Those nimble 10 m.p.h. European field implements are quite the opposite of most of North America’s large slow-moving machines, but they might have a fit on prairie farms.
Surprisingly, that’s the opinion of Pat Beaujot of Seed Hawk, a leading Canadian manufacturer that builds 84 foot air drills and 800 bushel carts.
Beaujot said he has been immersed in the culture of small implements capable of running at high speeds since Seed Hawk partnered with the Swedish farm equipment manufacturer Vaderstad.
Seed Hawk has worked with Vaderstad to develop a high-speed Tempo corn planter capable of planting at 10.5 m.p.h. and ranging in size from six to 24 rows. The Tempo is aimed at the North American market.
With smaller fields and tighter roads, European manufacturers have always focused on designing implements that move quickly from field to field.
Farm size and efficiency demands drove North American agricultural engineers to design bigger machines, which was allowed by large roads and fields.
“After a lot of research into the European scene, we decided to form a partnership with Vaderstad,” said Beaujot.
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“They seemed to be the leaders in the whole range of high speed farm equipment. Everything they build is engineered to run 15 (km-h) or 10 m.p.h.”
Beaujot said running a corn planter at those high speeds cannot be done with North America’s vacuum-style singulation technology.
In a vacuum system, the seed simply falls off the disc and tumbles down the tube by force of gravity at its own leisure. It works at speeds below five m.p.h. and when the field surface is smooth.
However, the row unit shakes and bounces if the operator tries to go faster or if the planter is running on rough no-till ground. The results are seed singulation and spacing that are all over the map.
“In order to get precise control, Vaderstad uses air pressure to hold the seed on the disc until the instant it’s supposed to go. There’s no vacuum because a vacuum just isn’t precise at higher speeds or on rough ground,” he said.
“When the seed hits the release point, some of that pressurized air is shot down the tube with the seed. Air pressure ensures that the spacing is accurate.”
Proponents of conventional vacuum discs argue that pressurized air, as found on the Tempo and Maestro, may damage the seeds when they hit the inside wall of the tube. They also say pressurized air will cause seed bounce when the seed exits the tube.
Beaujot said he has seen no indication of seed damage. As for bounce, Vaderstad engineers figured that out long ago by positioning a soft rubber tire directly behind the two discs that cut the furrow.
“The tire instantly captures the seed before it has a chance to bounce,” he said.
“The tire simply rolls over the seed and pushes it down into the trench. This tire really flexes a lot, so all the mud sheds with each revolution. Down pressure keeps it in touch with the soil to keep it rolling.
“Precision Planting has something similar: they drag along behind to catch the seeds. I think this is better because it’s immediate. It’s right there where the seed drops.”
The Tempo has overlap control on each row unit.
“In corn, this lets you manage the refuge row differently from the main crop. There’s no doubt the whole seeding and planting industry is heading in this direction.”
Beaujot said the Swedes are re-sponsible for the row unit and Seed Hawk is responsible for developing a North American style frame and central fill system.
The European-style Vaderstad frame accommodates six or eight row units, with a 70-litre seed box mounted on each unit. It’s either pulled or mounted on a three-point hitch.
“We’ll have boxes available as an option on the Tempo.”
He said there will likely be an optional liquid tank for fertilizer.
Beaujot said U.S. corn growers don’t share prairie farmers’ fixation with one-pass farming.
Their high fertilizer rates force them to make numerous passes anyway, so once the fertilizer is all in the ground, the job of the planter is simple: place the corn seed exactly where it belongs in the soil.
Central fill has become the obvious choice for handling corn seed, even though it creates problems when large volumes of seed ride on the planter frame.
Beaujot said the latest generation of North American corn planters don’t use a tow-between or a tow-behind cart for seed.
“Serious growers in the corn belt don’t want tire impressions in their soil. That’s all there is to it,” he said.
“They don’t want extra tire tracks before the opener and they don’t want extra tire tracks after the openers. They just don’t want any extra tire weight impacting their yield. So instead, they carry it all on the planter frame, which really limits the volume of seed they can carry. It becomes a real weight management problem. But that’s OK. That’s something Seed Hawk has always been good at.”
Beaujot said carrying product on the frame of a drill or corn planter can be a significant challenge because the weight constantly changes.
“We started putting product on the frame in 1992,” he said.
“We handle it with hydraulic cylinders that transfer weight from the main frame out to the wings. We’ll be doing that exact same thing with the 16-row and 24-row Tempo planters. We know that will help considerably in weight management.”
However, small six-row and eight-row corn planters don’t have wings, regardless of who builds them.
“Seed Hawk has hydraulic pressure on each individual independent row opener, and each row unit rides on our proven parallel linkage system,” he said.
“This provides independent packing and penetrating force on each row unit. The operator sets the initial adjustment from the cab and the system automatically follows those set-up instructions.”
Each Tempo row unit has a tall range of vertical movement. It follows the terrain at a specific opener depth and lifts in the headlands to avoid overlap while turning.
The small European-style Vaderstad Tempo planters are also available through Seed Hawk, but Beaujot said his company is concentrating its efforts on bringing the larger planters to market.
“A few farmers have already bought six and eight row Tempo units, and we can get more if the demand is there,” he said.
“But right now, we’re concentrating our efforts on the 16-row and 24-row planters for North American growers. I’d say we’re a year or two away from having them ready for market. The frame development has been coming along pretty well, but the central fill system is taking more time than we figured.”
Beaujot said it’s no secret that shortcomings by the major corn planter manufacturers have fostered a huge aftermarket industry based on better engineering by farmers.
“A whole industry has developed around planter modifications and aftermarket attachments,” he said.
“Vaderstad accepts this reality … but they recognize that farmers everywhere always want to custom tailor their corn planter to their own farm. So they made all the bolt hole patterns and everything line up just right for aftermarket Yetter or Precision or JD or whatever.”
For more information, contact Beaujot at 306-538-2221 or visit www.vaderstad.com.
