What’s the best direct drill for dealing with big stones?

Thomas Simpson

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
N.Yorkshire
Our land is mostly light and easy working land but it has the issue of big stones either big flat limestone slabs, big sandstones or big boulders. Which direct drill in peoples experience copes best with stones either tine or disc?
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
Most NZ designed tine drills are built with stones in mind, Canterbury is mostly alluvial soil with a SERIOUS amount of gravel/stone eroded from the southern alps.

I'd have no trouble recommending a Taege, Duncan, or Aitchison drill (y) the Taege especially, as the box section that the tines are bolted to are tilted over a few °, which means the tine point is behind where it is mounted, and this allows the point to ride up a little when it hits something it cannot shift.
All have tungsten tiles on the points as optional extras, as far as I'm aware.
 

clbarclay

Member
Location
Worcestershire
Tines genrally rutle lumps up that discs ride over. Rolling after using the tine drill I pickup a lot of bricks and similar sized stones (No particuarly big stones here) that are left sitting on top of the surface. Far few disturbed bricks and stones to pick up after the disc drill.

We use a simtech and have plenty of stones. First job I did when we got it was to put some inch square mesh above the tines to save the tractor window. Just a tip.
I migh have to try that. Not sure I'm likely to break a window, but stones clattering off the tractor is irritating.
 

Thomas Simpson

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
N.Yorkshire
We have a sumo dts which works well but it can pull lots of stones up and block up with stones and chopped straw and won’t work in cover crops.
Also we have a moore drill but it seems to pull up and block up with stones between the coulter discs and packer. The angle of discs at 8’ seem to be the problem as the sky drill is 3.5’.
 
Do you want to collect them up and remove or just drill in a pain free manner?
If collecting a tine drill will pull them out for you to remove or risk your combine. if you've lots then your field will then resemble the moons surface an you will have to level it sometime. On the other hand get a disc drill which will ride over and you dont have to go collecting, simple.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Also be aware that the roller on the back of the SimTech is great for catching stones of a certain size, then jamming against the scraper bar. It's about the only feature of the drill that I find annoying.
 
You either go tine and pick up a lot of the bigger stones/rocks. Or go disc and try and keep the buggers down. A single disc would be better than a double or triple. Something with hydraulic down pressure and coulter travel.

Hard to go past a cross slot for its rugged construction...
 

Thomas Simpson

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
N.Yorkshire
Do you want to collect them up and remove or just drill in a pain free manner?
If collecting a tine drill will pull them out for you to remove or risk your combine. if you've lots then your field will then resemble the moons surface an you will have to level it sometime. On the other hand get a disc drill which will ride over and you dont have to go collecting, simple.
I wish it was it that simple! Our neighbour took one of our fields to grow stubble turnips on for his sheep and he got a contractor to drill it with his GD drill and has has pulled up as many stones as our DTS, the angle of the disc seems to pull them out. The tine does seem to be more flexible than a disc.
 
I wish it was it that simple! Our neighbour took one of our fields to grow stubble turnips on for his sheep and he got a contractor to drill it with his GD drill and has has pulled up as many stones as our DTS, the angle of the disc seems to pull them out. The tine does seem to be more flexible than a disc.

If you keep at DD those stones will gradually sink down. How stoney is stoney to you? I can't believe its that bad.
 

Thomas Simpson

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
N.Yorkshire
In some places there is very little soil for the stones to sink into, we pick alot of stones every year even with min till only working down to 4-5inch.The stones make their way to the top every year, thats just mother nature.We have fields we cant plough as they are too stoney so just a couple of passes with a carrier does the job but it still pulls stones up.
 

clbarclay

Member
Location
Worcestershire
The stones make their way to the top every year, thats just mother nature.
Is that mother natures doing though or your own?

As a kid with a box of lego I learnt that if you keep moving it about (digging in the box to find a particular piece) then all the smaller pieces tend to end up at the bottom of the box and the larger lumps work their way to the top.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

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

  • 1,291
  • 1
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/
Top