The Auctus is designed to sow seed into ploughed ground, burn-off or existing pasture in a one pass solution.
For 2022, a new gyroscopic drawbar system was fitted, replacing the outgoing design of a straight draw bar towed via the pick-up hitch.
Up front, the Auctus features two rows of hydraulically adjustable sprung ripper paddles.
The spiked drum is fitted with 60, 80mm hardened steel aeration blades and is kept clean using the free-wheeling ‘revolving scraper’.
Behind the drum sit two rows of hydraulically controlled 12mm tines.
The seed is broadcasted via eight little splash plates after the tines and before the prism roller.
Finally, the 560mm prismatic roller covers the seed, consolidating the seedbed.
Alstrong use the Kildare manufactured Doyle pneumatic ‘Vario’ air seeder.
The seeding unit comes with a control box which offers seed rate change on the move, a hopper low level warning, an acre meter and a live groundspeed reading.
The Auctus left a nice finish with one pass through ground which was sprayed off six weeks and had cattle out-wintered on.
Alstrong says a minimum power requirement of 140hp is recommended for the trailed unit.
The aggressive nature and weight means the Auctus will allow you to push the boundaries that little bit more than some of its competitors.
Prices for the Auctus T (trailed machine) start at €35,000 plus VAT, while prices for the mounted version start at €20,000 plus VAT.
We pushed the machine to forward speeds of 18-20km/h while seeding, which didn’t affect the final result.
The axle is fitted with a pressurised accumulator which allows for smooth transportation by taking the shocks out of it.
The heavy-duty structural steel frame is constructed from 200x100x10mm box iron.
Like all machines, the Auctus has its limitations. If ground is too wet or if there are large amounts of thrash, in particular long fibres, it will cause a build-up of debris on top of the aeration roller which can take time to manually clear.
In the right fields, the machine has a serious capability of getting through work, quickly.
The ‘Vario’ seeder is capable of sowing fine seeds from a rate as low as 1kg/ha to sowing grass seeds at up to 80kg/ha.
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