This year marked the first of the Lamma show’s new era at Birmingham’s indoor National Exhibition Centre. 

The event is showcasing not just large machinery manufacturers, but also smaller agricultural engineering and machinery firms from across the UK.

We take a look at the highlights of the cultivator and drill launches.

See also: Lamma 2019: Plenty on offer for livestock farmers

See also: Lamma 2019: Tractors and telehandlers steal the show

Claydon T6c trailed drill

© Jonathan Page

Strip-till drill maker Claydon unveiled a compact version of its 6m trailed seeder – the T6c – for farmers who favour a cheaper and more manoeuvrable unit over ultimate hopper capacity and output.

It is 20% lighter than the existing T6 (down from 9t to 7t unladen), though seed carrying capacity has sunk from 5,500 litres to a more modest 3,500 litres on the T6c.

It can still carry seed only, or be split 60:40 for seed and fertiliser combinations where operators are keen to get crops off to a fast start.

Claydon claims it should work in most conditions, including directly into stubble, min-till or ploughed ground and daily outputs can hit 45ha behind a 300hp tractor.

Soil-working components include 19 individually adjustable leading legs to aerate the soil, improve drainage and create a uniform seeding depth.

The following tines then place the seed above the drainage channel to encourage deep rooting.

A stainless-steel Kverneland metering system and an Isobus-compatible RDS Artemis control system provide tramlining and variable seed rate capability.

Buyers can spec different coulter and seeding boot options, choose to have fertiliser placed down the front or rear tine, and can specify front shouldered cutting discs or press wheels.

At the rear, the double toolbar can be equipped with a range of press wheel, board and harrow configurations.

The list price is £89,995.

Weaving GD6001T

© Jonathan Page

Weaving pulled the wraps off a new 6m trailed version of its popular GD no-till disc drill.

It’s called the GD6001T and has a more compact design than the maker’s original 6m trailed machine.

This has been achieved by positioning the tank over the coulters, rather than the old setup of having the tank in the middle and the coulters at the rear. The wheels have also been shifted to the back.

Together, these changes make the rig easier to handle and having the coulters nearer the tractor cab means operators can keep a closer eye on what’s going on.

The addition of a linkage-mounted drawbar has also tightened up the turning circle.

As for the seeder units themselves, they still use the same angled disc setup to help bite into unworked ground. They’re also mounted in two rows with a 166mm spacing to improve trash flow.

A sizeable 5,000-litre hopper keeps the units fed and an RDS control unit deals with the metering, which is capable of variable-rate sowing. It is also Isobus compatible.

The drill is designed and built at the firm’s headquarters in Evesham and has a list price of £68,600. This includes a set of Mitas floatation tyres, lighting kit, tank sieve and roll-over hopper cover.

Weaving has also rolled out this neater design on its 4m and 4.8m trailed machines, while an 8m version was launched at last year’s Cereals event.

Lozova Ducat six-disc harrow

© Jonathan Page

Those in the market for a competitively priced disc harrow got a new machine to eye from Ukrainian brand Lozova Machinery.

The Ducat 6 is designed for high-speed stubble cultivation and will work the ground between 3cm and 14cm deep. Its main ground-engaging component is a twin-row of scalloped 566mm Bellota discs spaced 125mm apart.

These are angled at 12deg to maximise mixing and mounted on spring tines to help reduce draft force and cut fuel use by a claimed 20%.

To improve longevity, the discs are made out of tough boron steel and they spin on maintenance-free sealed bearings that are designed to withstand blunt impacts.

Each wing floats independently to help it follow ground contours and when you need to take to the Queen’s highway these fold neatly within the 3m legal limit.

Pictured is the firm’s 6m unit, but it makes a comprehensive range that goes from 2.5m all the way up to 16.75m.

He-Va straw harrow tines

© Jonathan Page

He-Va was showing a new option for its Tip Rollers that can transform a standard set of rolls into a light cultivator to help reduce the reliance on chemicals.

The two rows of 16mm sprung tines are mounted ahead of the roller rings. Their depth can be adjusted hydraulically and they can also be lifted completely out of work when consolidating ground after drilling.

He-Va says the tines are useful in a wide range of situations, including tickling the surface to encourage weed seeds to chit after cultivations and stirring straw and chaff behind the combine to speed up material breakdown.

The action of the tines is also handy in disrupting slug activity and destroying eggs if the fields are rolled before drilling.

The double straw tines are available now as an optional extra on 6.3m, 7.3m, 8.2m and 9.5m Tip Rolls as well as 12.3m and 15.3m Tip XL Rolls models. Prices start from £7,422.