New seed drill tech coming
Incorporating Vaderstad's latest seed drill technology, the Proceed V 24, is said to improve precision and increase planting efficiencies for New Zealand farmers and growers from the 2026 season.
Drill specialist Vaderstad has announced a new unique technology called SeedEye.
The system allows farmers to easily set the number of seeds required per square metre without the need for any calibration tests.
The company says counting seeds is far more exact then calculating quantity based on seed weight and it has been developed after customer requests to be able to predict total plants per square metre.
Units comprising six optical sensors illuminated by infra-red light are placed in the seed tubes. As seeds pass the light rays there is a momentary interruption which is recorded by an optical transistor.
The total number of 'breaks' is registered and processed, resulting in a measurement of seed volume said to be 99% accurate in rape and 98-99% in cereal seeds with a rate of 250 seeds per second.
The system is also said to be fully automatic and takes into account any dust or residue that might build up on the sensors.
In practice, the operator sets the desired seed volume per square metre with an iPad and without the need for a conventional style calibration test.
The drill’s radar measures forward speed, and works with the E-Control to continuously achieve the set-point with information being received from the SeedEye sensors. If the operator wishes to change the seeding rate, this is easily done via the iPad and happens instantaneously regardless of the tractor's forward speed.
The system is currently available for Vaderstad Rapid A 400-800S and Rapid A 600-800C drill units.
An independent report, prepared for Alliance farmer shareholders is backing the proposed $250 million joint venture investment by Irish company Dawn Meats Group.
Whangarei field service technician, Bryce Dickson has cemented his place in John Deere’s history, becoming the first ever person to win an award for the third time at the annual Australian and New Zealand Technician of the Year Awards, announced at a gala dinner in Brisbane last night.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.