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Know How / Cultivation and drilling

News and user views on the latest cultivation techniques to optimise crop establishment, minimise environmental impact, improve soils and reduce costs through direct drilling, minimum tillage, conservation tillage – as well as traditional ploughing and drilling techniques.

Latest cultivation and drilling articles

CEREAL DRILLS

Ultimate Guide to buying a direct tine drill 2027

Larger hoppers, wider working widths and additional coulter choices are key updates in this year’s guide to direct tine drills. Prices move both ways, with some substantial increases alongside reductions…

CEREAL DRILLS

Ultimate Guide to buying a direct disc drill 2027

A French revival and some familiar machines in new, wider configurations are just some of the additions to this year’s Farmers Weekly direct disc drills guide. Retail list prices vary,…

PLOUGHS

On test: Kverneland gets tougher shear-bolt leg assembly

Say what you like about the merits of the maligned plough, but nothing puts the wreckage of a rubbish season to bed quite like it. To bury the misery of…

CEREAL DRILLS

Kuhn gets into direct drilling with trailed 6m and 8m Apex

Direct drilling enthusiasts have another seeder option to consider with the introduction of Kuhn’s Apex single-disc design. The newcomer will initially be available in 6m and 8m trailed configurations featuring…

CULTIVATORS

Organic farm ditches its plough to improve weed control

Almost a decade after starting the conversion to organic production, Trucketts Hall Farm in Suffolk has begun overhauling its crop establishment system. Marianne and Luke Ashmore, who run the 350ha…

CULTIVATORS

Pottinger Synkro cultivator gets removable roller option

Front depth wheels are a new option for Pottinger’s rigid-frame, linkage-mounted Synkro cultivators, giving buyers the option of taking off the rear roller. This was already possible on wider, folding…

Cultivation and drilling reviews and tests

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TILLAGE-LIVE

Tillage-Live's top cultivators and drills put to the test

Visitors to last week’s Tillage-Live event were treated to another September scorcher as the mercury touched 30C at Monks Kirby, Warwickshire. Here Farmers Weekly’s Machinery team presents some of the latest cultivators, drills…

CEREAL DRILLS

Driver's view: Robert Hinchcliffe’s Triton drill

We asked Yorkshire farmer Robert Hinchcliffe to run through the good points and bad points of his 3m-wide Triton drill and explain why he picked it.  What drill are you…

CEREAL DRILLS

Driver’s view: Sky Easy Drill

Cambridgeshire grower Edward Davison picks out the best and worst points of his Sky Easy Drill, which he bought in 2016 when his crop yields were hammered by a high…

CEREAL DRILLS

Direct drills revisited: 9m custom-built John Deere 750A

After spending several years heavily modifying a 9m-wide, US-built John Deere 1890 drill for European conditions and UK roads, Leicestershire farmer Steve Heard put the implement – and the rest…

PLOUGHS

Six-furrow plough round-up: Specs and prices

If you thought the UK plough market was limited to a handful of well-known brands, think again. We suss out six-furrow offerings from 11 makers. For an implement that took…

PLOUGHS

On test: Kverneland's new five-furrow 2300S plough

Decades pass with little change to the humble plough, so a raft of major updates to Kverneland's mid-range models was big news for buyers keen to turn a more consistent…

CEREAL DRILLS

Direct drills revisited: Sumo swapped for versatile Weaving

There have been some changes since Farmers Weekly last checked in at Chestnut Tree Farm, with Tom Hounsfield previously running day-to-day operations and drilling done with a custom 4m linkage-mounted…

PLOUGHS

On test: Pottinger's revamped Servo 3000 plough

Whisper it, but plough makers could be set for better times, if one Essex grower’s recent experiences are anything to go by. As reported in Farmers Weekly, direct drilling zealot…

CEREAL DRILLS

Driver's view: Matt Lewis’ Mzuri Pro-Til 3m drill

Farm foreman Matt Lewis talks about the Mzuri Pro-Til drill that he has owned for three years. Its purchase bought about a change in the farm's crop establishment system, which…

CEREAL DRILLS

Direct drills revisited: 6m Weaving GD trumps old version

After five years of running a 4.8m Weaving GD drill on the 500ha arable he farms with his father, Edward, Henry Muntz decided to upgrade to a new 6m model.…

MACHINERY

12 no-till drills on show at farmer-organised demo day

Reduced-tillage drilling continues to gain popularity as farmers look for new ways to improve soil structure and reduce cultivation activity during the autumn. With that in mind, hundreds of growers headed…

MACHINERY

Maize drills - what's on the market

The tediously slow job that used to be drilling maize is being transformed by a new generation of machines that work with precision at much faster speeds. Peter Hill reports…

Cultivation and drilling buying advice

Cultivation and drilling insights and practical advice

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CULTIVATION AND DRILLING

How to crack down on costly soil compaction

Improved on-farm understanding and use of tillage equipment combined with better use of tyre technology could be key to cutting costly soil compaction. Damaged soils are estimated to cost UK…

PLOUGHING AND CULTIVATION

Transition farm switch to strip-till boosts margins and soil

At a Farmers Weekly Transition project farm walk in Suffolk, Claydon Drill demonstrated how low-disturbance systems can boost soil health and improve margins. Claydon’s 360ha Gaines Hall arable farm and…

TECHNOLOGY

Aqua Till waterjets offer ingenious alternative to coulters

Just when you thought variable rate, variable depth, turn compensation and limitless fertiliser combinations had taken drilling technology to its limit, the rule book has been blasted open once again.…

ESTABLISHMENT

Why good straw management is key to crop establishment

For regenerative farmers, straw provides a valuable source of organic matter for improving soil health, but it can also bring crop establishment problems if not managed correctly. Straw holds important…

CEREAL DRILLS

Retrofit openers offer drill customisation on a budget

An increasing number of farmers are swapping their manufacturer-supplied drill openers for retrofit replacements in a bid to reduce soil disturbance and improve seed establishment. Switching to aftermarket openers isn’t…

CEREAL DRILLS

Ultimate Guide to buying a direct tine drill 2025

New drills, and all-new drill ranges, are among the headlines for this year’s Ultimate Guide to direct drills sporting tine coulters. Bramleys Seed Establishment and Grange Machinery feature as seeder…

CEREAL DRILLS

Seed drills: Where are they made?

As with most agricultural machine categories, overseas manufacturers hold sway in terms of volume when it comes to the myriad seed drill types offered to growers. Global giants such as…

CEREAL DRILLS

Ultimate Guide to buying a trailed combination drill 2025

There are just a few changes to our Ultimate Guide to versatile trailed drills that deploy discs, tines or a power harrow to complete seed-bed preparation ahead of a bank…

CEREAL DRILLS

Ultimate Guide to buying a trailed combination drill 2026

Amazone, Lemken and Maschio Gaspardo lay claim to the most notable changes in this year's buyer's guide to trailed combination drills. These implements pair disc coulters with a cultivation element…

PEST MANAGEMENT

How harvest cultivations can help beat flea beetle in OSR

Shallow cultivations carried out shortly after the combine can help reduce adult flea beetle populations, but more research is needed to refine advice to growers. Speaking at a recent Limagrain…

CULTIVATORS

How, why and when to mole drain

Soggy fields, ruts deeper than your wellies and bubbling water from broken drains are all telltale signs your field drainage could do with a boost. It’s only in a wet…

Cultivation and drilling technology

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TECHNOLOGY

Aqua Till waterjets offer ingenious alternative to coulters

Just when you thought variable rate, variable depth, turn compensation and limitless fertiliser combinations had taken drilling technology to its limit, the rule book has been blasted open once again.…

Farmer embraces data to improve crop management

After dipping his toe into precision farming just over three years ago, James Porter is now embracing the latest technology that can help optimise crop inputs and ultimately increase his…

TECHNOLOGY

Dot and Raven combine precision tech systems

Two precision technology companies are teaming up to add as many bells and whistles as possible to the Dot Power Platform, which was featured in Farmers Weekly earlier this year.…

CULTIVATORS

Garford improves spec of super-accurate Robocrop guidance

Garford has launched the latest version of its super-accurate camera-based Robocrop guidance system. Now in its fourth generation, the kit comes with a compact touchscreen to speed up the process…

Video

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CULTIVATION AND DRILLING

Video: Grower builds cover crop broadcaster for £3,000

A farm-built broadcaster costing less than £3,000 has given James Hopkinson the opportunity introduce cover cropping as part of a "regenerative" approach to the arable enterprises he manages. The tractor-mounted…

MACHINERY

3 Cereals videos: Top tractors, cultivation kit and sprayers

Machinery makers from across the globe flocked to Boothby Graffoe, Lincolnshire this week (10-15 June) for the annual Cereals 2015 event. We captured a few highlights from the tractor manufacturers, cultivation…

CEREALS

Video: Machinery highlights from Cereals 2018

The Farmers Weekly machinery team headed to the southern site for the annual Cereals show, this year at Chrishall Grange in Cambridgeshire. Although several machinery manufacturers scaled back their stands,…

PLOUGHS

Video: On test - Hubert's seven-furrow plough

Late last year, Suffolk firm Agri-Hire agreed a deal to take on Dowdeswell’s engineering operation with a commitment to restarting plough production on a national scale. Dowdeswell folded last summer,…