Cereals 2018 returns to Chrishall Grange, Duxford

With having both the Sprays & Sprayers ring and static stands, it makes Cereals 2018 the ideal venue to show off some Amazing new kit that will be both working and on Stand S705, which is alongside the main ring. This new kit includes new drills, drill combis, trailed and mounted sprayers, spreaders, ploughs ..... the list goes on and on, plus an exciting new product which is still under wraps and in-waiting for the big day!

Citan solo seed drills go ISOBUS

The trend in the drill market is shifting very much towards farmers drilling later in the autumn to give those stale seedbeds the best chance possible of being effective, as well as seeing a swing to spring cropping. The window of opportunity to get those crops established is thus considerably tighter and so wider machines that substantially increase work rates as well as the use of drilling systems which create less soil disturbance and leave seedbeds that are easily rolled afterwards are proving to be the way forward.
The high output solo 12 m and 15 m wide Citan-C drills, which also work in well with controlled-traffic farming systems, now feature a new 8,000 litre pressurised seed hopper which is split into three sections. This enables up to three different materials to be sown simultaneously, such as a cover crop mix or a joint application of seed and fertiliser. The hopper is accessed via a new step and platform and the controls have now all been grouped together with a new operator station at the front, left hand corner of the drill. The three metering rollers are driven electrically via an ISOBUS terminal. Half-side shut-off, which can be controlled either manually or via GPS SectionControl, is standard, as is the ground-level remote calibration via the TwinTerminal 3.0 display. Integrated work lights illuminate the coulter frame and hopper to make safe those long drilling days
The new Citan drill will now adopt the RoTeC pro S single disc coulter from the Cirrus with its 400 mm diameter Boron steel disc, Control 10 depth control discs and reduced width furrow former that keeps the planting depth at the optimum, in both damp sticky conditions as well as when it is hard and dry. Seed embedment is via either the Exact harrow S or the Roller harrow depending on soil type.

Centaya harrow-mounted pneumatic drill combination
The Centaya brings a new level of sophistication to the world of drill combinations. Available in a 3 m working width, at the heart of the new Centaya is the plastic seed hopper which has been created to reduce the lifting power requirement of the complete combination. The distribution head has now been repositioned above the coulters meaning that centre of gravity of the 1,600 or 2,000 litre hopper has been brought substantially further forward.

New centralised operator station
Calibration of the drill has been simplified with the new operator station grouping all the controls into one area to the left hand side of the drill. The metering unit is driven electrically and the complete seed housing has been spun through 90° to get easier access the metering cassettes. Placing the calibration tray, opening up the calibration flap and carrying out the calibration process are all carried out remotely from the side of the drill. The TwinTerminal 3.0 makes the calibration procedure possible from ground-level negating the need to trot backwards and forwards into the tractor cab. Planting depth, coulter pressure and harrow pressure are also set from the operator station.

Segmented seed head with electric half-side shut off
The seed is distributed using a new segmented seed head which is mounted directly over the coulters. The short pipe runs mean an exceptional accuracy of seed spacing as well as giving a faster response to seed being available at each coulter. The arrival of seed at the coulter is monitored by the AutoPoint system. AutoPoint controls the start and stop time of the metering roller automatically - irrespective of crop, fan sped, seed rate and forward speed - to avoid any overlap between the headland run and the long work. This keeps seed wastage to a minimum and reduces those double drilled areas that are prone to lodging. The new segmented heads have built-in half-side shut off so that, in short work, the GPS SectionControl switches the drill down in 1.5 m sections.

Both single disc and double disc coulter options
Seed placement is done via a choice of either the TwinTeC double disc coulter, as seen last year on the Cataya gravity seeders, or the RoTeC pro single disc coulter. The TwinTeC coulter has two 340 mm diameter discs in point contact with each other and being dragged at an angle of only 10° degrees to keep soil disturbance to a minimum. Sowing depth is provided by a choice of either the Control 65 or Control 50 depth control rollers depending on soil type and coulter pressures of up to 60 kg per coulter can be set via the parallelogram linkage to the coulter. Additionally up to 6 kg more can be placed on the coulters behind the tractor wheels.

Seed coverage can be done by either the coulter mounted drag tines or via the well-known Exact harrow 3S. Hand wash tank with soap dispenser, automatic seed rate control with coulter pressure, coulter rail work lights, reversing camera, pre-emergence markers, etc. complete the package. The GreenDrill catch crop seeder box can also be mounted on to the Centaya for under-sowing grass or maybe applying a cover crop mix.

QuickLink aids the simple demounting of the drill
The drill is mounted onto the soil-engaging tool via the new QuickLink mounted sys-tem. With an expanded choice of reconsolidation rollers that now includes the new KWM 600 Matrix profile wedge ring roller as well as the 500 mm or 600 mm diameter TRW trapezium rollers, the Centaya drill sits directly on top of the roller. The new 01 series soil tillage tools, from the KX3001 through to the 300 HP-rated KG 3001 Super, don’t carry the weight of the seed drill on the trough and so can lift up over stones to protect the drive line. The levelling board is now adjusted centrally and is guided by the packer roller rather than the tines. This makes hydraulic depth control of the KX and KG a practical solution as the depth of the tines can be adjusted without altering the soil flow through the levelling board.

Ceus disc and tine combination cultivator
When it comes to cultivation, it is flexibility that is needed so, whatever the application, the optimum depth of work and mixing effect can be achieved. Working stubbles shallow to promote an early chit is still a strong method of combating grass weed issues but there are times when, either due to poorer soil structures, or where we are looking to incorporate copious amounts of organic matter then deeper working with a tine is also necessary.
The new Ceus disc and tine combination cultivators, available in 4, 5, 6 and 7 m working widths, ideally combine both systems for the best of both worlds.

Compact disc harrows for the ideal stale seedbed
When it comes to getting a cultivator to contour follow at just 3-5 cm deep, then there is nothing better than a Catros compact disc harrow. The Ceus combination cultivators offer, up front, a double row of Catros⁺ 510 mm diameter serrated discs in the usual 250 mm spacing. Depth of the discs can be either mechanically or hydraulically adjusted depending on choice and, if necessary, the discs can be lifted out of work entirely to leave just the C-Mix tines in work.

C-Mix mulch cultivator tines
Arranged in a multi-row stagger directly behind the Catros discs are the C-Mix tines from the Cenius mulch cultivators. Sitting in a frame with a massive 850 mm of underbelly clearance and mounted at a spacing of 40 cm, the C-Mix super tines feature a 600 kg breakaway force stone protection system and can be equipped with a variety of points depending on the application. The choice of point ranges from the 320 mm stubble goose foot shares right through to the narrow 40 mm deep work tines. The C-Mix Clip quick change system can also be specified. To level out the effect of the rear row of tines, a row of double discs then tickles the soil surface before being consolidated by the full width following roller.
Again the tines can be either mechanically or hydraulically adjusted for depth and, if the Ceus is being used for shallow stubble chitting, the C-Mix tines can be lifted out of work completely.

Following roller of choice
With 10 different following rollers to choose from depending on soil type and application, the machine at Cereals will be equipped with the new DDW double disc roller

Safe on the road
The transport wheels are centrally-mounted for maximum manoeuvrability and are supplied with either a hydraulic or air-braking system. The machine is perfectly balanced in transport leading to safe high-speed transport

UX 01 trailed sprayer
The two main requirements in a sprayer are the ability to quickly get that tank mix on board and then to apply that chemical accurately to the target. The new UX 01 series trailed sprayers fulfils both those demands with aplomb! The UX 01 is available in tank sizes of 4,200, 5,200 and 6,200 nominal volume. The underbelly of the sprayer is completely smooth to prevent crop damage and the tanks are designed to have a low centre of gravity and are shaped to offer surge-free operation that ensures both the highest safety on the road and the utmost stability in the field. The new 28° steering axle provides the tightest of turns for use in row crops and potatoes. Load-sensing, anti-lock brakes come as part of the air-braking package and the sprayer is kept in the tractor track by the automatically hillside compensating, AutoTrail system that avoids crop damage and eases operator stress.

Touchscreen control of the filling system
Underneath the smart, practical grey dirt covers, the new illuminated SmartCenter operator station features, in its Comfort-Pack plus format, a pressure-actuated touchscreen that can be operated even with gauntlets. The pre-loaded fill programmes enable the driver to automatically run and pause the filling operation depending on complexity of the tank mix.

New high-performance induction bowl
The new 60 litre induction bowl has been designed to induct both dry powders and liquids with the venturi system pulling liquid out of the bowl at an exceptional 200 l/min. The can wash has a two level function to improve can neck cleaning and the induction bowl lid forms a stable work platform for spray canister draining and conveniently holding the measuring jug. The induction bowl is automatically cleaned every time it is stowed back into the transport position. Tank agitation is controlled automatically and is dependent on tank level and, for high output spaying, the agitation system can be paused to prioritise the boom and then the system reactivated when a section is switched off or the sprayer slows down. Cleaning of the complete sprayer is all carried out automatically via the in-cab terminal.

Improved boom guidance via ContourControl and SwingStop
The 27 m to 40 m Super-L2 booms are folded out 40% faster than the current offering using the new Flex-fold system with potentiometers controlling the fold-out sequence. With an eye on accuracy of application, the all new ContourControl boom guidance system keeps the nozzle at the target height above crop using a live, electro-hydraulic control system. The height of the crop is picked up via 6 ultrasound sensors with the centre section and the left and right hand booms all being controlled individually of each other. The contour following then reacts instantaneously, with the movement being either negative or positive depending on the topography of the field being sprayed.
Alongside ContourControl, the new SwingStop system, which is also controlled via an active, electro-hydraulic system, utilises acceleration sensors to sense the speed of the boom tips and then releases oil into the damping system to control the amount of horizontal movement thus keeping the boom tips stable at all times. This incredible system prevents over- and under-spray caused by the boom ends going faster or slower than the vehicle speed. Individual nozzle shut-off is provided by either by AmaSwitch or AmaSelect and an option of 25 cm nozzle spacing is available for those looking to spray at a lower boom height of 37 cm using 80° flat fan nozzles.

Come and find us on Stand S705, take some refreshment with us, and have a look at all the new toys