Among Salford’s several new-product launches at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina were two new tillage implement models, the 1-2200 and I-4200. According to Anson Boak, Salford’s marketing manger, these two machines are the result of several years of R&D with the existing I Series vertical tillage models.
“It started in 2011 and culminated in 2015,” he says. “The main thing we achieved on the I Series line is to update the frame technology to improve lift, fold and durability on the machines. The goal has been to be able to take the existing blade mountings and be able to make more configurations.”
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Compared to the existing I-2100 and I-4100 models, the two new versions get more blades per foot of working width in order to leave a finer field finish. Both machines use a five-inch blade spacing.
“So in 2015 we see the 4200 and 2200 machines are upgraded and more aggressive compared to their counterparts the 4100 and 2100,” he adds. “We’ve added more blades to these machines. This is the first time these spacing options have been available.”
“The biggest thing with the upgraded frame technology is we’re able to carry and manoeuvre more weight in the field, and that’s meant for even finer field finishes. The weight per foot has increased but the weight per blade hovers around the same, maybe reduced a little, because we have more blades.”
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The new models are meant to compete with the growing number of compact discs and other more aggressive tillage implements that have come onto the market in recent years, making the range of available tillage implements from all brands one that offers buyers a lot of choice.
The company considers the I-2200 “a true vertical tillage machine”. So it uses coulter blades that run straight up and down for minimal soil disturbance. In its press release announcing the introduction, the company says it considers the I-2200 to be “one of Salford’s more aggressive vertical tillage designs.”
The I-4200, on the other hand, is what Salford labels a “hybrid,” combining both vertical and conventional tillage configurations into one machine. It gets both concave disc blades and wavy coulters. The company claims this allows it to perform better in high residue or wet conditions than compact discs or gang-style vertical tillage implements.
“We’re competing against short discs and some other types of tillage units,” Boak says. “I’d say these machines perform better in the sense that we’ve maintained our obstacle clearance and maintained our vertical tillage advantages. Issues of compaction or creating layers of residue in the seed zone are just a non-issue with these machines.”
The 1-2200 and 1-4200 are available in working widths up to 50 feet.
