Stihl Launches BT140, Its First Battery-Powered Auger
With battery tools becoming more widespread and more importantly, productive and reliable, it was only time before we saw augers or post-hole borers.
At the recent SIMA Show in Paris, Amazone has introduced the Centaya Special; a pneumatic, mounted seed drill, with a working width of 3m and hopper sizes of 1,000 or 1,500 litres capacity.
Destined to replace the AD-P Special, seed drill can be equipped with the RoTeC single disc coulter or with the TwinTeC Special double disc coulter.
Featuring a segmented distributor head, the layout mounted behind the seed hopper ensures a short travel distance for the seed, while the forward positioned hopper offers an optimal centre of gravity close to the tractor. The distributor head is easily accessed via the loading board for checking during drilling.
The low profile of the hopper also gives the driver a better overview of the machine, with the 2.3m wide x 0.84m hopper filled easily from big bags, front end loaders, or small sacks. Steep hopper walls guide the seed corn down to the metering unit and only small residual amounts are left in the hopper.
Controlled via ISOBUS, in-house developed AMAZONE software allows intuitive operation, working in conjunction with the TwinTerminal, the machine can be quickly set up for drilling.
Calibration of the seed hopper can be carried out from the loading board, accessing the metering unit on the bottom of the hopper, with seed gathered in the collection bag supplied and weighed using the scales that are also provided.
For other seeds, or different seed rates, AMAZONE offers a variety of different metering cassettes for the Centaya Special, only requiring two bolts to be released on the metering unit using the tool supplied.
The unit can be equipped either with the RoTeC single disc coulter or with the TwinTeC Special double disc coulter. The former is maintenance- free and can work where large amounts of straw and plant residues are present featuring a 12.5 or 15cm row spacing.
The sowing disc and a furrow former create the seed furrow profile and provide optimum seed placement into the soil. The TwinTeC Special double-disc coulter offers a precise and sturdy fitment, with a disc diameter of 340mm and coulter pressure of 40kg, said to be ideal for higher speeds.
Farmgate lamb prices are down by 8%, beef cattle by 4.5% and farm expenditure up by 4.2%.
Kiwifruit growers are watchful but remain optimistic as concerns around the potential effects of the El Niño weather pattern this season.
Almond hulls sourced from Australian orchards may have the potential to help New Zealand cows reduce emissions, boost milk yield and lower input costs.
Striking a balance between meeting the needs of industry to speed up approval time for products but on the other hand ensuring that risks are properly assessed.
Surprised, humbled and quite thrilled. That’s the reaction of James Allen, one of the founding partners and now chief executive of AgFirst, on being made a life member of the Institute of Rural Professionals.
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