One piece of kit, twice the work.

Farmers Weekly - 1 June 2007

Simple cereal seeding.  That is the idea behind a newcomer to the drilling scene. Peter Hill reports on OPICO’s Sabre Seeder grain drill.

Is it a cultivator that drills or a drill that cultivates?  Either way, the Sabre Seeder from OPICO’s HE-VA stable is designed to be effective in both roles.

“Versatility is a key feature of the Sabre Seeder grain drill because it’s designed to work on ploughing or as part of a non-plough system,” explains James Woolway of OPICO.  “It can also be used as a cultivator to create a stale seed-bed from stubble and then go in as a drill to sow the seed.”

The drill is based on HE-VA’s Disc Roller cultivator, which has fixed angle discs individually mounted on rubber cushioned arms.  Shattaboard levelling tines can be added for work on ploughed ground or soil loosening tines if shallow compaction needs tackling.

It has evolved from OPICO’s one-pass Till-Seeding cultivate-and-broadcast concept developed for low-cost oilseed rape establishment.

“We’re constantly asked if Till-Seeding can be used for cereals,” says Mr Woolway. “It can in principle but you need more seed hopper capacity and better control of seed depth.”

The Sabre Seeder therefore comes with a 1200-litre hopper, Rauch seed metering and coulter tubes that deposit seed close to the ground in the shadow of each disc.

“Seed is dropped behind each concave disc as it carves away the soil and is immediately covered by moist soil thrown across by the adjoining disc,” Mr Woolway explains.  “The tilth is then consolidated by the packer to get good seed-soil contact.”

A self-cleaning flexible rubber packer is the standard finishing tool.  During development with prototype versions on a dozen or so sites over the past two years, the original steel packer was found to pick up soil in sticky conditions.

“I think we’ve got it right now;  it’s a versatile machine because it can work in different cultivation systems and with few soil-engaging parts, running costs should be low,” says Mr Woolway.

Using Nix contract charges and retail prices of £24,7800 (3m) and £26,800 (4m), he calculates a cost of £30/ha for a single pass and £53/ha for two passes – once as a cultivator to create a stale seed-bed once as a drill.

“In contrast, you’re looking at £98/ha for a typical minimum tillage approach with a stubble cultivator and suitable drill and £108/ha for a plough system,” he maintains.  “We’re offering lower-cost crop establishment that should also produce the goods in terms of yield.

FARMERS WEEKLY 1st June 2007 Cereals edition:

CASE STUDY:
Jonathan Papworth
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

*Jonathan Papworth believes the Sabre Seeder grain drill could persuade him to change the crop establishment systems at Middle Farm, Conington near Peterborough.

“We grow 200ha (500 acres) of wheat alongside main cropping of potatoes, onions and sugar beet so I don’t like to spend a lot on dedicated equipment,” he explains.  “After potatoes, we plough, roll and sometimes disc before sowing with a power harrow drill, so a machine that could streamline that process would be useful.

Experience is limited to spring sowing 22ha (55 acres) of Canadian red wheat, which came through nicely, Mr Papworth reports, and looked good once May rainfall gave it some moisture.

“The drill worked well and fast on our very light fenland soils, but I think it would also work well on our stronger land,” he says.  “The beauty of the Sabre, especially in the Autumn, is that if we’re lifting potatoes, I could send just one man to go and drill our cereals.  It would be a major time and cost saving.”

*  Farmers Weekly will be following the crop’s progress right through to harvest.

For more details on the HE-VA Sabre Seeder Grain Drill click here..