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Product focus: Flexi-Coil seeding combo

A Flexi-Coil 5500 70-foot air drill with hydraulic tyne and a 5560 air cart have made light work of deep seeding on a South Australian farm this year.

 

Sam Correll from Arthurton in South Australia with his Flex-Coil seeding equipment


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The Correll family farm in Arthurton is a 3,300ha intensive cropping operation, including wheat, lentils, canola and barley. Sam Correll works the property with his father, uncle and cousin and says this is their first year with Flexi-Coil.

With the impending dry season the Corells have sowed their lentils deeper than usual to chase the sub-soil moisture and keep the germinating seed out of the chemical band.

“The Flexi-Coil had no issues with digging in and the hydraulic tynes meant that if there was to be a rock at that extra depth, it would generally breakout over the top of it,” Sam says.

Sam says he has been impressed by the precision of the 5500 70ft air drill’s sowing depth. This is achieved using Flexi-Coil’s patented two-piece wing, which reduces stress on the framework and creates an exact and repeatable sowing depth.

Sam has also been impressed by the efficiency of the 5560 air cart.

“The air cart is fantastic,” he says. “We bought an air drill that was a lot wider than our old one and the efficiency has doubled. I believe the efficiency came from the width, size of cart and simplicity of use allowing us to keep the wheels turning and perform quick fills.”

The 5560 air cart has a capacity of 19,558 litres, allowing the family to seed for longer without refills, along with three separate tanks.

The unit also features a FlexRate Modular Metering System, which has an independent 24-volt electric drive motor and controls for single or double-shot application. Multi section variable rate metering means the operator can set and vary the rates of the wheat, barley and canola seeding from the cab.

The Flexi-Coil 5500 70ft air drill and 5560 air cart on the Correll farm in South Australia

The compact design of the air-drill also proved to be a drawcard for the Corrells, Sam says. The 70ft 5500 air drill folds up to 5.4m wide and 4.1m high when in travel mode.

“The design of the transport mode is fantastic,” Sam says. “Another main reason we bought this machine, actually! It follows really well down the road and turns in gateways or small corners with ease.”

He says the other drivers of the seeder picked up the workings of it fairly quickly as well, adding: “It’s really simple and the calibration is really easy.”

Despite the dry season that occurred straight after the Corrells had seeded their wheat, barley and canola, plus the mice issue that plagued the state, Sam says they’re feeling optimistic.

“It will easily be an average, if not better, season,” he says.

 

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