Roto-Spade Disc Coulters (From Australia)

Roto-Spade Disc Coulters (From Australia) CULTIVATORS Cultivators (58C) 7-2-5 Australia's "Inventor of the year" is Pleasant Hills farmer Kevin Terlich who came up with the idea of welding rectangular "spades" 150mm by 100mm on his disc blades. His invention, called the Roto-Spade, has the potential to revolutionize disc cultivation in Australia, according to judges for the National Farm Inventor of the Year contests, sponsored by The Land magazine, of Sydney. In a report on his invention in The Land, Terlich says the modified discs enter the soil much better than plain discs. They're also effective in cutting through stubble in minimum tillage applications. His Roto-Spade disc was developed from years of experimenting with different tillage ideas. "I tried all sorts of ideas," he said. "Then, one day my wife made a quip about putting spades on discs. That was the idea that led to my invention and, since then, everything I tried worked." Terlich says two machinery companies in Australia have expressed interest in producing his invention commercially. An American company has also made inquiry, he told The Land.

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