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Sign of the Tines: Taege Engineering

SPONSORED CONTENT: With a newly-appointed nation-wide distributor and an expanded range, New Zealand’s own Taege Engineering is bringing a number of its new products across the Tasman to Australia

 

When the Australian distribution rights for Taege Engineering’s range of tillage and sowing equipment became available last year Gendore Group managing director Derek Genoni knew he had to act quickly.

Having previously distributed the tillage and sowing machines manufacturer’s range around the Gippsland area, the company has now secured the rights to distribute the New Zealand company’s products across Australia.

“We have just picked up the pieces from there and are running with it and it is going really well,” he says.

“It is an exceptionally good product. The machines are just built to last with some really smart engineering with the way they actually sow the seed, being the tine and point system, and their computer controllers are just super.”

The biggest seller of the range at the moment is Taege’s 4.8m airseeder – featuring the company’s patented “S” tines designed with tungsten-faced tips and set on a specific angle to ensure the tine buries itself in the ground.


 

Check out our review of the 6m Taege air seeder from 2014 here


 

“That is what really sets it apart from other tine seeders… they change the angle as it approaches the ground and that allows the tine to follow the contours (of the ground),” Genoni says.

“As it goes over the contours the tine goes up and down independently of the frame. Other tine drills cannot do that – their tine will go sideways or backwards and forwards but it will not go up and down.”

Shifting up and down as the lie of the land changes enables Taege’s range of air seeders to consistently plant seeds at the same depth, which Genoni says helps maintain good contact between the seed and the soil – resulting in superior germination.

“We have probably been caught unawares by the demand that is out there, to be honest, but we are catching up now,” he says.

“The demand for the 4.8m air seeder has outstripped our predictions considerably.”

Able to fold to 3.1m for transport, the 4.8m-wide model AS480 has 39 of Taege’s S Tines spaced 121mm apart.

It also comes equipped with its unique covering harrows and what the company says is the “simplest, most accurate calibration on the market.”

Genoni says air seeders with widths of roughly five metres are quite popular in Australia, saying the machine only required about 140 horsepower (104kW) to operate.

“The metering systems can go as low as 600g per hectare in fine seed and as high as 200kg per hectare with fertiliser without any adjustments whatsoever,” he says.

The system is also capable of handling up to three different boxes – with Genoni saying that new controllers would not be needed even when an operator decided to upgrade from a one box unit.

“Their system of seed and fertiliser metering utilising foam rollers is unbelievable – it is the most accurate I have come across and it is also just so easy to set,” he adds.

But the air seeder, which is also available in a 6m version, isn’t the only product Genoni singles out for praise, adding that Taege’s uni drill and its 300 series and 360 series of direct drills are also having an impact on the market.

The direct drill models, that measure 3m and 3.6m respectively, come equipped with the “S” Tines that are also spaced 121mm apart.

“Although the row spacings are at 121mm, you have got four rows of tines and there is massive clearance between the tines, so it handles trash exceptionally well,” Genoni says.

These features are also available on the 3-point linkage uni drill, with buyers able to choose between row spacing of 23x119mm or 19x152mm and requiring a tractor of 65hp (48kW) to use.

Taege says additional harrows, small seed inserts, an agitator and a stainless steel bin are also available as optional extras to the “no frills” unit.

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