Norfolk Farming and WR Chapman and Son (contracting business) recently added a Kverneland U-drill 6000 to their fleet for their 2016 spring planting campaign. Per reports, the former were looking for an equipment, particularly a drill that can meet their business need for a diverse performer, which is capable of handling a wide array of type seeds and in various working environments.
“The u-drill has easily met so many of our requirements,” explains Will Chapman, a finalist in the 2016 Farmers Weekly contractor of the year awards. “It packs enough coulter pressure to lift the drill off the ground when sat in the yard, so we have absolutely no problems at all getting seeds in – even in the toughest conditions.”
“It has also proved to be a very straightforward machine to calibrate and use,” he adds. “Half-width shut off is very useful, the headland sequence is very handy and seed metering is very precise.”
The Chapman brothers (Will and Ben) continue to expand the farm contracting part of their family, which was established by their grandfather, William, about 45 years ago.
Aside from farming, the brothers also operate as well as manage a general contracting business from Eastmoor near Kings Lynn. It includes a comprehensive sugar beet operation from seedbed to harvest. It should be noted that this requires an efficient as well as a reliable equipment. With this in mind, when it came to replacing their Overum Tive Drill that they were using for 19 years, the U-drill was instantly included on their short-list due to its all-around capability as well as performance.
“We chose the 6m u-drill following a demonstration by TNS that revealed just how good a machine it really is,” he says. “We tried it in a variety of scenarios and with several seed types including oilseed rape and spring wheat, and were very impressed with the results.”