Sky Agriculture has announced a major expansion of its Methys HDS disc based stubble cultivator range, a suite of implements that is designed for shallow to ultra shallow cultivation.
The extension of the range includes the introduction of three new roller types for consolidation at the rear, but what may be of greater interest to farmers here in Ireland, is that they are now available as smaller mounted versions.
The company has developed the new mounted machines of 3m, 4m and 5m, with the smallest being of fixed frame type, while the two larger models fold to achieve a transport width of less than 3m.
These models will appeal to more modest sized farms, a sector which had been neglected previously, with the smallest model up to now being a 5m unit.
The machines are designed for conservation farming or in situations where shallow incorporation is desirable, such the destruction of cover crops or the creation of false stale seedbeds.
Optimal working depth is said to be between four to 7cm, although the design of the disc elements allow a working depth of one to 12cm.
New rollers for the Methys
In addition to the tyre roller already available there are two new double rollers, one a cage type and the other of U channel construction.
Sky Agriculture has added the double cage roller for effective reconsolidation in light soil conditions, while the double U roller design is said to offer a good levelling capacity in a wide variety of conditions.
These two are in addition to the existing pneumatic roller which is said to give an optimal surface finish and uniform reconsolidation, considered particularly suitable for use in conjunction with the seed applicator that is also available as an option.
The overall design ethos of the Methys HDS stubble cultivator range is to provide rapid ground coverage with minimum power requirement, for the smaller the tractor and the less draught that needs to be applied, the less damage is done to the soil.
To help maintain a constant and even depth across the working width the two disc rows can be independently adjusted enabling the required precision when working soil at such shallow depths.