If you get a thrill out of attending as many farm shows as you can reasonably get to in a season, you’ve likely noticed a few uncommon equipment brands displaying their wares. At the U.S. Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, in August, Mark Moore made a point of stopping by exhibits from a couple of those relatively uncommon marquees to check out the tillage equipment they offer North American farmers.
Kongskilde 9200 Series Vertical Tillage System
The Kongskilde 9200 Series works 1- to 1.5-inches deep without extra weights, so soil can be mixed with cut residue. With a five-way adjustable gang angle, trash can be cut through in one pass, making the UFO ideal for both spring and fall use. The adjustable feature allows the UFO to be set to an aggressive angle in the fall, and prep soil in the spring at a lesser degree.
The unit uses what the company calls its triple-action design: Sawtooth SoilRazor VT disc blades cut the trash, soil is mixed to help with decomposition, and spiral rollers level and firm the soil for the ideal seedbed.
Primary and secondary tillage can be completed in all soils and residues, and a heavy-duty frame helps ensure uniform penetration in even the toughest of conditions. The 9200 offers five disc gang angle settings: zero, four, eight, 12 and 16 degrees.
Three new narrow frame sizes and three standard frame sizes are available in working widths of 11, 15, 20, 23, 25, 32 and 43 feet.
Maschio Gaspardo UFO
UFO, the compact speed discs offered by Maschio, come in a full range of folding and rigid units. Large diameter discs allow the unit to get the depth and throw more dirt than a conventional tillage tool. With its design, the UFO can replace conventional discs, field cultivators and rolling straw choppers all at once.
Overlapping front and rear gangs ensure consistent tillage across the entire working width. A 28-inch clearance and narrow gang spacing improves levelling, firming and consolidation, reducing power demands and fuel consumption at the same time. UFO notched discs are 24 inches in diameter and 1/3-inch thick. With a 22-degree cutting angle, the brand claims the UFOs’ disc shape and spacing ensures optimal cutting quality even in the toughest conditions.
Rigid units are available in eight8-, 10-, 11-1/2-, and 13-foot working widths. Folding units boost that range to 13-, 15-, 16-, and 20-foot working widths. Folding semi-mounted UFO units can be equipped with a heavy duty two-inch towing eye drawbar or a two pivot point system. The drawbar inclination can be hydraulically adjusted from the cab. A steering angle over 180 degrees ensures excellent manoeuvrability during road transportation or when turning at field headlands.
Mark Moore of Moore Communications is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Wisconsin.
