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How to save around 60% on establishment while improving yields
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The Claydon family have farmed the heavy clay land of Suffolk since the early 1900s. Jeffrey and Frank Claydon are the third generation to farm the land now under the E.T. Claydon and Sons family partnership name. The brothers started out in 1970 and still farm the land today. The manufacturing side of the business began in 1981, when Claydon Yield-o-Meter was established to sell its yield monitoring system.
Claydon Drill machines are developed on a working farm by farmers for farmers. All of our farm machinery is truly tried and tested in real farming conditions in a real farm environment before they are brought to market.
We don’t just listen to the end user – we are the end user.
Drilling direct and eliminating unnecessary cultivations can save you thousands in establishment costs every year, and the Claydon Opti-Till® system does just that.
Compared to conventional establishment it saves approximately 60% on costs with a time saving of around 80%.
How much have Claydon users saved?
“Fuel is one of the big areas for saving with Opti-Till®. With the plough-based system our 15,000-litre tank had to be filled five times a season – now the tanker visits twice, which is 60% less. With fuel prices where they are, that represents a major saving.”
S Middleton, East Yorkshire
“In the first year that drill saved us 30,000 litres of fuel compared with our previous system… but there were numerous other immediate benefits in terms of timeliness, time saving, better crops and much lower costs.”
T Saunders, Northants
It’s not just fuel savings
David and Andrew Cooper © Claydon
“One of the key benefits of OptiTill® is that it allows us to farm more land with less labour and machinery. Recently, we cut costs even more by reducing the number of tractors from three to two.”
D Cooper, Norfolk
Eric Lewis © Claydon
“Establishing crops now needs so little power that I sold one of my two 550-gallon fuel tanks because it was no longer needed.”
E Lewis, Gloucestershire
No yield penalities
Whether farming heavy clays in Lincolnshire or dry, light erosion-prone soils in East Germany, customer experience shows that yields generally improve with Claydon-drilled crops.
© Claydon
“Half of the spring cropped area was established using the previous approach and half with the Claydon. When both were harvested, the Claydon-drilled area produced 0.5t/ha more yield. The largest yield increases have been in the spring crops due to the Opti-Till® System conserving moisture at planting, especially with the dry springs that we seem to get now.”
P Wilson, Wiltshire
© Claydon
“The drill has transformed how we farm and, even after a relatively short time of using it, the headlands of all our fields look as good and perform as well as the main areas, which has significantly improved average yields and grain quality.”
L Roman, Italy
© Claydon
“Field trials have proven that the Claydon system had no detriment to establishment, providing a fantastic rooting zone required by the crop, and yields were well above the pea groups’ set target yields.”
W Turnbull, Yorkshire
And a little bit of science…
Skyway spring barley was direct-drilled by seven different drill manufacturers as part of Agrii drill trials in Kent in 2023, comparing different drilling systems.
The Claydon Evolution was the highest-yielding drill with 7.46t/ha compared to the site average of 7.06t/ha, a substantial increased yield of 400kg/ha over the average.
The roots of the Claydon crop were the deepest and most well developed across all the drills.
The Claydon drill’s leading tine technology is the key to maintaining, or in many cases, improving your yields.
It drills direct into stubble and doesn’t turn over the soil, just aerating it in the rooting and seeding row.
This means the seed gets the best start in life – friable, free draining soil and access to moisture.
Meanwhile, worms thrive and process the surface organic matter, adding to the soil’s fertility. What’s not for a seed to love?
© Claydon
Claydon leading tine technology – giving the seed what it needs.
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If you miss the application window for an FETF grant, you can still buy a Claydon and save money in your first year, just in fuel costs alone. |
Spring demo opportunity
Freshen up soil and remove tightness for your seeds this growing season.
Contact your local dealer for a demo.
For more information about how Claydon drilling can help you establish your crops in a challenging climate, whilst maintaining yields and reducing costs, visit claydondrill.com or contact your nearest Claydon dealer.