Agricultural implement makers are in an ongoing competition to design better soil and residue management equipment. Last fall, Degelman Industries upped the ante with two new machines.
Degelman has channeled time and money into providing the best possible carbide tips and fastening technology, said marketing vice-president Sheldon Mohr during a recent phone interview.
Carbide tips — Degelman tips, said Mohr, are true carbide tiles soldered to the bottom of the tine (see photos).
“Our life expectancy on these tiles is extremely good. The tiles outlast the harrow tine where it twists at the top. We have the carbide running up the cast piece pretty far and the cast piece is adhered to the harrow tine.
“This carbide tile lasts a lot longer than the 5/8 inch tine it’s adhered to. But on anyone’s harrow tine, the true life-limiting factor is the coil on the spring. It fatigues out at the coil every time. Once the coil begins snapping, just throw the whole tine away.
“Atom Jet invented the process of soldering a carbide tip to a tine. They use it on tips for their NH3 equipment. We bought that technology a few years ago and now we use it on our tips.”
Strawmaster X — The new disc-on-command Strawmaster X has not yet been released. Mohr said there’s a row of discs at the front with harrows behind.
“The disks are hydraulically engaged so you can put them into the soil to work, or lift them out of the way to just harrow with it. We’re not sure if we’ll label it as a disc-harrow or a disc-on-command. The harrow is a new design, replacing the 26-year old Strawmaster 7000 design.
Strawmaster + (plus) — Strawmaster + is also an all-new machine, designed to provide an optimal field finish. There are three setting indicators on the Strawmaster +. One setting for cart height, one for beam torsion and one for tine angle.
“The Strawmaster + harrow is on a platform that’s either 70 feet or 90 feet. Either configuration folds to 12.5 feet for transport and either one is available with a five-bar or seven-bar layout.
“We use 10-inch square wing beams across it, and we apply down pressure to that. We really put the torque to that bar to crank up the pressure. These provide consistent beam torque and tine pressure throughout the machine, and help spread straw evenly for a more consistent field finish.
“It’s a cable-free design. No cables on the Strawmaster +. Instead we have large hydraulic latches to hold the truss arms securely and to ensure safe operation in field position.”
Mohar says 550 horsepower is ideal for this harrow. The 90-foot, five-bar Strawmaster + retails for $113,000 The seven-bar will retail for $130,000.
Granular applicator — Mohr said Degelman is also introducing a granular applicator to fit on top of their cultivator frames, including the Pro-Till high speed disc. Called the Pro-Cast, this is an air delivery granular machine similar to the Valmar. It can serve the entire 90 feet left to right. There will be a small Pro-Cast pilot run this spring. Expected retail price is about $35,000.
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