Cereals 2015: New machinery makes its mark

A range of new and updated machines from some of the best-known manufacturers in the business will make their debut at Cereals 2015.

Visitors will be able to assess the latest tractors and examine new drilling and cultivation equipment at the event, which takes place at Boothby Graffoe, Lincolnshire, on June 10th and 11th.

Hundreds of stands will display a range of other equipment, and some machines will be brought to life in the 5ha of Working Demonstrations. Exhibitors in this area include Agri-Linc (G Whyles & Sons), Claydon, Dowdeswell Engineering, George Moate, J Brock & Sons, Mzuri, Quivogne UK, Sumo UK and TWB Engineering.

Tractors

Kubota’s new tractor range marks the firm’s launch into the mainstream agricultural market. Built at the company’s new manufacturing facility in northern France, the M7001 Series is Kubota’s most powerful tractor to date.

Available in three models (M7131, M7151 and M7171, rated at 130, 150, 170 hp respectively), the series is aimed at mixed and arable farms and comes with a host of features to maximise performance, reliability and operator comfort and control.

Case IH’s new Puma range incorporates seven models from 150-240hp. The six-cylinder power units meet European Stage IV (Tier 4 Final) emission regulations that minimise fuel consumption and maximise performance.

In addition to an updated AFS 700 terminal, the new Puma models include HMC II Headland Management Control and can be specified with Case IH AccuGuide.

The new Magnum Rowtrac 380 CVX from Case IH makes its Cereals debut. The tractor retains the front wheel configuration of the Magnum 380 on which it is based, but sports tracks instead of rear wheels.

This, says Case, combines the manoeuvrability, handling and versatility of a wheeled tractor with the ability of a tracked machine to float over the ground. Power is supplied by an 8.7-litre FPT Cursor 9 engine, which is rated at 380hp but produces up to 435hp and 1806Nm of torque.

Spearheading the John Deere range of mid-size tractors are the new six-cylinder 6175R, 6195R and 6215R large-frame models making their Cereals debut.

The tractors feature Stage IV/Final Tier 4 engines feature enhanced manoeuvrability, improved operator comfort and extended service intervals. They are powered by 6.8-litre John Deere PowerTech PVS/PSS engines rated from 175 to 215hp.

New Holland is showing its recently re-launched T8 range, with Tier 4B engines, which offer improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. Power is increased across the range and torque curves have been improved, peaking at 1300-1500rpm and improving fuel efficiency.

New Holland’s new LM Elite model telehandler features more engine power (143hp compared to 121hp) and improved transmission featuring a 6x3 Powershift. The machine is capable of speeds up to 40kph.

Drills

Kuhn Farm Machinery’s new 6m minimum tillage drill is designed to maximise speed, accuracy and efficiency. The new Espro, which is being launched at Cereals, can be pulled by a 200 hp tractor and drill accurately at speeds up to 17km/h.

Two rows of 460mm concave discs incorporate residues into the surface layers, creating a fine tilth and functioning effectively even in heavy conditions, says the firm. A row of 900mm diameter press wheels follow.

The Crossflex seed bar has coulter arms mounted on polyurethane blocks that provide sufficient spring movement to maintain a precise seed depth at high working speeds. Double-disc coulters provide precision seed placement.

Weaving is launching its new zero-till GD Drill, which features a patented GD coulter that provides low soil disturbance with a very low draught requirement of 40hp/m, according to the company.

The double disc arrangement is mounted at 25° off the vertical. The larger leading outer disc cuts an opening slice in the soil while the smaller inner disc forms an opening for the seed to be placed. The following press wheel also acts as a depth regulator.

Inter-row clearance of 1,000mm helps the drill operate in extremely trashy conditions, including cover crops. Mounted variants are available from 3 to 4.8m, while trailed models range from 4 to 8m.

Claydon is launching a new 8m version of its Hybrid T trailed drill at Cereals. Capable of up to 70ha/day, the drill employs Claydon’s Direct Strip Till Seeding System to sow directly into stubble, in min-till situations or on ploughed/cultivated land.

The seeding frame floats separately to the seed hopper, ensuring an even depth across the working width. The drill weighs 7400kg and is equipped with 25 seeding tines operating at up to 150mm deep. It needs 400hp-450hp to pull it. It comes with a choice of rear toolbar options and a 5500-litre hopper that can be used in seed/fertiliser or seed only modes.

Dale Drills is exhibiting its new Eco-T drill designed for smaller farms. The machine comes in 3–6m widths and uses the company’s Eco-Drill assemblies mounted on a trailed frame in a three-row stagger.

Land wheels mounted between the first and second row allow for trash flow whilst supporting the 2.2t capacity hopper. The narrow drilling knives contribute to a very low hp requirement, allowing a 4.8m machine to be pulled with just 150hp.

Kverneland is showing its newly launched Kultistrip. Individual strip till rows, which can be set 45-75cm apart, are connected by a spring-loaded parallelogram system to follow the ground contours. A 520mm diameter disc opens the soil and cuts long trash, followed by trash-wheels that disperse residues, leaving a clean strip of earth.

Tines that can work soil down to 30cm follow, then a choice of press wheel – finger wheel, cage wheel or Farmflex – compresses the row.

Lincolnshire based strip-till specialist Sly Agri now offers a 9m Stripcat2 cultivator suitable for beet, OSR and maize establishment and liquid fertiliser injection.

A front wavy coulter cuts through trash and starts the cultivation, followed by pair of angled, finger-type discs to clear stubble trash ready for narrow, low-disturbance legs that adjust down to 300mm.

Air actuators control the ground pressure from zero to 600kg. An optional precision planter allows maize and beet planting in a single pass.

Amazone is showing the latest incarnation of its AD-P Special power harrow/drill combination, which offers automatic headland shut-off, variable rate seeding and push button in-cab calibration.

The AD-P Special is available in 3, 3.5 and 4m working widths and brings over the new metering system, air venturi and fan from the Cirrus trailed drills. Row spacing is 12.5 cm or 16.6 cm on both the WS Suffolk and the RoTeC disc coulter.

Speed source is either via radar, guide wheel, GPS or tractor source and is controlled by a choice of Amadrill+ or Amatron 3, depending on circumstances.

Making its debut in the UK at this year’s Cereals event will be the grain-only version of the new Great Plains 4m Centurion CDA 400 cultivator drill. It will stand alongside its larger 6m counterpart, the Centurion CDA 600, which has recently benefited from various upgrades.

Other Great Plains seeding and planting products on display will include the company’s new YPE Planter, which is currently being demonstrated on sites in the UK and across Europe, and the 3P1006NT no-till drill.

Cultivators

Amazone’s new Certos heavy compact disc harrow is designed to deal with high levels of trash such as that produced by cover and catch crops and maize grown on energy contracts.

It is designed to incorporate organic matter at a relatively shallow depth. It is available in 4-7m widths, has 660mm diameter scalloped discs, staggered with an offset of 350mm and angled to ensure a very aggressive operation.

Dal-Bo’s new Maxiroll, shown for the first time in the UK at Cereals, is designed to optimise germination of blackgrass by creating a shallow seed-bed close behind the combine.

The new Maxiroll has front harrow sections consisting of four rows of 16mm tines and independent depth wheels, followed by Cambridge/Breaker, Crosskill or Cross Combi roll choices.

Dal-Bo’s 12m Maxiroll with crackerboards also makes its show debut, combining a 12.5t roll with a front-mounted, hydraulically adjusted crackerboard to aid seed-bed preparation.

Vaderstad is showing two recently launched cultivator ranges at Cereals. The Carrier L and XL range have 51cm/61cm diameter notched discs with adjustable working angles and are available in 4.25-8.25m working widths. Tools including straw harrow, CrossCutter Knife and CrossBoard can be fitted, and three packers are available to ensure good soil to trash contact in a range of soils.

The Opus range uses tines spaced at 27cm and distributed across four axles with a ground clearance of 80cm. The arrangement is designed to cope with huge amounts of trash while still working efficiently down to 40cm without requiring significant draught.

Fertiliser spreader

Amazone’s new ZA-V comes into the spreader range beneath the flagship ZA-TS models. Its V-Spreading system uses a new simpler aperture, agitation and disc system.

The new aperture is designed for outputs of up to 6.4 kg/sec, which is ample for working widths of up to 36 metres and forward speeds of up to 30 km/h in the field. The ZA-V Control offers a simple speed-related spread rate adjustment via the new Amaspread+ in-cab terminal.

Harvesting

John Deere has updated its range of large square balers for 2015 with two new models, the L1533 and L1534.

The driveline design requires less tractor hp, helping to improve fuel efficiency. The balers feature a multi-crop packer to handle silage, hay and straw. Key components including the pick-up, rotor, packer and the main gearbox are all fully clutch-protected.

The balers are ISOBUS compatible and most adjustments can be controlled from the cab.

Case IH’s Axial-Flow 8240, launched last summer, is on show at Cereals and features a 30' (9.144m) version of the company’s new 3152 Draper header. Featuring a belt-type design, it increases operating speed, provides constant feeding of the rotor and being less susceptible to crop moisture extends the working day, says the company.

Krone has launched a new app for iPad and iPhone users that allows BiG X forage harvester and BiG Pack square baler operators to log customers’ records and field operation data, such as date, time and location, and to produce a simple, accurate report for more efficient invoicing and record keeping.