LOCAL growers were recently treated to a first-hand look at the latest Vaderstad machinery, MARK SAUNDERS reports

The chairman of the board of Vaderstad was a special guest at a cultivation and seeding equipment demonstration near Shepparton recently.

The demonstration day featured some of Vaderstad's latest machinery, including a Rapid 300 seed drill, Seed Hawk 600C air seeder, Carrier cultivator, TopDown 500 stubble incorporator and several current model John Deere tractors.

The day also highlighted a recent trend towards stubble retention and stubble incorporation.

Recent rain in Victoria's North East meant the machinery could operate in moist soil conditions, a rarity for demonstrations in the past few years.

For the 30-40 people at the day a highlight was the chance to talk face-to-face with Vaderstad chairman Crister Stark.

Crister also works on technical development so he believes it is vital he talks to as many end-users as possible.

"I work mostly in concept development with Vaderstad so it's important for me to get out into the market place to see how the machines work in different environments," he said.

Crister visited several properties and dealerships in the eastern states during his 14-day sojourn, which was his first visit to Australia.

"I spend as much time as possible with farmers so I can get a clear picture of the cropping and farming systems," Crister said.

"We sell machinery to 35 countries and while I can't get to all of them, these types of visits will definitely influence our future machinery development.

"They are a must for product development."

While Crister said the European climate did not lend itself to farm practices such as minimum or zero-tillage cropping systems, Vaderstad equipment was ideal for use in ploughed and non-ploughed farming.

"The Vaderstad gear has many features which make it ideal for use in Australia," Crister said.

"For example the rubber-mounted disc suspension system on our Carrier machines reduces the shock of impacts on the bearings in the main frame.

"So when the machine is travelling over the paddock and cultivating in deep or shallow conditions, the bearings will have a long working life."

The Vaderstad gear will be used to sow several trial plots at Paul O'Sullivan's property at Pine Lodge this autumn.

Paul said moving to equipment such as a direct-drill seeder with auto steering on a tractor would be a "big step up".

"We currently run a conventional combine for sowing our crops and we've had a no tillage approach to cropping for at least 10 years now," Paul said.

"The dry seasons have tested the system out but it appears to be working well.

"We have light bar guidance which we use on our sprayer and that is only 12 months old, so to move to full auto steering on the tractor would be a big change.

"We are definitely thinking about going to auto steering but it's been a bit hard to justify the expense when the seasons have been so poor."

Paul said last year's cereal crops yielded about half of a good average.

"We averaged about eight bags to the acre and 16 is more the norm," Paul said.

The Vaderstad equipment was demonstrated in a crop stubble, where according to Vaderstad national sales manager Paul Birbeck, the equipment is well suited to cultivation and sowing work.

"There has been a real swing towards stubble incorporation into the soil in the past two to three years," Paul said.

"Croppers have seen the benefits of keeping organic matter in the soil and the Vaderstad gear is ideal for mulching the stubble and mixing into the surface with implements such as the TopDown.

"You can set the gear up so the soil is mixed or simply fractured, which allows roots to penetrate hard pans.

"With the Vaderstad machines, you can lightly work to a depth of 75mm or deep rip to a depth of 300mm.

"The TopDown is available in working widths of three to 9m and can be set up with discs and tines, which can operate to a depth of 300mm."