Kelly Engineering’s diamond harrow system has been re-engineered to offer a seeding system for cover crop planting.
Developed in South Australia, Kelly’s diamond harrows can now combine the diamond-shaped tiller with an air seeder to allow the entire sowing process to be completed in one pass.
The patented diamond harrow tillage machine fitted with a Cover Crop Seeder begun testing in the United States recently and is expected to be commercially available next year.
The launch comes at a time when the planting of cover crops in the United States is on the rise as farmers are looking to increase crop yields but reduce pesticide and nitrogen fertiliser use.
Kelly Engineering managing director, Shane Kelly, said the addition of the Cover Crop Seeder to the diamond harrow design delivered a cost effective seeding option.
“There are government incentives for farmers in the United States to get involved with a cover crop program for environmental benefits, whether it be nutrient recycling, erosion control, soil improvements or water runoff,” Mr Kelly said.
“In the United States, as here in Australia, there is recognition that maintaining live plants year round helps soil health and productivity.
“Farming on a global basis should be sustainable and we know that soil degradation, weeds and water-use efficiency are things affecting agriculture – we know that the tillage tools we provide can help address all of those issues,” he said.
The harrow uses four chains arranged in a diamond formation to prepare the seedbed in rough fields and now the Cover Crop Seeder is fully integrated.
Each chain is fitted with a crop-specific row of metal discs that rotate and penetrate the soil.
Kelly Engineering says the design allows the machine to work the soil, attack crop residue and manage weeds while initiating better microbial action in the soil by decomposing residue in the top layer.
They say this allows it to access more sunlight, drying the soil and helping kill weeds.
Cover crops are becoming an accepted technique to improving soil health and crop yield.
The US North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) estimate a 40 per cent increase in the number of farmers planting cover crops from 2012 to 2013, Mr Kelly said adding that more than 130,000 farms used cover crops on 10.3 million acres in 2013.
SARE has set a target of 20 million acres of cover crops in the United States by 2020.
Common cover crops in the United States include rye, wheat, barley, field pea, canola and mustard.
Previously, cover crops were viewed by some farmers as being too expensive because of the requirement to maintain fields and machines year-round.
Mr Kelly said the diamond harrow would not only save time, its precision seeding would lead to more accurate germination and deliver higher crop yields in all types of weather.
“One customer related that he spends $15,000 a year rebuilding his no till planter.
He spends $7000 annually as a direct result of cover crops,” Mr Kelly said.
“Wear costs on the Kelly diamond harrow are in the order of 30 cents per acre.
“A new set of chains after 100,000 acres would cost around $25,000.”
More than two-thirds of Kelly Engineering’s business is in the United States, where it has generated more than $A50m in sales.