We caught up with him sowing the last of the spring barley to chat about his Kverneland 6m u-drill that he purchased for the autumn 2022 seeding season. “The reason we bought the new drill was the first minute I saw… it I was very impressed with the build quality and the whole setup of the drill”.
The Kverneland u-drill is a universal seed drill, for all crop establishment systems, planting a wide range of crops, including cereals, oilseeds, and legumes. It uses a unique drilling system that delivers the seed precisely and consistently, resulting in better crop emergence and more uniform plant growth. The focus in design has been especially given to high speed operation (10-18km/h) with low pulling requirement while ensuring a perfect seed placement.
“The action of the u-drill is super on the seed placement,”
This system results in consistent seed-to-soil contact essential for optimal germination and plant growth. With the Kverneland CD-coulter, the narrow profile of the coulters with their slightly offset steel discs allow easy penetration into the soil. Thus, little pressure is required at this point with only little soil being displaced. The coulter pressure of 100kg can, therefore, be primarily used for the pressing by the integrated press wheels. The result is a uniform seeding depth even at high working speeds.
The “u” in u-drill stands for universal and not only refers to crop systems but also soil conditions.
Alfie maintains... “Especially in wet conditions. It's inclined to just float along the ground… and it gets through the wet spot easier”. With soil compaction always a concern for farmers with heavy conditions this is an important consideration.
Automated Headland Management.
Designed with a fully automated headland management system, using just one button, the driver can initiate a headland sequence with wheels, discs and coulter bar all capable of automatic operation in timed stages. As the headland sequence starts, the metering device stops automatically – avoiding double seeding while the seed hoses are empty at the headland, saving valuable seed.
“Everything is very user friendly, very clear”
The user experience is always to the forefront of Kverneland focus and means cab control of operations is an important feature of the machine. For farmers and contractors, flexibility and ease of operation is key as each field has its own soil structure and specific working conditions. For a busy contractor, like Alfie, less time out of the cab means more time getting the job completed. The-drill’s functionality allows all operations to be controlled from the tractor cab via either the tractors ISOBUS terminal or Kverneland’s Tellus terminal.
The u-drill is available in working widths of 3m, 4m and 6m folding to carry out seedbed preparation, levelling, reconsolidation, seeding and pressing in one pass. The drill is available as grain only or the grain and fertiliser application model, with split hopper functionality.
Alfie is so impressed with the drill he says. “. I'd definitely recommend the drill to others , I'd actually think it’s the drill of the future”.
