Homburg brings English precision seeder to the Netherlands
Importer Homburg from Stiens in Friesland is bringing the English Stanhay precision seed drill back to the Netherlands. Homburg sees the precision seeder as an addition to its Garford hoeing machines and Vaderstad seed drills.
With thirty employees, Stanhay annually builds seven hundred sowing elements and machines. Many importers in export markets such as the American state of California, Australia and New Zealand then assemble the elements themselves into a complete machine.
The first Stanhay in the Netherlands is an X10 rear row that mainly sows onions on a seed bed of 2.25 meters wide. Stanhay builds seed drills from two to eight rows wide. Larger is optional. This includes minimum row spacing of 18 to 25 centimetres, which sow to a maximum depth of 9 centimetres.
Drive
The X10 is a mechanical via chains and running wheels version without ISObus control. Electric or hydraulic drive, but also belt drive are an option. Isobus operation via Homburg Smart Control is also possible. Instead of the tractor’s headland automation, the system’s GPS determines where the seed drill stops.
The steel better seed trays discharge statically than the plastic variants
Electric section closure per element is only available on the electrically driven variant. The fan demands 30 liters per minute and weight transfer aside, the head harrow and seed drill together do not weigh 2 tons.
Thin seed disc
Characteristic of the Stanhay is the thin seed disc of 0.8 millimeters thick. As a result, 48 millibars less vacuum is needed to keep the seeds on the disc and can be separated better via a comb scraper. This vacuum is distributed by a connected gallery block of plastic that fits seamlessly onto the seed disc.
The system calls for an open seed box with its own camera to see misses and clogs in the cab. There, the driver has eight camera images on one screen. In this way, 1 million seed onions per hectare are sown at 6 kilometers per hour on the sandy soil in Bladel in North Brabant.
This makes the precision seeder also suitable for other fine-seeded vegetable crops such as carrots, leeks, lettuce, cabbage, asparagus spinach.
Many options
Stanhay’s specialism is apparent from the many options. For example, in the electrical X30 version, each seed deposit opening can be fitted with a splitter into two to four channels. Each sowing element can arise from one mold from the first to the last loop wheel a length of 1,480 millimeters. This provides sufficient stability and pressure.
Optionally, there are various clod clearers, pressure rollers and cage rollers to press the seed. Plastic seed troughs with round shapes were deliberately not chosen, without the risk of corrosion and dirt sticking.
‘The steel seed trays with contents of 1 to 8 liters will discharge statically better than the more modern plastic variants,’ says Marijn van den Akker of Homburg. ‘That improves the flow of the seed.’