Farms & Farm Machinery #389

REVIEW
no till
PLENTY OF THRILL
Despite being such an
imposing machine, the
Weaving GD Drill is all
about minimising soil
disturbance. There’s an
impressive level of hidden
design complexity to these
machines, which have been
painstakingly created to
simplify everyday tasks, as
Farm Trader NZ’s Jaiden
Drought discovered when he
spent a day with the unit
Images by Jaiden Drought
Creating a drilling machine with minimal soil disturbance is
no easy task. Just ask New Zealand farmer Dave Mitchell,
whose quest for the perfect machine has seen him spend years
researching the possibilities.
Having worked and extensively researched throughout the
UK, success came when Mitchell met farmer and entrepreneur
Tony Gent, who was involved in the disc design of the Weaving
drill from UK family-owned business Weaving Machinery. Today,
New Zealand is home to the only Weaving Machinery products
distributed outside Europe, though Farms & Farm Machinery
has confirmed the company is in talks to appoint an Australian
distributor.
With a decades-long focus on the min till revolution, Weaving
Machinery has been slowly tweaking the original double disc
design, resulting in its new patented GD coulter. It says that the
two major benefits of this design are minimal soil disturbance
and low draft requirements, along with having the adaptability
to drill both cultivated and direct drill ground in a variety of soil
types and conditions. Keeping soil disturbance to a minimum
means microbes remain undisturbed, and with less exposed
soil, this reduces the chance for weeds to enter the sward.
The double disc arrangement is mounted on a 25-degree
angle, which pivots around a central kingpin mounted within
the coulter body. The bottom point on the disc and the pivot pin
are in line despite most of the disc coulter hanging out the side
(due to the disc angle). This ensures the disc runs true, with the
added ability of being able to weave around obstacles.
It works with the larger notched outer disc cutting an opening
slice in the soil, while the smaller inner disc undercuts the top
side, in effect forming an opening for the seed to be placed. The
New Zealand spec’d drill has 150mm coulter spacing. However,
the sideway cutting action leaves quite a wide slot for the seed.
Germination, while looking down the rows, appears straight.
However, looking down on the seedlings from above gives a
glimpse of more variation, possibly closer to 125mm spacing.
This also helps to reduce the risk of ‘hairpinning’. The angle cut
is likened to cutting the ground with a spade on an angle, being
easier than diving straight in the top. Lastly, the lifted soil is
pressed onto the seed by a single tractor tread press wheel (can
be upgraded to airless).
PLANTING
As mentioned, the two discs undermine the top layer, creating
an opening for the seed to be placed, then promptly set back
to its original state. This process eliminates any fresh soil being
brought to the surface, leaving the top intact. This is the reason
you can barely tell the drill has been in the paddock, and just
as importantly, prevents giving weed seeds the opportunity of
Looking for an
seed drill?
Search for ‘seed drill’ on
TradeFarmMachinery.com.au
or type the TA or DIY code
shown here into the
keyword search field
$11,950
TA785550
2017 AGROLEAD 2500/19. Universal Seed Drill
Coulter Type. • VIC 03 8373 7039
$47,000
TA868639
AITCHISON 4124CT. Seedmatic Direct Drill.
Seed/fertiliser boxes. • NSW 02 6171 3260
$37,730
TA865843
2020 IRTEM FDD 3000. Double Disc Seed Drill
(3.0M). 24 row, 1,080L. • VIC 02 6171 3175
38 TradeFarmMachinery.com.au THE TRACTOR YOU WANT IS NOW EASIER TO FIND