vaderstaad top down is such a popular implement in the Uk , that they

be shooting themselves in the foot if they promote zero till .

Bo Stark, one member of the Väderstad owner family . Say that it is better to sell 5-6 different machinery than one drill, from his point ?

 

[Acke]

I am surprised Vaderstaad ,who now own Seedhawk ,are not selling a zero till drill in the Uk any more using the Seedhawk coulter assembly . The may still be doing so but I can’t see it promoted on their website.
Of course the Vaderstaad top down is such a popular implement in the Uk , that they

be shooting themselves in the foot if they promote zero till .

Bo Stark, one member of the Väderstad owner family . Say that it is better to sell 5-6 different machinery than one drill, from his point ?

 

[Pilatus]

Bo Stark, one member of the Väderstad owner family . Say that it is better to sell 5-6 different machinery than one drill, from his point ?

Confirms what my late father said charity starts at home( in Vaderstaad case with what sells well , to hell with what is best for the environment!!!). A bit brutal but true .

 

[Acke]

In my neck of the woods, there are some Seed Hawks!

 

[farenheit]

I’d love to see some of those US style seeders with caddy in Britain . Plenty of fields big enough

 

[Pilatus]

To be fair , it must be a real dilemma for major drill / cultivation implement manufacturers to make, as regards investing millions of pounds/ dollars in developing a zero till
drill , which on the one hand is shooting them selves in the foot, BUT in reality is the way to go for the sake of the environment, I rest my case

 

[SilliamWhale]

To be fair , it must be a real dilemma for major drill / cultivation implement manufacturers to make, as regards investing millions of pounds/ dollars in developing a zero till
drill , which on the one hand is shooting them selves in the foot, BUT in reality is the way to go for the sake of the environment, I rest my case

To be honest drill makers are not tremendously innovative by and large. We see the same old recycled stuff rebranded a lot of the time.

 

[Brisel]

I’d love to see some of those US style seeders with caddy in Britain . Plenty of fields big enough

@tw15 has one

 

[Pilatus]

I hope the “Claydon” family who have done so much good work promoting “strip till drill” will be able to develop a drill for zero till,if they do not, they will be left behind and someone else will.

 

[clbarclay]

Manufacturers will supply to demand. No till appears to still be a niche demand.

 

[Suddy]

Väderstad are making a decision in the autumn to bring back the seed hawk to the uk. When I was looking for our seed hawk 10 years ago I came across one with discs in front of the seed tine which placed the Fert. In my opinion the condor, dale and the seedhawk are the only true tine direct drills. The seedhawk works magic on heavy ground where strip till drills would make a mess.
i believe there should be another thread for strip till users as strip till is not dd. This is definitely confusing new people to the game.

 

[Compshire Farmer]

Virkar drills look interesting.

 

[D14]

I hope the “Claydon” family who have done so much good work promoting “strip till drill” will be able to develop a drill for zero till,if they do not, they will be left behind and someone else will.

The problem is cost no doubt though because to develop a proper disc no till drill with individual counter pressure and contour following, costs. Your into Cross Slot and Sly territory. Then due to the development costs you've got a high purchase cost which puts people off. I would think Claydon are better developing markets in other countries and just maintaining the UK market because its now saturated. The mass exodus into strip till and no till has now happened. They'll be the odd few come in with second hand stuff so claydon having a used stock list will do well but everyone else will plod on as usual with their ploughs or min till setups. Family farms running traditional systems would put some no till setups to shame with operating costs, even after paying themselves.

 

[Virkardd]

The Virkar Dynamic range of drills is a similar concept to what the seed hawk is but with more refinement

You get a hydraulic front cutting disc with 35cm of travel per Coulter only one Manuel adjustment per Coulter interchangable press wheels on the move Coulter pressure control and one of the key features of the design is that the front cutting disc works 2cm deeper than were the seed is being placed so the seed germinates and has worked soil underneath to get roots down leading to great strong healthy plants.
Other feature are steering rear axle up to 3 hoppers and 6 meter can be pulled with 160hp

Been very impressed with how it has performed on our own farms and crops look very good

 

[SilliamWhale]

The problem is cost no doubt though because to develop a proper disc no till drill with individual counter pressure and contour following, costs. Your into Cross Slot and Sly territory. Then due to the development costs you've got a high purchase cost which puts people off. I would think Claydon are better developing markets in other countries and just maintaining the UK market because its now saturated. The mass exodus into strip till and no till has now happened. They'll be the odd few come in with second hand stuff so claydon having a used stock list will do well but everyone else will plod on as usual with their ploughs or min till setups. Family farms running traditional systems would put some no till setups to shame with operating costs, even after paying themselves.

Can a family farm not have a direct drill? Or are you only allowed a direct drill if you don't have a family?

 

[kiwi]

The Virkar Dynamic range of drills is a similar concept to what the seed hawk is but with more refinement

You get a hydraulic front cutting disc with 35cm of travel per Coulter only one Manuel adjustment per Coulter interchangable press wheels on the move Coulter pressure control and one of the key features of the design is that the front cutting disc works 2cm deeper than were the seed is being placed so the seed germinates and has worked soil underneath to get roots down leading to great strong healthy plants.
Other feature are steering rear axle up to 3 hoppers and 6 meter can be pulled with 160hp

Been very impressed with how it has performed on our own farms and crops look very good

What quantity of residue can you drill through? Could you drill through 4 ft high rye or 13 tonne ha wheat crop residue?