EDITORIAL – The Weekly Times.
Small-property owners now have the option to sow their own paddocks thanks to a new mini-seeder range from SOTA Tractors.
The small-acreage specialist has supplied its popular brands of small tractors to block owners for many years and now has added a direct drill seeder to complement its catalogue.
The ACMA seed drill is the answer for small-scale farmers who would like to sow pastures or crops but have been unable to access the appropriately sized implements for their small tractors.
“Over the years we’ve sold thousands of smaller tractors and often been asked if we had a seeder that could match their lower power but there was nothing really suitable on the market,” said SOTA Tractors general manager Steve Watt.
“So, we set out to find one.”
Quite often contractors did not want to do small areas or would charge a premium to do it, so it left small-property holders with few options to re-sow, Mr Watt said.
But with this new direct drill seeder from Italy, property owners can do it themselves.
It comes in four widths, 140cm, 160cm, 180cm and 200cm which can be paired with a tractor from 28hp up to 100hp, mounted on the three-point linkage.
Made by an Italian manufacturer that has been making small farm equipment for 63 years, the seeders come with a two-year warranty.
Direct drilling with the ACMA seeder had many advantages, Mr Watt said.
It caused minimal soil disturbance using a disc mechanism, which creates precise “slices” into which the seed was sown, retaining the soil’s natural structure during cultivation, Mr Watt said.
“There is no inversion of the soil, as with other cultivation techniques. Clay stays low and organic matter remains high in the structure, retaining a natural, friable medium for optimal root penetration,” he said.