Priced at £51,000, the 3m Amazone Cataya box drill on a KX 3001 rotary cultivator is clearly no low-cost seeding option. But then it is packed to the gunnels with tech and spec. Up on top there’s an 840-litre base seed hopper, extendable to 1,270 litres to take big bags, and immediately below is electric drive to the peg wheel metering system for infinite adjustment of seed rates; simply flick one slide to change between fine seed and cereal settings. The operator can block up to five coulters on each side for tramlining, and there’s also an option to have electric ½ drive so half the drill can be shut off from the tractor cab. GPS Switch gives auto shut-off when drilling shortwork etc. For seed placement, Amazone’s TwinTecC double-disc coulter — 2 x 300mm discs positioned at a 10° angle — is likely to be the most popular choice and mounts on the packer roller for good contour following. A seed guide directs the seed down into the bottom of the V slot for better placement. Coulter spacing is either 12.5cm or 15cm. Other highlights run to a universal tool for adjusting the markers, levelling boards, side plates and coulter depth; hydraulic depth control of the cultivator tines; on-the-move adjustment of coulter pressure; and, perhaps most impressive of all, the SmartCenter push-button operator station on the left-hand side of the drill for seed calibration and hopper emptying. Up in the cab, the Cataya can be controlled by one of Amazone’s ISObus terminals or a third-party controller.