2018 marks the third year of production for North Dakota-based Summers Manufacturing’s VRT2530 “variable” tillage tool, which was designed to offer producers an implement that can offer differing styles of tillage from the same implement — and change on the go.
The VRT2530 uses a row of dual-mounted disc blades at the front. These blades are slightly concave, similar those on a regular disc, and mounted on a 12-degree angle. The company says the shallow concavity design of the leading discs move soil better than an angled coulter and create less “smear,” but they aren’t as aggressive as those on typical tandem disc implements and keep soil movement “as vertical as possible.”
Read Also
Case IH, New Holland dealers to see more integration
CNH plans for “more than 15 new tractor launches, 10 combine launches, 19 crop production launches and over 30 precision technology releases between now and the end of 2027.”
Behind them are gang-mounted straight coulter blades, which are typical of a vertical tillage implement.
To create the variable tillage performance, a hydraulic hitch can be controlled on the go from the cab, which puts more or less down pressure on the front row of concave discs and results in the leading row digging in more or less aggressively. The company says that on hilltops or places with little residue, the operator can raise the front row slightly, providing less sideways movement of the soil. In areas with high surface residue, lowering the front row provides better residue incorporation.
The VRT2530 is available with a combination harrow and rolling basket rear attachment to stabilize the field surface after a tillage pass.
