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All articles about Cereal drills

Drills have divided opinion amongst farmers like never before, however they still have one of the most important jobs on the farm; to safely get seed into the ground and giving it the best start in life. Here you’ll find reviews from operators and owners on the best and worst points of their drill, along with launches from manufacturers of the latest technology and models. There is also a nod to farmer-built machines and how these can save thousands on buying a shiny new model.

Advice and tips

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…

MACHINERY

6 options for mounted 6m tine drills

With unrelenting wet and snowy weather halting many spring drilling campaigns across the country over the past few weeks, many growers that have eventually got a chance to get some…

Upgrade improves OSR drilling without cost of new machine

Growers considering a shift away from the "subcast" technique of establishing oilseed rape to improve the performance and economic viability of their crops are being offered an upgrade that enables…

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Case studies

CEREAL DRILLS

Herts firm invests in monster 15t, 18m Horsch Avatar drill

There are farms that would be chuffed to drill 20ha in a day, but since the arrival of an 18m Horsch Avatar, Hertfordshire outfit AT Bone & Sons can see…

CEREAL DRILLS

Tine Toolbar Drill outperforms trailed discs in wet and dry

Successive wet autumns have driven feverish demand for relatively lightweight, low-disturbance toolbar drills, but at Saltby Estate in Leicestershire, a recently acquired Grange Tine Toolbar Drill has proved just as…

CEREAL DRILLS

Mounted Horizon toolbar drill proves versatile option

Years of fettling his establishment system to improve soil structure, ease workload and tame grassweeds have culminated in Simon Caley’s most recent purchase of a Horizon toolbar drill. The 8m…

CEREAL DRILLS

Angus grower builds custom single-pass drill to save labour

Jettisoning his power harrow drill in favour of a bespoke single-pass rig has allowed Arbroath arable and spud grower Craig Reekie to dramatically streamline his seeding operations. The Anglo-German mash-up…

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Community

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2025: Richard Darling’s low-disturbance drill

Richard Darling won third place in our complex category. With wet weather proving to be kryptonite for Green End Farm’s Horsch Sprinter, he decided to build an insurance policy. Previous…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2025: Craig Grant’s Kinair bean and OSR drill

Aberdeenshire farmer Craig Grant is our complex category runner-up. He built a 3m bean drill after committing to incorporating more home-grown protein into his hens' ration. Rather than start from…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

FW Inventions Comp 2023: Karl White's budget direct tine drill

In a bid to slash the manpower, horsepower and time required to establish crops on his heavy arable land near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, Karl White built a one-pass combination drill.…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

FW Inventions Comp 2022: Tom Carnell's OSR drill

Tom Carnell’s oilseed rape drill has won highly commended in our Inventions Competition. Agricultural engineering and electronics specialist Tom Carnell built a custom low-disturbance oilseed rape seeder for a customer…

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Insights

CEREAL DRILLS

Ultimate Guide to buying a direct disc drill 2026

Buyers shopping for disc coulter-type direct drills next year will find there’s more choice than ever, with manufacturers adding a ruck of extra width and row options. And, for the…

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 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…

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News

CEREAL DRILLS

Agritechnica 2025: Vaderstad Spirit gets coulter pressure boost

Redesigned disc arms on Vaderstad’s Spirit drill allow coulter pressure to be cranked up from the current 80kg to 120kg. These are cast rather than fashioned from box-section and are…

CEREAL DRILLS

SMS Agro develops 4m direct drill for rejuvenating pasture

Czech agricultural machinery manufacturer SMS Agro has developed a simple trailed air seeder with disc coulters for rejuvenating tired pastures with fresh growth. The 4m Smart 400 is a trailed…

CEREAL DRILLS

Horsch Pronto 9 DC gets bigger hopper, better seed placement

Horsch has given its Pronto 9 DC disc cultivator drill a makeover, which includes the addition of a significantly bigger hopper to reduce downtime. Previously, the 9m iteration of the…

CEREAL DRILLS

Claydon introduces smaller, single-tank SFH2000 front hopper

Growers who don't need to carry and meter two products simultaneously now have the option of a smaller and simpler front hopper from Claydon. The Suffolk firm’s offering had been…

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Test and reviews

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: Horsch Avatar 6.16 SD

Few farmers will have first-hand experience of quite as many direct drills as father-and-son team Lionel and Edward Shaw. Having got a taste for a low-till approach during a trip…

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

Direct drills revisited: Mzuri Pro-Til 3T out, Avatar in

The transition from multi-pass cultivations to a no-till system is all but complete at Gillshaw Farm, the final piece of the puzzle coming last summer with the switch from a…

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Video

CEREAL DRILLS

Flexrow concept offers quick drill row width adjustment

A Swedish company has designed a drill toolbar that allows for quick adjustments of row spacing to suit particular crops and varieties. Landberg Solutions' Flexrow concept was trialled last year…

ARABLE

Video: Grower cuts fuel costs as new drill hits blackgrass

The need to slash soaring fuel costs while tackling blackgrass at the same time has led to a wholesale change in establishment system on one Leicestershire estate. Farming 1,130ha of…

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