Craig Peddie’s drill get an extremely commended distinction in our innovations competitors.
Identified to pare down the extensive plough-based tillage program on the household farm in Fife, Craig Peddie developed the concept for a multipurpose single-pass branch drill.
This would be fitted with a set of subsoiling legs for developing crops such as oilseed rape or beans, which might be eliminated and changed by a set of wavy turbo discs for sowing cereals.
He started the job in 2016, constructing a sturdy box area frame to bring all the parts. At the front of this, he made providers for 5 subsoiler legs, total with hydraulic auto-reset security. These can work to a depth of 330mm, which is the limitation of what his 195hp Valtra T194 can pull.
See likewise: Farmer develops ₤ 24,000 strip-till drill from scratch
The legs stayed the main cultivating component for a couple of years, up until the farm’s soil structure enhanced and he might get away with shallower growing when developing cereals.
The is when he presented the wavy disc choice, constructing providers that install to the auto-reset assemblies. This discs being in line with the rear branch coulters and are angled so that they cut a slot for the seed and develop some tilth.
Mr Peddie created the providers in CAD and got the steel laser cut for a top quality surface and precise fit.
Seed positioning is performed by means of a twin row of pigtail branches installed on a parallel linkage, and seeding depth is changed utilizing shims on the hydraulic rams.
Surprisingly, the rear tire packer is repaired strictly to the frame so that it stays level, with the subsoiler/disc systems and pigtail seeding branches being changed individually.
Metering and seed storage remains in the hands of a 600kg-capacity KRM hopper from an old Roger drill that was acquired for ₤ 1,200.
This featured an easy mechanical metering system, which Mr Peddie later on updated to a Weaving/RDS variable-rate package.
Lastly, he fitted an installing point and pipework for a KRM seeding system that dribbles slug pellets behind the packer roller, prior to a following harrow completes the task off.