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.
Two butcheries have claimed victory at the 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards for 2025.
A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.
The Climate Change Commission’s 2025 emissions reduction monitoring report reveals steady progress on the reduction of New Zealand’s climate pollution.
Another milestone has been reached in the fight against Mycoplasma bovis with the compensation assistance service being wound up after helping more than 1300 farmers.
The Government’s directive for state farmer Landcorp Farming (trading as Pamu) to lifts its performance is yielding results.
The move to bring bovine TB testing in-house at Ospri officially started this month, as a team of 37 skilled and experienced technicians begin work with the disease eradication agency.
OPINION: Spare a thought for the arable farmer, squeezed on one side by soft global prices and on the other…
OPINION: Labour leader Chris 'Chippy' Hipkins is carrying on the world-class gaslighting of the nation that he and his cohorts…