- Location
- Minehead,Somerset
£80k saving? What were you doing before? I'm on 2200 acres of crops & managed £49k savings by moving to this system.
How do you find spring crop yields?
Can you tell us why you didn't like the 4.8m kit please?
@Brisel , how do you get on with slopes as that was the reason I went Sumo . I found that on cross slopes ,the top coulters were to shallow while the down hill side would be too deep hence the individual coulters of the DTS.
What’s all this talk about claydon saving money . So far it’s cost me a extra drill and set of discs.
In fairness they are being very good about it, as always, and it's exactly why I do like to deal with a family firm who stand behind their product.
Looks like I'm just going to have to do 15% more hours in the seat from now on!
I find it hard to believe Claydon have walked away from this problem without offering to fix the issue. Are all the legs and brackets the same ? Can the side extensions be fitted upside down by mistake?I was paying £140,000 per annum for a full stubble to stubble service beforehand, and now my fixed costs (depreciation, fuel, metal, repairs, insurance etc) are £78k less. Ok, you could argue that the saving isn't directly attributable to the drill, but in a way I see that it is. The drill allows me to operate with zero staffing, only one medium size tractor, no cultivations and the subsequent annual fuel and metal savings too. My total fuel bill (excluding grain drying gas) on 1,100 acres last year was £4,620.
Spring crop yields were great in the first year, but as you said, we have had two pretty tough Springs since then, and I'd say that has robbed around 15% of yield for everyone, but this cannot be blame on the establishment system. If anything, I think the "not beating the moisture out of the soil" benefit of the system has actually helped the crops get up and away with seedbed moisture, rather than sitting in dust for three weeks awaiting for some rain.
Regarding the 4.8 metre kit........
Well, I took on some contract drilling this autumn and I decided that a extra 15% to drill would be made easier by an extra 20% width. At £3k it seemed to make sense. However, the drill just wasn't the same after it was fitted. The outside leading legs and coulter legs were at a completely different depth to the rest of the drill, and I had 700 acres of autumn drilled cereals that looked something like this. I was not a happy bunny.
View attachment 745860
View attachment 745862
The depth difference was around 3 inches compared to the other 12 seeding legs, and there was nothing that could be done about it. After about three weeks, about 40% of the super-deep seed on the outside legs did emerge from about 5 inches, but it was weak, with thinner/sparce rows, and has been visible ever since, even though the rows all now show.
My trouble is that I'm a perfectionist, and with something like Spring barley that needs to be at exactly the right depth, I'm just not happy about leaving it on for March/April drilling.
This is the only problem I have had with the drill and I can't wait to get it back to 4 metres, as it does such a superb job. As I said, Claydon are a brilliant firm to deal with, a bunch of friendly and helpful people, and I cannot recommend them highly enough.
set of discs.
I find it hard to believe Claydon have walked away from this problem without offering to fix the issue. Are all the legs and brackets the same ? Can the side extensions be fitted upside down by mistake?
@Brisel
My predecessor didn’t like anything very much
I think there was an actual design fault with the 8m depth control which is why they took it back for a 6m. Geoff came down himself last year and fitted some modified arms which have improved the depth further, the drill has become a very important part of the rotation now and I can’t see it going anywhere but we are lucky to have two drills I think!
We never had this problem when we ran a 4.8 hybrid which used factory assembled extensions.I would get a man down from the factory to see if you can sort it?I didn’t say they’d walked away! They’ve been very good about it. I’ve said I want it back as s 4 metre (I’m not the only person with the problem) and they’ve obliged with no hassle.
Yes, I appreciate people get on really well with the Claydon but it doesn’t suit us for spring cropping.Do you have a disc drill as your second drill ?
I run the older v drill so disc to help chop the residue and level a few fields Lemkin Rubin 6m and its great can drop them in if required but shallow is the plan. Or if no tith wiz over pre drilling.