Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer - 23 June 2007
Yorkshire farmer Tim Hey has found a multitude of uses for a He-Va Disc Roller and Combi-Lift combination.
With 675ha of arable land, including substantial acreages of potatoes, carrots and parsnips at Fir Tree Farm near Selby, Tim Hey is a busy man.
He came across the He-Va Disc Roller when he was looking for a way of improving the seedbeds within a low cost oilseed rape establishment system.
“I was using a Flatlift subsoiler with an applicator in a one pass operation, which could produce yields up to 5.0t/ha in good conditions”, he explains. “But on the stronger land, the Flatlift tines would just lift the slits rather than producing a tilth and I wanted better results.
The Shattaboard at the front of the Disc Roller levels and consolidates, while the discs break clods and incorporate residues on stale seedbeds ahead of further consolidation by the roller.
“I trialled it against a power harrow on ploughed land, and the resulting crops had a lot more vigour after the Disc Roller,” he explains.
He originally planned to use it after the Flatlift, but when OPICO introduced the Combi-lift deep loosening unit, it made sense to combine the two operations.
 “The Disc Roller is towed behind the Combi-lift which is mounted on the linkage, so it is easy to remove the subsoiler to use the discs on their own, but it’s a tidy unit in combination,” says Tim.
For rape establishment, the Flatlift is still used to subsoil the tramlines. Next the 4m hydraulic folding disc Roller and Combi Lift fitted with a Variocast 8 seeder goes in, followed by a roll. Having first used the system last Autumn, Tim reports that the crop is looking good.
“You get very strong plants, and neighbours have expressed surprise that such good results can be gained with relatively little input,” he says. “The one issue is slugs, as the seedbed is very open. I have taken the decision to slug pellet as a matter of routine to avoid risking yield.”
Tim has found a multitude of other applications for the implement, such as preparing seedbeds for wheat and barley.
“I use it after the plough on barley and take the subsoiler legs off,” he explains, “then I can use a lighter tractor – 120 hp handles the Disc Roller on its own, compared to 200 hp for the complete unit.”
On lighter land, one pass is sufficient, with a couple of passes in stronger soils; Tim comments that the open seedbed weathers down well.
A contractor comes in to start the cereal drilling with a disc drill while Tim is on the potato harvest and, after beet, the Disc Roller can be found chopping residues.
It also came in handy this Spring for chopping up volunteers before ploughing when Tim took some extra land on.
“You get a level finish, so it is a useful tool before the plough.”
One modification is in the pipeline: land-wheels are to be fitted to the subsoiler unit to prevent the legs digging into the heavy ground and dragging up clods from below.
“It’s a versatile piece of kit, which would be useful to anyone with a variety of crops and conditions,” Tim concludes.
For more details on the HE-VA Combi-Lift and Disc Roller click here.. |
