PROUDLY
FARMER FOCUS
FEATURE
We are proud to launch our new Horizon DSX seed drill, manufactured in Lincolnshire, UK.
GEORGE SLY
Our DSX disc coulter features an unique undercut disc design. The undercut angles give us the ability to reduce machine weight and required downforce to minimise furrow compaction, smearing and the required tractor size due to lower draft and machine weights.
A lot learned from a tough year!
We started designing a veryLincs durable steel parallel Our by farm in the South fenscast is partially abovelinkage and which ispartially grease free, the parallel linkage incorporates below sea level. Last winter certainlyindividual had its cylinders and a rowwe lock upflooding feature on enabling coulters to be lifted challenges, had some fields, flooding in out of workmy individually for wider rows or undersowing. The linkages are parent’s house and no winter crops on the farm. It also Precision Plant Deltaforce or Seederforce ready, which gives was a long winter to ponder decisions for this spring. But automatic downforce control an option. in times of despair its as often a good point to reflect on how to make changes and adapt for the season ahead. The undercut discisreduces hydraulic downforce requirement Drainage something we will be looking ever closerby about 50% compared to a regular vertical disc design, this we can at, but not in the form of all new plastic pipes.means We have keep downforce to the minimum needed to achieve consistent fantastic drainage systems in the Fens and I can only feel seed depth, which more uniform, seed trench and for thegives farmsa in the west with uncompacted the floods. emergence environment. Our wheat harvest was pleasing and disappointing in many ways. I are have timing is onactuated spraying,with an Row cleaners anrealised option,how theyimportant are pneumatically having only farmed 2 years I must admit to being little in cab control. We have worked hard to have maximum aclearance blasé on timings. All of our wheat was no-till after forage between rows to have trouble free residue flow. We advise to have Maize or Beet and we have Septoria Fusarium 18,75cm spacings or wider for did optimum use into and a second cereal for issues which I believe cost us 1-2T/Ha overall. It had example. potential to be one of our best yields. As a machine maker anddesigned Farmer I should tell everyone its all perfect, but we all The newly seed boot has a removable lower wear section know that is not true! which lowers the operating cost. The seed boot are all liquid fertiliser
ready andOur a polyurethane seed tabproved can betofitted Sugar Beet and Maize be a big success in terms of margin. Maize for us is a crop that we are using to All our coulters have D-cupsoil diffusers, byhard far the best diffusers on try and supercharge health. As as that is air to believe the market for total air release meaning zero seed bounce caused by we utilise August until end of April to grow big cover crops, air pressure. Unlike other designs these do not spill seed at higher Rape with clover understory seed rates. maize being a fast growing C4 plant means we can almost have the best part of the year doing soil improvement work The rear closing wheel which is also new, features and angled rib, but still make the return we need. Using strip till we keep we have specially designed this for use in no-till but to also have an harvest damage to a minimum and usually don’t require any even finish in min-till, removing the need to have two types of closing herbicides, insecticides or fungicides other than Roundup system for hard no-till and soft min-till at 3L. If we can drop the Nitrogen its organic electricity! a multitude of businesses has its stresses and Depth is set on each coulter, meaning you can adjust depth behindRunning the strains and I have certainly realised how stressful farming tractor wheels and or plant different seeds from our optional 3 seed can be. In 2-3 years having the hottest summer ever, tanks at different depths through different coulters. longest drought, biggest flood etc etc. But we are very We have focused the design on being modular and upgradeable,lucky we to be working in nature. understand farmers may not be able to have all options from the start, Clover Companions with row crops – can it but we ensure that ongoing developments will be retro-fittable and synthetic nitrogen? Ongoing work… upgradeable, including more technology from Precision Plantingreplace such as in furrow soil sensors. You can now buy a seed drill and upgrade it We have finished a 2 year cycle with clover in row crops. with new technology instead of buying new machines to get the latest Starting with Rape, then maize and we will now try some tech, which gives farm lower per hectare or hour operating costs.wide spaced winter cereals. We used a broad leaf white clover. We established it in June (after forage triticale) then We are sourcing as many components as possible from the UK and drilled rape 25cm left or right of it, then harvested the are proud to be supporting British manufacturing and engineering in aWe then grazed with sheep hard. Then established rape. rural area of Lincolnshire. Maize into it after trying various chemical and mechanical
Maize with inter-row mulch, no herbicides
www.horizonagriculture.com DIRECT DRILLER MAGAZINE
suppression techniques. Im really encouraged by it, we have Horizon Agriculture seen some rather unexpected positives and negatives. But we will keep this 2 hectareCliftons trial runningBridge, for 7-10 years in
Fishergate, Spalding, www.directdriller.co.uk 83 PE12 0EZ United Kingdom
