The Speedliner 4000 was the first one brought into the country by Cork Machines Ltd and sold by sister company, Cork Farm Machinery Ltd.

From Glendooneen, Riverstick, Co Cork, Vincent, with his sons, Stephen and Darren, drill about 1,600 acres of cereals per year. The larger proportion of this, about 1,100 acres, is done with the Speedliner and the remainder is drilled with a Kuhn Venta NC302 and power-harrow one-pass combination.

All the ground is ploughed ahead of the drill. Where necessary, the ground gets a run of a Kuhn Discover XM disc harrow with a working width from 3.4m to 5.65m before sowing.

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The drill details

Available in 3m, 4m or 6m working widths, the Kuhn Speedliner series are all ‘minimal’ cultivation pneumatic drills of the type that is increasingly popular in Ireland.

The Speedliner 4000 is a trailed machine, with the hitch mounted on the tractor’s three-point linkage. It features two rows of scalloped discs and a row of press wheels, which is followed by the seeding unit.

The working depth of the discs can be hydraulically adjusted. Each disc is independently mounted incorporating its own ‘suspension’.

Eight large diameter 420/55-17 pneumatic press wheels follow the discs and also incorporate an adjustable hydraulic suspension plus hydraulic brakes.

The large diameter wheels make the unit easy to pull, according to Cork Machines.

Paddles directly behind the wheels level out ridges left by the spaces between the wheels. The entire drilling unit is carried on what is effectively a three-point linkage system with a double acting hydraulic cylinder which can be used to centrally adjust coulter pressure +/-10kg. Each coulter is then carried on a parallelogram system with depth wheel and incorporates an offset twin disc arrangement to create a furrow for the seed.

The depth wheel closes the furrow and a covering harrow finishes the job.

There is ample adjustment across all sections of the drill, including seed application rate. Instead of being ground wheel driven, the metering unit is electrically driven.

The seeding rate is automatically changed in relation to forward speed as a signal is received from the machine’s groundspeed radar. The seeding rate is set and changed on the machine’s Quantron S control box, which allows the operator to change seed application rate from the tractor seat.

The fan for the pneumatic drill mechanism is hydraulically driven but is independent of the tractor’s hydraulic system.

Instead, a separate hydraulic pump is driven from the tractor’s pto, which supplies the oil for it.

SPECIFICATIONS

Working width: 4m.

Transport width: 3m.

Seed hopper capacity: 2,700 litres.

Metering: adjustable through Quantron S controller and ground speed radar.

Cultivation: two rows of discs, packer wheels, paddles to level ridges between wheels and Seedflex coulters.

Wheels and tyres: 8 x 420/55 – 17.

Price: €78,270, plus VAT.

Working experience of the Kuhn drill at Buckleys

The Buckleys sow, or as they say in Cork, ‘set’ a variety of winter and spring crops including wheat, oats, barley and oilseed rape with the Kuhn Speedliner 4000. Having completed its second season, and a tough one at that, Vincent and his sons, Stephen and Darren, are very happy with the drill.

Operating in tough conditions, Vincent Buckley said: “It was great in the autumn; the Speedliner will set in dampish conditions and float with the large wheels.”

He added: “With everything right, you can set 100 acres a day, around 30 acres on a full hopper which holds about two tonnes of seed.”

In addition to the large wheels, the way the coulter bar is carried is a big plus, according to Stephen Buckley. “There is great clearance if you do sink. The coulters raise very high out of the ground, so there is great clearance. And, if you do have to reverse, they are well clear and won’t get blocked up with clay,” he said. He added that the height the coulter bar can be raised is also useful for clearing deep furrows on headlands and navigating in and out of gateways.

“The quality of the machine’s build is a big plus. The Seedflex coulters are brilliant on the back; they cover well, and give a very even seedbed after it. We have found that there is a better establishment of the crop from the beginning. We found very even crop emergence for both winter and spring crops,” Vincent said.

Electronic calibration of the seed rate through the controller is a very useful feature, according to Stephen. “This year, imported seed seems to be smaller and denser, and flows faster than Irish seed, so it is important to have the machine calibrated for both,” Stephen said.

“The controller stores different rough settings; you test the calibration bag and adjust the setting to suit on the control box. There is no winding of handles to change the seed rate, just press ‘+’ or ‘–’ on the control box to adjust the seed rate. It is very handy for moving from field to field and crop to crop,” Stephen added.

“Brakes are standard which is very handy on hilly ground,” according to Darren Buckley, and having them is easier on the tractor’s brakes. “Because the drill is mounted on the three-point linkage, you can get right into corners nice and tight. The hydraulic fan is pto driven and keeps the same fan speed even if the tractor dies off,” according to Stephen.

The final comment comes from DJ Kelleher, technical and sales support at Cork Machines Ltd. “Buckley’s Speedliner is the first one sold in the country and has worked very well since it has been put into operation. We are confident that it is a reliable and high output machine for the Irish market.”

DJ Kelleher quoted a retail price of €78,270, plus VAT, for the Kuhn Speedliner.