Arable growers keen to get green cover established in double-quick fashion can now drill the seed as they harvest their cash crop, thanks to a collaboration between Geringhoff and Kverneland.

The Cover Pro fits to the back of the combine header, with two 200kg-capacity hoppers and a hydraulically driven pneumatic distributor feeding spreader plates set 40cm apart.

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Seed is then raked by a row of straight tines before a gang of press wheels consolidate the ground.

However, there’s not enough space to fit the latter under the harvester’s central feeder house, and work is ongoing in developing a means of maintaining consistent press wheel pressure irrespective of header height.

Total weight of the kit is about 800kg, so it’s unlikely to be a noticeable burden on the combine – especially one armed with a 9m header that might already weigh nearly 3t.

As well as giving the cover crop a head start – provided there’s a modicum of moisture to get seeds germinating – the companies say that completing both harvesting and drilling in the same pass will save labour, tractor hours, and diesel.

A batch of pre-production Cover Pro units will be built next year for fitment on new Geringhoff headers between 5.5m and 9m wide.

There are no plans to offer retrofit versions.