“The machine has sped up our process which is great as I don’t like sitting on tractors too long. We can get up to about 13km/h with the machine and could probably go faster with more power.”
Drummond one year ago bought his first Farmgard 3m cultivator with 560mm discs.
“I wanted a robust, fast machine that would work well in our soil types which are quite light on the plains and rocky in other areas. I particularly liked the large, individual discs on the Farmgard cultivator” because no stones get caught, as they can in machines with gangs of discs. “The stones just fall out with the multi discs. It bounces over the rocky ground really well.”
Drummond farms the 200ha family farm, and runs Drummond Contractors using a wide range of agricultural, silage and earthmoving gear. “So far I’ve only used the cultivator on the farm and not in the contracting business, but it’s had a good workout.”
The mainly cropping farm also has a few cattle and does winter grazing in an intensive crop rotation.
“We put barley in then plant oats once the barley is out. When the oats are finished we work it up again and plant it back in barley.
“The cultivator has been used mainly to work up paddocks once the plough or ripper has been through. We’ve also used it to incorporate barley stubble and it did an excellent job.”
The RZ Series multi discs’ roller options include toothed packer, rubber, tyre, cracker and common cage rollers. Drummond chose the tyre roller, good for his property’s soil type.
“We also added a drawbar to tow a roller, especially good when working the really fine soil on our road block which can blow away in the wind. With this machine we can work and compact the soil in one pass.”
The discs come in three models from 3m to 6m. Discs, shock absorbers and roller types can be sized to suit the task, up to a 660mm disc for heavy stubble. Other discs – for high-speed finishing or secondary tillage – range from 460mm to 560mm.
A multi position levelling rake is standard on most models. Pre rippers are available for the mounted 3m machines. Combination disc/ripper units are available trailed.
Tel. 09 275 5555
