It slices, it dices, it stays sharp, keeps on cutting and isn’t available in stores.
It’s the latest in vertical tillage from Ingersoll Tillage Group.
Dubbed the SoilRazor, the new discs have a design that keeps their shape sharp as they wear.
Steve Kertesz of Ingersoll said the new design’s saw-like edge and blade’s asymmetrical flute cuts trash and loosens dirt while minimizing soil disturbance.
It also maintains its edge, compared to coulter disc designs found on many vertical tillage tools that dull as they wear.
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“The profile keeps its shape,” he said.
“We went with this type of technology a number of years ago on the 32 flute design, full concavity discs that are very aggressive and now offer it in a very shallow 24 flute product that can run eight to 10 m.p.h. at two to three inches deep.”
Larry Kuster of Agco said vertical tillage is a hot topic for Western Canada’s cold, wet soil this spring.
Agco, Krause and a few other machinery companies are offering the new SoilRazor discs on their vertical tillage tools.
“This is the technology on our new Saber blade. It can slice and size the material on the surface, open up that soil and get it warming and drying, without moving a whole lot of it,” said Kuster.
“We are hearing there is a new demand for tillage in the Canadian West due to all the moisture you’ve had up there.”
Curt Davis of Krause said farmers in Minnesota and the Dakotas have adopted the technology. They rely on vertical tillage for dealing with heavy amounts of crop residue, high moisture and heavy soil.
“It’s our Excalibur blade (the Ingersoll design). The serrated blade cuts. Rounded blades let too much get away,” said Davis.
“Producers want to get back into the field with planting, and getting a seedbed that is right is critical.”
Kertesz said vertical tillage and stirring the soil allows farmers in corn and soybean country to get into the field two to three weeks early.
“On the Prairies this year, we can see this being a very big deal. The short growing season is very unforgiving,” he said.
Producers can’t buy the SoilRazor off the shelf. Instead, they must buy a vertical tillage machine on which it is included.
“We are getting calls from equipment dealers wanting to offer it on their drills,” Kertesz said.
“That is being driven by farmers asking for it.”
He said the metal used in the new disc is hard wearing but remains flexible enough to avoid shattering damage with rocks.
Agco said the new discs are wearing better than other designs.
“With our prototype VT tool, we did 3,000 acres last fall. It hardly showed any wear,” said Kuster.
“It’s our own boron alloy steel that we couple with a unique heat treating process in Hamilton to get this kind of performance.”
