Tine Direct Drills

[Farmer Piles]

I am thinking of heading down the tine direct drill route. Currently running a Lemkin power harrow drill combo and it is a fantastic bit of kit, but looking to be able to at least direct drill rape and cover crops and maybe cereals too. Our land is a free draining loam that is very forgiving to work. We take the straw off the fields too.
Currently like the look of the Weaving Sabre Tine, probably the 4.8m, but of course there are others - Horsch, Dale, etc..
We have two Case Puma tractors, 160 and 165, plenty of lift and grunt for their size but we do have slopes.
Any opinions/advice appreciated.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Opinon about what?

 

[Farmer Piles]

Makes and preferences, performance, relative merits of each. Experiences of using them. Any info that helps me to spend wisely.

 

[Fuzzy]

Try before you buy on your farm. Weaving make good kit, Sabre tine is Heavy well built drill, i would suggest picking up secondhand horsch co drill as a first move and see how it works for you, good choice of points available, dutch bourgault or metcalfe etc and good resale value if it is not suited.

 

[Brisel]

Lots of Dale and Horsch users in here. @Warnesworth only likes tine drills and he does know plenty about DD. With straw baled, a tine will do well.

Lots of disc drills on the market too. JD 750As have the best openers but fetch good money second hand and can cost a fortune to maintain. Crap hoppers too. Moore Unidrills are a good start & there are plenty about too.

What's your budget and area to drill?

 

[Farmer Piles]

I like the look of the Weaving.
The trouble with a demo is that i am based in west Cornwall so a long way from dealers. I will have a look to see what's around S/H wise.

 

[Farmer Piles]

We are doing about 450 acres of cereals plus any forage rape and cover crops. Not keen to go down the disc route, as you say, expensive to maintain. £30 - 40k budget. But less is obviously better.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Simtech another option

 

[Rob Holmes]

Claydon?
@charlie@claydon, any near him?

 

[Clive]

Lots of Dale and Horsch users in here. @Warnesworth only likes tine drills and he does know plenty about DD. With straw baled, a tine will do well.

Lots of disc drills on the market too. JD 750As have the best openers but fetch good money second hand and can cost a fortune to maintain. Crap hoppers too. Moore Unidrills are a good start & there are plenty about too.

What's your budget and area to drill?

I would put the Avatar opener above the 750a now having used both - very similar but juts that bit better in many areas

 

[Brisel]

I like the look of the Weaving.
The trouble with a demo is that i am based in west Cornwall so a long way from dealers. I will have a look to see what's around S/H wise.

I have a Claydon, who don't have a dealer within 80 miles of here. I just deal direct with them & carry a few more spares than usual. I've never waited more than a day for urgent parts unless it's a weekend.

 

[Brisel]

I would put the Avatar opener above the 750a now having used both - very similar but juts that bit better in many areas

Have you seen the Pro Series openers? Far less to fix. You've made the right choice for your situation IMO.

 

[Clive]

The new Sabre tine looks good, Dale is a good drill as well, Old Co for the cheap option

 

[Clive]

Have you seen the Pro Series openers? Far less to fix. You've made the right choice for your situation IMO.

Yes the pro series sorts a few things on the 750a but still lacks some of what the Horsch has IMO

 

[nick...]

I think weaving deal direct nowadays.hoped to see them at doe show but they parted company for various reasons.good luck with dale.ive called them emailed them and spoke to them at croptec and Lamma and heard nothing unlike several other strip and direct drill manufactures whose products I’m waiting to see in action if it ever dries up
Nick...

 

[Farmer Piles]

We have tried the Claydon, once about 10 years ago and again 15 months ago, didn't do it for us, didn't seem to suit our ground. Haven't looked at the Simtech yet.
All useful feedback.

 

[Farmer Piles]

You really do have to be an optimist with the current weather patterns. Managed to get a day's drilling done last week but horrendously wet again now.

 

[nick...]

We have tried the Claydon, once about 10 years ago and again 15 months ago, didn't do it for us, didn't seem to suit our ground. Haven't looked at the Simtech yet.
All useful feedback.

I’ve looked at a simtech at importers but not seen one going in work.looks good but not overly keen on lack of independent coulters
Nick...

 

[Luke Cropwalker]

Drill choice is only a very small part of the equation.

Are your soils ready for DD? Are you prepared to accept a yield penalty for a few years if not? What are your soil organic matter levels? Are you adding any organic matter or cover crops? Is your rotation suitable for DD? Are you prepared to introduce spring crops, if not grown already? Etc. Etc.

Just playing devils advocate but all are relevant questions.

 

[HarryB97]

I was in a similar postition this year and in the end decided on a Horsch Sprinter. What swung it for me in the end is that I could have a wider drill than a mounted like a Claydon and run my tyres at below 10psi whilst having no weight on the front. I have a very light tractor so couldn't lift more than a 3 metre mounted and they have a much smaller hopper. The Horsch is very well built and Dutch openers have a wide range of sizes making it very versatile and due to the full width packers it can cope equally as well on ploughed land as it can on stubble. The resale value is also very good which is a bonus but not something that I ever consider. However in a year of looking I only came across two 4 metre drills for sale!