Driving impression: Great Plains NTA 1000 mulch/direct drill Out on the Plains Sold in red in the UK by Keith Rennie Machinery (KRM) we tried out the green European version of the Kansas-built Great Plains drill. Our main aim? To find out how well the seeder’s three-disc unit copes with conditions on this side of the Atlantic
Testing a mulching-type drill in difficult conditions is not a task to be approached lightly. Add in wet soil, chopped maize stubble and a fresh coating of slurry, and the task trepidation factor climbs up to even higher levels of angst.
It was with this certain degree of anxiety that we took the US-built Great Plains NTA 1000 out into the field a number of months ago. We were, it has to said, expecting the worst. Much to our testers’ surprise, however, the drill romped through the trash within our test field, not blocking up once. How so?
Working from the front, there are two rows of fluted discs that till the ground down to about 4cm below the actual planting depth. These discs are profiled to give effective penetration and throw the soil/trash to the rear. To achieve this effect, the fluted discs are offered in three different designs – 12, 24 or 50 flutes – with the 12-flute design pattern producing the most intensive soil movement action. On top of this, each disc is sprung to balance out a loading of up to 180kg
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