AMAZONE Ltd celebrate this year 40 years of supporting British agriculture and, across those years, shifting trends in crop establishment - with the desire to up soil organic matter levels, improve soil health and increase traffic carrying capability - has seen a move towards the use of more cover crops, stale seedbeds, the targeted use of fertiliser with the seed, reduced disturbance during drilling and a change in timing with later drilling choices.

Amazone has always been the harvest to harvest specialist, concentrating on soil tillage, seeding and planting as well as crop care through fertilising and spraying. The soil tillage sector for AMAZONE has seen both soil inversion and mechanical weeding systems being added to the range whereas, on the planting scene, then high-speed grain singling with the Precea precision seeder for maize, rape and sugar beet is an expanding area of expertise.

Seeding still encompasses a huge diversity of operation from the conventional soil inversion/ drill combination systems, which offer so much flexibility in warming soils, drying soils and cleaning up difficult weed issues, through to the no-till spectrum of the tine seeder working in min-till or unmoved stubbles.

Cereals will see Amazone continue to promote the range of tine seeders which fit perfectly into the reduced or no-till sector. The Condor 12001-C and Primera 3000 are two examples of the direct seeder range from AMAZONE. On the stand also will be the Cayena tine seeder and all of these drills offer fertiliser placement along with the seed as well as the option of a third hopper to be used for cover cropping and/or fertiliser. The Cirrus 6003-2C will also feature the low-disturbance, Cirrus MinimumTill Disc which is ideal for establishing a cash crop after a cover crop.

On the crop protection theme, this year sees the introduction of the Schmotzer hoe range at Cereals. Amazone acquired the Schmotzer brand in 2019 and on the stand will be the new high-clearance, ISOBUS and GPS-controlled Venterra 12 row hoe with the Horus Pro camera guidance system. With regard to conventional crop protection measures, again there will be the new long bodied, UX 7601 Super / 36m AmaSelect larger capacity trailed sprayers, along with the Pantera 4504 self-propelled and UF 02 series mounted ranges. All three of these will also be demonstrating in the Sprays & Sprayers ring on both days.

In the stubble cultivation sector will be the Cobra shallow cultivator. The Cobra is available in 6 & 7 m working widths and features 6 rows of ECO leaf spring tines on a 13.3 cm row spacing.  The Cobra is designed for top shallow stubble cultivation, or for seedbed preparation following the plough. The ECO tines can be fitted with either a narrow point or the 22 cm wide, Duck foot share depending on depth of work and the level of the intensity required. Following the tine element will be either the double tine straw harrow or a reconsolidation roller depending on the application whereas, up-front, the Cobra can be equipped with the knife roller or Crushboard. The Catros X-Cutter will also be on show as an alternative shallow top-till tool.

Where there is still a need for conventional, inversion tillage, such as in root crops and areas with problematic weed control, the new Teres 300 plough will also be show for the first time at Cereals

The new Precea 4500-2CC VT precision air seeder, with its large-capacity, rear-mounted fertiliser hopper will also be shown on the stand. The Precea has gained an excellent reputation for accuracy of spacing at high forward speeds and for its easy set up and flexibility when it comes to seed size and choice - the drill is perfectly happy in maize sugar beet or oil seed rape.  This model features a variable working width from the seat so that both 75 cm and 45 cm or 50 cm sowing can be accommodated. The precision seeding range was recently extended with the Precea 6000-2AFCC seeder combination in 6m working width which offers a one-pass solution to seedbed cultivation and seed placement.