EAT MY DIRT

This impressive bit of machinery incorporates modern thinking into the art of soil cultivation while keeping things old-school simple. Even better, it speeds up the cultivation process while saving fuel, and with the price of fuel these days, that’s definitely a good thing.

The Lemken Heliodor 9 compact disc harrow is capable of stubble cultivation as well as seedbed preparation; a job that has until recently been taken care of by power take-off (PTO)- driven tillage implements.

PUT TO THE TEST

Thanks to New Zealand Lemken distributors Te Aroha Tractors, we were able to spend a day with the Heliodore 9, at work on some flat paddocks in the Hauraki Plains. And because of the changeable weather of late, there were a few late paddocks of maize still to be planted.

With the seven-metre machine hooked up to a Fendt 824, which at 240 horsepower (179kW) is right in the middle of Lemken’s suggested