Weaving had an 8.0m version of its GD no-till drill on display on its stand. Like other models it employs an angled disc coulter to lift a slice of soil and place seed underneath it.
Individual coulters are linked by hydraulic hoses with gas accumulators providing damping to enable the units to rise and fall on their parallelogram linkages as the drill passes over lumps and bumps. Depth control is handled by a simple pin-and-hole arrangement on each coulter carriage while downforce is adjusted with a slider set-up that alters the amount of weight the rear wheels carry.
Key difference for this bigger unit is that the seed hoppers are no longer trailed along behind in a ‘Caddy’ seed cart arrangement. Instead, in an effort to make road moves easier, the whole rig is shortened by having the twin tanks mounted over the toolbars. A factor which is also hoped will aid penetration in dry, hard conditions.
Twin metering units mean the drill can be configured for grain and fertiliser or grain only. A RDS Artemis controller runs the drill with a smaller switchbox handling all the hydraulic functions.
First of its kind, this 8.0m GD8000T is a prototype that will do the rounds as a demo machine this season before production kicks off in earnest this autumn. Minimum power requirement is reckoned to stand in the 250-280hp bracket and starting prices come in at around £80,000.
