Devon – James Lee
“With higher rainfall than the east, small field sizes, some areas with soils susceptible to erosion, and a lot of maize grown, I wanted to find a crop establishment system, that would best suit these types of South West farms, and cut establishment costs while maintaining yields. I wanted to develop a contracting business focusing on direct drilling, as the work I’d done
at university suggested there was potential to reduce establishment costs on our soils with no detriment to yield. Having looked at various drill designs, the conclusion I reached was that the twin-tine principle of the Claydon, with the leading breaker tine working deeper than the following seeding tine to create a channel for drainage and root growth, would also help
address compaction, something that wasn’t possible with disc coulter-based drills. It would therefore have a wider working window than alternatives, as well as being a better tool to begin the conversion of uneven, compacted fields from conventional tillage to direct drilling.”