Arable farmers were treated to two cultivation demonstration events last week – the AEA’s Tillage event and Normac. Both offered rich pickings for Nick Fone and Andy Collings

Bomford
This was the first public outing for the Vogel and Noot range under its new Bomford banner. The Austrian firm’s line-up of ploughs, drills, cultivators, power harrows and flail-mowers are now marketed as Bomford VN.

As yet Bomford parent company Alamo – which also owns McConnel, Spearhead, Twose and Faucheux – says it has no financial interest in the firm. But given its previous track record in acquisitions, it is reasonable to assume that Vogel and Noot will not escape close scrutiny from Alamo management.

Imants
The use of spading machines to create seed beds is not new, but their use in general agriculture – rather than salad and vegetable production – has been rather limited. The method’s popularity could now be enhanced by coupling an Accord disc-drill to a 3m Imants spader to enable the cultivator to achieve a true, one-pass operation.

A rotor equipped with 470mm long curved tines is driven at about 70rpm. Large, spade-shaped blades chomp away at the stubble, mixing trash throughout the soil profile to a depth of 300-360mm (12-14 inches).

A powered roller runs behind this and the drill’s disc-coulters work directly into the seedbed. With both spade-rotor and packer-roller running in the direction of travel, the machine has a tendency to pull itself through the ground – reducing draft requirement and fuel consumption.

Coupled to a 140hp tractor, the £20,000 Imants machine will cover about 2ha/hour (5 acres).

Kverneland
Kverneland’s Tillage offering included a new high-capacity power harrow/drill combination. The i-Drill Pro has its Accord metering system and 1800-litre hopper integrated into the power-harrow headstock.

The weight balance is shifted closer to the tractor, reducing linkage lift requirements and allowing for greater hopper capacity.

The coulter toolbar lifts hydraulically out of work and can be removed if the unit is required for harrow-only duties. A 3m version costs about £11,000 – £3000 less than previous ‘piggy-back’ models.

Kockerling
A system that seems to go in and out of favour with the seasons is the tine-drill, which seems to be experiencing a resurgence. Designed to work directly into stubbles on lighter land and into tilled seed-beds and ploughing on heavier soils, Kockerling’s Allseeder is the latest.

Paddle tines level the soil ahead of four staggered rows of spring-tine coulters. Seed is fed to these by a Rauch (as sold by Kuhn) land-wheel driven metering system. Finally a soil-filled press consolidates the ground following the coulters.

With a 1200-litre hopper, the 3m mounted version costs £27,995 and requires a tractor of at least 170hp to lift it. Trailed models are said by the company to need significantly less power.

Vaderstad
Latest issue from Vaderstad is the aptly named Cultus cultivator which features a new form of rubber packer. Rather than using tyres, the company has developed a one-piece ribbed rubber unit complete with scrapers.

Up front, four rows of spring loaded tines are followed by a star wheel soil leveller. Available in widths from 3.2m to 6.2m, the 4.2m version is £26,600.

Versatile
One of the biggest crowd pullers at Normac was not a cultivator or drill, but the first of a new range of Versatile tractors to be seen on UK soil.

The red liveried, articulated 435 Versatile tractor, complete with dual wheels, is owned by Norfolk farmer Chris Eglington, who runs 1200 acres at Letton.

Arriving in July, the Winnipeg-built, 435hp, 6-cylinder Cummins-powered tractor has been on stubble cultivation duties, pulling a 12m wide spring tine cultivator at a spot work rate of 12ha/hour (30 acres/hour).

Price is in the region of £92,000.