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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

CULTIVATORS

New Sumo T-Press combines shallow cultivation and pressing

A combination cultivator that brings together spring tines, clod-smashing paddles and seed-bed consolidating discs or rings is Sumo’s latest tillage implement. The Yorkshire-based manufacturer says the T-Press is designed as…

CEREAL DRILLS

Pottinger downsizes Aerosem F seed drill with new 3m toolbar

Dividing the weight of a seed drill by carrying the hopper up front and the coulters out back produces a more balanced and manoeuvrable outfit than when everything is concentrated…

CULTIVATORS

Amazone Catros harrow gets factory-fitted slurry distributor

A new Pro version of Amazone’s Catros compact disc harrow comes with a factory-fitted slurry distribution system that allows buyers to complete shallow cultivations and apply nutrients in the same…

CEREAL DRILLS

Bolt-on kit adds compost teas and nutrients during drilling

Since moving to his North Yorkshire arable farm two-and-a-half years ago, Matt Emmett has been on a quest to breathe new life into its light-bodied soils. Prior to his arrival,…

CULTIVATORS

Pottinger adds harrow option to Plano shallow cultivator

A heavy-duty harrow is one of several new optional extras available on Pottinger’s high-speed Plano shallow tine cultivator. The three-row toolbar is designed to bolt in place of the rear…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2026: Contractor builds tine toolbar drill

Trivett and Sons’ tine toolbar drill has been highly commended. After battling several challenging autumn campaigns, Lawrence Trivett, brother Alistair and dad Andrew decided to rethink their drilling fleet. That…

Cultivation and drilling reviews and tests

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CEREAL DRILLS

Direct drills revisited: 6m Sly/Horizon Boss

Swithin Waterer was one of the first UK growers to purchase a Sly (now Horizon) Boss angled disc drill and he’s still using it six years on. The 6m Australian-inspired…

CEREAL DRILLS

Driver’s View: Jean-Baptiste Bady’s Claydon Hybrid 3m

Estate manager Jean-Baptiste Bady and farm manager Callum Orr, who run an arable operation at the world’s most northerly castle on the small central island of Shapinsay, Orkney, have picked…

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

Driver’s view: Tom Hounsfield's Sumo DD drill

Lincolnshire farmer Tom Hounsfield gives us his verdict on the adapted Sumo DD no-till drill he bought in 2015. He tells us why he switched to no-till, his likes and…

CEREAL DRILLS

Driver’s view: Claydon Evolution big improvement over Hybrid

Three years after investing in a 3m Claydon Hybrid to speed up crop establishment, Thomas Langley had picked up sufficient extra contracting work to find himself on the back foot…

CEREAL DRILLS

Direct drills revisited: Novag TForcePlus 440 improves soil

Since we visited Andrew Tucker last year, he has put another autumn and spring season’s worth of work through the farm’s 4m Novag TForcePlus 440 drill. It has performed well…

CEREAL DRILLS

Driver's view: John Hawkins' Simtech T-Sem drill

Simtech’s T-Sem no-till drill uses a disc and inverted T-shaped coulter to establish a crop without the need for any prior cultivation. We visit Dorset farmer John Hawkins to see…

CEREAL DRILLS

Direct drills revisited: New 6m Amazone Cayena replaces old

One Yorkshire business has been so content with the performance of its 2013 Amazone Cayena that it plumped for a like-for-like replacement when trading it in three seasons ago. The…

CEREAL DRILLS

Driver’s view: Swithin Waterer's Sly Boss drill

Swithin Waterer of Halstead, Essex, explains why he opted to go no-till with a Sly Boss drill. He tells us how it has performed, what he likes best about it…

CEREAL DRILLS

Driver’s view: Andrew Tucker’s Novag T-ForcePlus 440 drill

We get the lowdown on the 4m Novag T-ForcePlus 440 drill owned by Monkton Farleigh Farms near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, which is driven by farm manager Andrew Tucker. See also: What's in…

CEREAL DRILLS

Direct drills revisited: 3m Triton aids blackgrass fight

Wet weather was halting harvest progress when we caught up with Robert Hinchcliffe to see how he was getting on with his 3m Triton direct drill. While adverse conditions can…

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…

Cultivation and drilling buying advice

Cultivation and drilling insights and practical advice

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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…

SOILS

How to raise headland yields by cutting soil compaction risk

Yields on field headlands are typically 10% lower than the rest of the field, which is why farmers will benefit from measures that minimise the impact of increased traffic on…

CEREAL DRILLS

Ultimate Guide to buying a direct tine drill 2026

There is a ruck of new models in this year's guide to tine-based direct drills, with eight manufacturers introducing new or heavily revamped machines. See also: Ultimate Guide to buying…

CEREAL DRILLS

Ultimate Guide to buying a direct disc drill

For growers who prefer disc coulters for establishing new crops straight into arable stubbles or a green cover, there are plenty of options – including several newcomers – as this…

CULTIVATORS

Side-shift linkage options deliver pinpoint crop weeding

Razor-sharp RTK guidance systems have nailed the art of driving tractors in arrow-straight lines, but they can’t deal with the inevitable wandering of implements on undulating ground and in changeable…

PLOUGHING AND CULTIVATION

Why no-till is profitable despite having a yield penalty

As machinery costs are the main driver of arable profit, no-till farms can afford to produce 1t/ha less wheat than their more conventional counterparts. Speaking at the Groundswell event in June, accountant…

CULTIVATORS

6 ways to improve autumn soil cultivation regimes

Many operators can be guilty of pulling the cultivator out the shed, heading to the field and cracking on with ground work, with the only parameter of success the sight…

BLACKGRASS

Why low disturbance subsoiling raised yields in trial

Cracking soil with a low-disturbance subsoiler has been the springboard to help raise yields in the direct drilling plots of Agrii’s Stow Longa long-term blackgrass trial. The silt-rich soils at…

SOILS

Top tips to achieve more resilient and sustainable soils

One of the most common questions for farmers relating to “soil health” is how best to measure it and monitor progress once they have embarked on a mission to improve…

CEREAL DRILLS

How to fit a fertiliser kit to a John Deere drill

John Deere’s 750A drill is recognised as being one of the longest-serving no-till seeders used in Europe today. Other smaller manufacturers from around the globe are working hard to grab…

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CULTIVATORS

Case-IH introduces AFS Soil Command for cultivator

An automatic control system designed to ensure consistent performance from multi-element cultivators has been introduced by Case-IH in North America to help improve seedbed quality. See also: Tips on selecting…

CULTIVATORS

Side-shift linkage options deliver pinpoint crop weeding

Razor-sharp RTK guidance systems have nailed the art of driving tractors in arrow-straight lines, but they can’t deal with the inevitable wandering of implements on undulating ground and in changeable…

PEST MANAGEMENT

How a grower uses cultivations and tech to kill slugs

Slugs have been a major headache for North Yorkshire grower Graham Potter since he switched from a plough-based crop establishment system to direct drilling. But with proactive implementation of integrated…

ARABLE

Yorks farmer slashes fuel costs with variable-depth tillage

A more streamlined approach to "prescription cultivation" is promised with the introduction of a tractor-mounted scanner that enables variations in soil type and compaction depth to be identified on the…

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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…

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,…

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,…