What is the best drill on the market over the past 30 years which has changed / revolutionised your farming system ? Also any wacky ideas on how you would have changed it looking back. My favourite MF30 & put a Accord metering unit on the top probably a cheap alternative to a Vaderstad !!!!

I can see where your coming from with the MF/Accord idea. The MF30 for it's strength and the way you can look back a watch the seed flowing through the metering wheels full length of the drill. The Accord for it's high level simplicity and the way it can manage seed from rape, grass to wheat. We had an MF30 4metre disc and changed it to a 3m KV/Accord combi.

i think an accord drill with the cx type disc coulters is a nice versatile combination, and suited to ride piggyback on a whole host of cultivation equipment. I like the idea of front mounted drill hoppers too. I had a front mounted accord drill hopper with the fan driven by an old lister diesel engine and it only cost pence to run each day.

Our 6m hydraulic folding Moore is the best drill we've ever had. Had it updated to Tamden spec before last season and although there are some issues with the spacers that control the position of the front wheels this has made a good drill better still. This year we've drilled: rape into uncultivated wheat stubble with chopped straw rape and grass into min till seed beds following wheat wheat into ploughed and power harrowed or top-tilthed seedbeds wheat into uncultivated spring rape stubble previously we've also drilled wheat into uncultivated pea stubbles with great success. Biggest critisciscm is that the drill doesn't level the seed bed as well as some of the bulldozer drills but it doesn't actually need a very level seedbed to drill ALL the seed in the ground. Best things it's much harder to block than most other cultivator drills and takes less pulling. Also seed to soil contact second to none.

Been useing a accord disc driil for years, we have changed to a Lemken Zirkon 10 power harrow and a Solitair 9 drill,its by far the best drill ive used and seen we years,very well built and the seed is in the correct depth all the time ,its all done from the cab, seed adjustment, how much seed left in hopper at any one time,you can use it for min till ,on furrows.very expensive but you pays your money and takes your choice.

Deere, Is the Accord disc coulter an advantage over the ordinary suffolk type, either to get more planting depth or maybe in trashy conditions? Are they high maintenance - bearings, etc - Suffolks Ok most of the time, when ploughing ground, would discs be worthwhile considering on new drill? Appreciate your thoughts -thanks. Swede.

Disc coulters on our kuhn combi have done an excellent job, either on disced and pressed rape/bean/linseed stubble, or ploughed ground. Able to alter disc presure for depth ie spring bean ground (though better on winter ploughed ground) Maintenance to date p/h tines.

hows your rape looking that you drilled into chopped straw?do you think it will work most years?

I have a disc accord (CX) must have done 2500 acres, apart from fan belts , no maint on the discs at all. The plastic scraper discs are not working quite so well now in v sticky conds , but still does a good job. i use it on ploughing and disc pressed min till , very tough red clay in places.Simple and accurate about sums it up.

Swede,Disc"S would be better than suffolk coulters in trashy conditions and you put the seed in the ground better. But they are only a single disc, she Solitair is a double disc and it as a press wheel behind, you press the seed in the ground,and when the crop comes through it is all even +all the grain planted as come, unlike the suffolk coulters they tend to bounce along the ground and the seed is not put into the correct depth.hope this helps

How do you like the KV/accord rig then Jim? We changed a 3m Amazone combi for a KV/Accord for this season, the cracker packer has gone really well, takes a lot less pulling than a std packer. Cx discs work well too, only bother has been with hydraulic valve blocks, currently on 3rd marker valve, and second coulter lift valve. Annoying, as accord was partly chosen for reliability reputation. Main critisism is lift requirement, all the weight is a long way back from the tractor, with a full hopper it gives things some grief! Also i pinched camera from taty planter, and set up so i can see 5 coulters, and the hyd coulter pressure ram, makes everything easier to use.

vaderstad rapid 6m behind a claas challanger 55,does a very good job

Wasn't it you tht was pulling your 6m rapid with 170hp in an earlier thread - What happened ? Did it rain our something !

The Accord bit I'm very impressed with, it's the Kveneland power harrow I'm not. Would agree with you about the weight thing. We have a few stones in this part of the world and the p harrows keep shearing tine holders off. We have two and they're both alike. We've done six in total and to be quite honest I would like to see the back of the pair of them. I would go for a Kuhn because the local contractor has two and does about ten times more drilling than I do and hasn`t broken a single rotor yet and they work in identical conditions. Here's the two offending articles: http://www.todaystractors.com/tphotos/a1676.jpg

I think their are two potentials for this title but they wont come of age for a few years yet. They are the Stanhay Dart Precision drill for Cereals and the Baker Cross Slot Drill. I think they both may change the face of seeding in the UK over the next 5 years as many farmers look to different ways of cropping. I dont use either as I am still stuck with the combi but when the time comes to change I will definately look closely at both machines.

The precision drill trials at a HGCA thingy i went to last year showed across many trials that yield was less than any "normal" drill despite looking fantastic from the day of emergence. If fact broadcasting came out top many times dispite looking a ragged mess all year, the conclusion was drill it at the optimum time for soil type with what ever is at hand.

Very few of you have answered the question yet . Please see first posting.

I assume your power harrows are the same as mine; 3m NGS? do they have the quick fit tines, with round rotors similar to Amazone? So far so good with mine, but i'll keep you posted. I notice you didnt go for the cracker packer, any particular reason? just curious. Kuhn also have bomb proof reputation here, just a bit power hungry, and with slower rotors, cloddier tilth(generally) When I got my Amazone, (s/h) i used to regularly snap tines off, turned out rotor speed had been set too high, is your kv set too high?

You are quite right the best drill by far and is probably still there is the MF 30 which i think actually is a howard. I stil dont know how i went from a drill which could do 100 acres a day to one which is pushed to do 30 as in the PHD bracket

There two types of drill that have had a real impact. first the direct drill, Bettinson,moores,howard, on mixed farms they enabled huge of amounts forage crops to be planted cheaply. Second the precision drill. modern root crops would be impossible to grow now due to the shortage of labour for hoeing! jd.

MF 30 gets my vote. Versatile, simple, reliable and cheap. Can tow it behind a power harrow if that way inclined as well.

Fredrick Town 5-1/2" capacity radial arm drill best £100 spent on 2tonnes of castiron! painted shocking orange by the previous owner & christened the "clockwork orange" by my electrician mate (one of many can you drill me a really big 'ole mates) well you didn't state what type of drill did you? ff

Bamlett CD points been on since new almost indestructable upgraded to 4 meter version now cost£190 in farm sale.

Tim, I see that you get belt problems! just wondered what cost would be for replacement? many thanks n/c

They're PHB 18s, and no they don't have quick fit tines. I've noticed this Autumn it's the fist time in five seasons (150acre/season) I've lost a tine off. it's always been a whole tine holder. The packer rollers are just what they came fitted with and they work ok in sticky conditions, so we didn't order anything different. I don't think the rotor speed is too high, it's just a fact that having the extra rotors means there's less space to fit in heavier bearings and shafts.