DRIVING IMPRESSION: Last season the six-row Gaspardo ST maize drill was priced at a seemingly very reasonable £8,000 including fertiliser placement and telescopic frame. But could there have been a catch? We were curious as to what this money bought, and whether the contractor buyer would have to spec the base machine up to cope with larger acreages. Here is our driving impression of the ST 300/6 model.
As with so many machines, base price is only part of the Gaspardo ST story. The drill can be bought for £8,000, but the serious user is likely to want to spec up his machine, and this obviously makes a difference to the final figure.
So, what about this speccing up process? What’s involved? Well, for starters, we recommend investing in the 570-litre fertiliser hopper extension (£370), with each of the existing bins being relatively small at 220 litres. Our test drill was also equipped with a loading auger (£1,500). In addition we took the optical sensors on the seeder units and cab-mounted Müller monitor – a further £860 – as well as double discs (£1,700) for the seed and fertiliser coulters.
Tot up the above and the final total works out at £12,430, a £4,430 premium over the original base price. Now, though, the operator has a serious seeder and a unit that stacks up very well against the competition.
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