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Spading mixes organic material by working crop residues and green manure into the soil to prepare a seedbed ready for planting.
While powered cultivation typically centres around rotary hoes or power harrows, each has its pros and cons.
The former is prone to creating a ‘smeared’ pan, while the latter format can struggle to maintain working depth as blades or tines wear.
Netherlands-based company Imants was founded in 1885 building basic farm machinery and ploughs. In 1960, the company was approached by a local horticulturist who had a concept for building a spading machine.
By the late 1970s and into the 1980s, spading machines accounted for around two thirds of the company’s turnover. Today it offers a vast range of models produced by its workforce of around 55 people.
With more than 60 years of experience designing and manufacturing spading machines, the company understands digging is much more than just turning soil.
Spading mixes organic material with the living topsoil by working crop residues and green manure into the soil, so they can be converted into nutrients and a seedbed ready for planting.
Imants says it can offer a solution for any tillage requirement, be it deep or shallow, active or passive, intensive or extensive, mixing or non-mixing.
The rotating movement of the spade ensures optimal mixing and, because the spade blades take soil sections of 25-30cm from the underlying soil layer, a pan is not created. This action also means that water nearer the surface can penetrate deeper soil strata and replenish the ground water.
The looser soil structure that remains after spading also ensures air can move through the profile and roots can also travel deeper looking for nutrients.
During spading, the subsoil is mixed, but not completely turned over. This preserves most of the soil temperature, reducing the time it takes for the soil to warm up, resulting in faster germination, while the deeper soil layers are given time enough to warm as the plants grow. The range of spader sizes is quite comprehensive from 1.2m to 4.5m machines and from depths of 15cm to 135cm, with horsepower ratings up to 300hp.
The spaders can operate directly into pasture, sprayed out ground or previously cropped land. A broad product range sees machines designed for sandy/loam soils or dry/wet clay situations.
Attachments can be added to fine tune finishes, such as rear rollers, pre-rippers, fumigation units and airseeders.
More recently, Imants Spaders has been helping deal with the devastating effects created by Cyclone Gabrielle, that in many cases left large silt deposits on cropping land and orchards. The action of the machines has proven to be very successful in bringing more open structured soil upwards and mixing the silt deposits throughout the general profile.
www.matamataag.co.nz
Global tyre manufacturer Michelin has extended its agricultural trailer tyre range, with the introduction of its new WorkxBib series, designed for tipping trailers, slurry tankers and manure spreaders.
Following the record-breaking success of its hydrogen-powered Hydromax, JCB is ramping up its investment in the business, key to the first major change at the executive level of the business, with George Bamford stepping up to the post of joint chairman, alongside his father Lord Bamford.
During calf rearing, logistics can play an important role in getting the job done quickly and efficiently.
Massey Ferguson has announced a strategic supply partnership with International Tractors Limited (ITL), a manufacturer of low-horsepower and compact tractors, with recognised brands such as Sonalika and Sollis, to expand its portfolio with a new tractor range.
With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
Farmer lobby Groundswell believes that farmers are worried about the implications of a potential centre-left government.
With less than a week to go before voters choose the next government, Federated Farmers has a simple message to its members - get out and vote.
Students will be able to study Agriculture and Horticultural Science from Year 11, creating a clear pathway into Years 12 and 13 and future careers in New Zealand’s primary industries, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.
With fireworks on sale from today and the election five days away, the NZ Veterinary Association says the issue deserves another look.
Farmlands has reported higher operating earnings and a profit before income tax of $4.5 million, up 118.9%, for the year ended 30 June 2026.
Good news for Fonterra farmers. The co-op has raised this season’s farmgate milk price mid-point by 25c to $9.75/kgMS.
