Horse-Drawn Seeder Designed For Minimum Till

Horse-Drawn Seeder Designed For Minimum Till LIVESTOCK Horses/Mules At just under 5 ft wide the Kombi-Séi “combination seeder” is designed for minimum tillage seeding with a single horse The prototype seeder uses the latest components for a high-tech horse-drawn seeder “No-till and minimum tillage methods are gaining popularity among European farmers ” says Paul Schmit Schaff mat Päerd The non-profit research group in Luxemborg designs and builds prototypes of new equipment for use with draft horses The Kombi-Séi has large rear wheels for low draft force and high transmission efficiency with its single chain drive and synthetic gear gearbox Compatibility with the Mono-Rad forecart Vol 40 No 1 reduces required draft force even more Steering force is also reduced Lubrication is kept to a minimum with chain drives All bearings and components in the drive train and the seeding mechanism are self-lubricating The seed hopper has 13 adjustable outlets cam wheel seeding shaft and agitator shaft The gate latches are adjustable and it comes with a calibration tray It has a 150-liter capacity The 20-stage gearbox secondary drive with two speeds 1 8 and 2 8 mph and clutch are built by Fiona a Danish farm equipment manufacturer Using proven off-the-shelf components reduced development costs and gave instant credibility “We used RoTeC coulters from the German manufacturer Amazone ” says Schmit “They are widely used for minimum tillage seeding by tractor farmers in Europe ” The Kombi-Séi can be fitted with disc coulters followed by press rollers or a covering harrow The other option is shoe coulters and a covering harrow Row widths include 2 5 in with shoe coulters and grass seeding shoes 4 in with shoe coulters and 8 in with disc coulters “Changing out the coulters is fast and easy and can be completed in less than 10 min ” says Schmit “Future developments include retrofitting a crumbler and leveling roller in front of the coulters ” While still in the prototype stage the Kombi-Séi isn’t available yet for sale However Italian equipment maker Equi-Idea could build and market a small series of the seeders “Estimated price for the seeder would be around $4 000 ” says Schmit Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Schaff mat Päerd 27 rue de Brouch L-7481 Tuntange Luxembourg schaffmatpaerd@pt lu; www schaffmatpaerd org or Equi-Idea Via del Lazzaretto 98 37133 Verona Italy 
 ph 39 045 527899; albano moscardo@libero it; www noieilcavallo org

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