Kverneland’s u-drill – “the drill of the future”
Alfie Byrne from Kildavin Co. Carlow is a busy man these days. With 34 years’ experience as an Agricultural Contractor, his business revolves around tillage and forage contracting where he handles the full range of farming operations. We caught up with him sowing the last of the spring barley to chat about his Kverneland 6m u-drill that he purchased for the autumn 2022 seeding season. “The reason we bought the new drill was the first minute I saw… it I was very impressed with the build quality and the whole setup of the drill”.
The Kverneland u-drill is a universal seed drill, for all crop establishment systems, planting a wide range of crops, including cereals, oilseeds, and legumes. It uses a unique drilling system that delivers the seed precisely and consistently, resulting in better crop emergence and more uniform plant growth. The focus in design has been especially given to high speed operation (10-18km/h) with low pulling requirement while ensuring a perfect seed placement.
Front Wheel Packer
Alfie particularly likes the levelling characteristics of the u-drill. “The front wheel packers is an absolutely super job, and the big wheel I think is a major plus with, this drill the wheel is higher and wider, which makes it easier to pull and floats the ground better”. For the best possible preparation, the front tyre packer levels the soil, crushes large clods and thus paves the way for the optimum depth control of the following tools. The front tyre packer has a diameter of 800mm. and when not needed can be lifted hydraulically, simply by pushing a button.
"The action of the u-drill is super on the seed placement"
This system results in consistent seed-to-soil contact essential for optimal germination and plant growth. With the Kverneland CD-coulter, the narrow profile of the coulters with their slightly offset steel discs allow easy penetration into the soil. Thus, little pressure is required at this point with only little soil being displaced. The coulter pressure of 100kg can, therefore, be primarily used for the pressing by the integrated press wheels. The result is a uniform seeding depth even at high working speeds.
The “u” in u-drill stands for universal and not only refers to crop systems but also soil conditions.
Alfie maintains... “Especially in wet conditions. It's inclined to just float along the ground… and it gets through the wet spot easier”. With soil compaction always a concern for farmers with heavy conditions this is an important consideration.
Automated Headland Management
Designed with a fully automated headland management system, using just one button, the driver can initiate a headland sequence with wheels, discs and coulter bar all capable of automatic operation in timed stages. As the headland sequence starts, the metering device stops automatically – avoiding double seeding while the seed hoses are empty at the headland, saving valuable seed.
“Everything is very user friendly, very clear”
The user experience is always to the forefront of Kverneland focus and means cab control of operations is an important feature of the machine. For farmers and contractors, flexibility and ease of operation is key as each field has its own soil structure and specific working conditions. For a busy contractor, like Alfie, less time out of the cab means more time getting the job completed. The-drill’s functionality allows all operations to be controlled from the tractor cab via either the tractors ISOBUS terminal or Kverneland’s Tellus terminal.
The u-drill is available in working widths of 3m, 4m and 6m folding to carry out seedbed preparation, levelling, reconsolidation, seeding and pressing in one pass. The drill is available as grain only or the grain and fertiliser application model, with split hopper functionality.
Alfie is so impressed with the drill he says. “I'd definitely recommend the drill to others, I'd actually think it’s the drill of the future”.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Model | Working Width | Row Distance (cm) | Hopper Capacity |
u-drill rigid | 3.0m | 12.5 / 16.7 | 3000 litres |
u-drill folding | 4.0m | 12.5 / 16.7 | 3000 litres |
u-drill folding | 6.0m | 12.5 / 16.7 | 4350 litres |
u-drill plus (Grain & Fertiliser) | 3.0m | 12.5 / 16.7 | 3000 litres |
u-drill plus folding | 4.0m | 12.5 / 16.7 | 3000 litres |
u-drill plus folding | 6.0m | 12.5 / 16.7 | 4350 litres |
Click for information on the Kverneland u-drill range: https://ie.kverneland.com/seeding-equipment/integrated-seeding-combinations
See more on Kverneland’s u-drill: https://ie.kverneland.com/seeding-equipment/integrated-seeding-combinations/kverneland-u-drill
Click to find your local Kverneland Dealer - Contact your local Kverneland Dealer – https://ie.kverneland.com/Dealer-Locator
Contact Kverneland:
Leonard Hovenden: Product Manager Arable – 00353 – 87 147 5137 – Call out feature
Greg Tennyson: Area South - 00353 87 700 9689 – Call out feature
Allan Hetherington: Area North – 0044 7826 544 630 – Call out feature
Website: www.kverneland.ie
Kverneland Group is a leading international company developing, producing and distributing agricultural machinery and services. Strong focus on innovation allows us to provide a unique and broad product range with high quality. Kverneland Group offers an extensive package aimed at the professional farming community, covering the areas of soil preparation, seeding, forage and bale equipment, spreading, spraying and electronic solutions for agricultural tractors and machinery. For more information on Kverneland Group visit www.kvernelandgroup.com
