Conservation Agriculture {CA}.....no more ploughs or ploughing

[Graham A.B Edwards]

It was 42+years ago that Rolf Derpsch started to explain that FARMING has to change from ploughing ro CA-No-,Tillage at all.
It was 42+ years ago that Frank Lessiter established his no-till newsletter in USA & USA now has 35.6 million hectares under the no-till farming system of CA.
During these 42+ years the ploughing system has been predominent........across the entire farming world.so that Ploughing & maximum versatility {of the farm tractor} has become the rule rather than the exception
Now that UK farmers are begining to think ,about the zero-tillage farming system we can,if we wish.learn from the long experience of others................................about CA from FAO & ECAF & No-Till as most farmers call it.

You and others in farming in UK do not seem to understand that "if there is no Ploughing or Rotovating in the CA system & there is a great deal less work of a different kind to do."..........it should NOT be surprising if a new tractor concept is NEEDED.............for a completely new & different FARMING system........compared to ploughing.

Of course .planning & thinking are pre-requisites of no-till & frankly,not many farmers in UK are yet thinking far enough ahead..........evidenced by solitary direct seeding,no thought about the soil-health,little regard for cover crops & not thinking at all about crop-rotation.
Revolutions take time even in CAMBRIDGESHIRE.& I look forward to a significantly long explanation of why you are not thinking about CA & working towards it in a holistic way G.....

 

[John 1594]

It was 42+years ago that Rolf Derpsch started to explain that FARMING has to change from ploughing ro CA-No-,Tillage at all.
It was 42+ years ago that Frank Lessiter established his no-till newsletter in USA & USA now has 35.6 million hectares under the no-till farming system of CA.
During these 42+ years the ploughing system has been predominent........across the entire farming world.so that Ploughing & maximum versatility {of the farm tractor} has become the rule rather than the exception
Now that UK farmers are begining to think ,about the zero-tillage farming system we can,if we wish.learn from the long experience of others................................about CA from FAO & ECAF & No-Till as most farmers call it.

You and others in farming in UK do not seem to understand that "if there is no Ploughing or Rotovating in the CA system & there is a great deal less work of a different kind to do."..........it should NOT be surprising if a new tractor concept is NEEDED.............for a completely new & different FARMING system........compared to ploughing.

Of course .planning & thinking are pre-requisites of no-till & frankly,not many farmers in UK are yet thinking far enough ahead..........evidenced by solitary direct seeding,no thought about the soil-health,little regard for cover crops & not thinking at all about crop-rotation.
Revolutions take time even in CAMBRIDGESHIRE.& I look forward to a significantly long explanation of why you are not thinking about CA & working towards it in a holistic way G.....

Feel free to have a walk on our land, its a simple fact that not ALL land is suited to no till...regardless of what any expert (who probably doesnt leave his desk for years on end, but spends his days dreaming up rediculous and unworkable ideas)

Are you merely using the no-till conservation ag idea to sell your own product and profit from it, or are you genuinely more interested in the "supposed" environmental benefits, and not just trying selling a tractor what has low ground clearance and is unsuitable for more jobs than it is useful...to fill your own pocket

and may i also ask where root crops fit into your eutopian view on conservation ag.....do we all have to eat rice instead of potatoes from now on?

 

[Warp Land Farmer]

EBay 272286236476, it's got 3 point linkage

 

[John 1594]

curious....does the trantor have a guarunteed by back value after 5 years/5000 hours....

as "apparently" residual value and how much its worth when its sold, are far more important that what its like to drive and reliability over the 5000 hrs

 

[Drillman]

curious....does the trantor have a guarunteed by back value after 5 years/5000 hours....

as "apparently" residual value and how much its worth when its sold, are far more important that what its like to drive and reliability over the 5000 hrs

I will make 2 points

1- all land can be farmed by no till methods. How successfully is another matter entirely.

2- It's ok for an all arable no tiller to say they only need a tractor with a drawbar but the resale of such a machine would be seriously compromised as it would be of no use to us more traditional or mixed farmers who have a need to use the 3 point links for various machines.

 

[ARW]

Could you not of just started a thread "we still make trantors" instead of essays telling us we need them for the forefront of agriculture machinery!
Post some pics of the new ones and some pics of the factory or them out at work instead of writing paragraphs of crap we cba to read while putting CERTAIN words in capitals

 

[Drillman]

Could you not of just started a thread "we still make trantors" instead of essays telling us we need them for the forefront of agriculture machinery!
Post some pics of the new ones and some pics of the factory or them out at work instead of writing paragraphs of crap we cba to read while putting CERTAIN words in capitals

Good idea. For a start I would like to know if the trantorwould pull my chopper baler up, down and across the 1 in 4 slope I was working on yesterday? My 150 hp New Holland coped well. As did my customers 150 hp Claas tractor that hauled the bales out with a 32ft trailer on the back.

Besides the trantor was superseded by a vastly superior product back in 1990. The JCB Fastrac, it will do everything the Trantor will and a lot more besides. Even so its sales are only minuscule compared to the conventional layout of big wheels at the back smaller at the front market leaders such as JD, CNH, MF etc.

It's all down to supply and demand.

 

[The_Swede]

Could you not of just started a thread "we still make trantors" instead of essays telling us we need them for the forefront of agriculture machinery!
Post some pics of the new ones and some pics of the factory or them out at work instead of writing paragraphs of crap we cba to read while putting CERTAIN words in capitals

Quite... Just looked through this thread for first time, bizarre is the first word that springs to mind!!

 

[ARW]

Quite... Just looked through this thread for first time, bizarre is the first word that springs to mind!!

Its as almost this youth knows nowt about farming but has just had a sniff of DD and the use of smaller tractors compared to quadtracks and has fully jumped onto the bandwagon holding nothing back aiming on HUGE sales and the next market leader!

 

[John 1594]

Its as almost this youth knows nowt about farming but has just had a sniff of DD and the use of smaller tractors compared to quadtracks and has fully jumped onto the bandwagon holding nothing back aiming on HUGE sales and the next market leader!

The OP is no youth...he bought into this "concept" about 40 years ago...and is still trying to get his money back

incidently, @Drillman ...last time i see a trantor in action it was a Mk2, and it was struggling to move ploughing heavy ground with a fergy 3f what had been cut down to 2 furrows, although conditions were such that a well ballasted 35 or 135 would have kicked its arse up to the next headland and beyond

 

[Drillman]

The OP is no youth...he bought into this "concept" about 40 years ago...and is still trying to get his money back

incidently, @Drillman ...last time i see a trantor in action it was a Mk2, and it was struggling to move ploughing heavy ground with a fergy 3f what had been cut down to 2 furrows, although conditions were such that a well ballasted 35 or 135 would have kicked its arse up to the next headland and beyond

I've never seen one in action but wouldn't doubt what you say. They look to be an attempt at a cross between a Landrover and a tractor doing neither job particularly well.

 

[John 1594]

I've never seen one in action but wouldn't doubt what you say. They look to be an attempt at a cross between a Landrover and a tractor doing neither job particularly well.

But is there anything at all that a landrover does well, apart from rot or break down?

 

[SilliamWhale]

But is there anything at all that a landrover does well, apart from rot or break down?

Yeah. Lasts 25 years and then sells for something about 5k

 

[Drillman]

But is there anything at all that a landrover does well, apart from rot or break down?

Landrovers (the real one) wasn't a bad truck. it just got left behind. Anyway dead and buried now never to return Just like the Trantor I suspect

 

[John 1594]

Yeah. Lasts 25 years and then sells for something about 5k

what did you do, buy it new an park it in an air conditioned, insulated moisture free shed?

 

[SilliamWhale]

Will
You have to wait until it dries out, then loosen it.. Probably months ahead. After 2012 we adopted the attitude that nature would sort out our soils but that was a big mistake, where we ran a Shakerator through in the spring before sp wheat and sp beans yields were 100% greater.

Wasnt @yellow belly saying that the mole plough did a lot of good for him?

 

[SilliamWhale]

what did you do, buy it new an park it in an air conditioned, insulated moisture free shed?

Nope. Keep it clean underneath and oil it underneath. But

 

[John 1594]

Nope. Keep it clean underneath and oil it underneath. But

but....you didnt actually use is?

can understand that...given the safety rating they have...its a bit like putting your hands in a tigers mouth and thinking you will still be able to comb your hair in an hours time

 

[SilliamWhale]

Got a 13 year old defender now. Its still tidy. Bought for 15k probably be worth 6k now or in another 10 years the same. Whats not to like?

The whole point of them is farm runarounds and they do that job well. Undeniably.

 

[mikep]

Just waded through this thread and i think that the concept of the trantor is fine for light duties as it was originally designed but the designer does not understand soil mechanics let alone the protection of soils which is what CA is all about.
Weight alone does not cause damage but the inappropriate use of weight does and this kicks both ways. Too little weight can be as damaging as too much of it allows excess wheel spin.
I agree that it is stupid to go along the route of dd is good so lets do it fast with a wide drill and heavy hp.
I also think that some of today's tractors are over speccd for some of us and fashion plays more of a part in buying decisions than most would admit.
However i would prefer manufacturers to offer more of the stockman special type machine in the larger hp bracket as i think they would be more suited to what in the end is a pulling job, it would also need hydraulics and link arms so like it or not it's not a trantor.