The Aerosem VT5000 drill was created by Pottinger to meet the demands of smaller high horsepower (hp) tractors that did not have the weight to safely carry the implements they were powerful enough to drive.
Power harrow/drill combinations are a particular case in point; both elements can be heavy, especially if the hopper is full, rendering wider machines too weighty for the new breed of power dense tractors.
Fold for transport
Pottinger’s answer to this has been to make a folding trailed version of its Aerosem machines that are no more than 3m wide for transport and place little weight on the tractor itself.
The drills were launched last year and have eventually arrived in Ireland with the 5m version, the VT5000, being demonstrated at the Deutz Driving days recently.
What immediately sets the drills apart from others is the position of the seed hopper. Rather than sitting laterally above the power harrow element, it has been moved forward and is mounted longitudinally on the drawbar.
By placing it in this position Pottinger’s engineers have created room for the harrow beds, with coulters attached, to fold vertically and so keep the transport width down to 3m.
Some of the weight of the seed will also be transferred to the rear of the tractor, aiding grip without the need for additional weights.
VT5000 power requirement
On the day, the VT5000 was hitched to a 280hp Deutz Fahr 8 series tractor which, as Paul Flynn, sales manager for Pottinger Ireland pointed out, was a good deal larger than required, but the event was intended to demonstrate the tractors rather than the implements.
A minimum of 150hp is listed on the spec sheet but he suggests that 160hp to 200hp would be the ideal tractor for the combination, putting it right in line with many of the tractors found on tillage farms and in contractors’ yards.
Paul said that this is exactly the intention, and he feels that the VT5000 will fit right into many farming and contracting operations as it provides a generous working width without the need for a heavy and over powerful tractor to hang it from.
Heavy cultivation still needed
Pottinger also had lighter cultivation equipment present, including the Rotorcare mechanical weeder, but this is more targeted towards min-till operations rather than primary cultivation.
Paul points out that the catchy conditions of this autumn have shown that there is still very much a need for tools, such as the power harrow and plough, that can establish a crop in adverse seasons.
The new VT series combination drills come in working widths of 5m or 6m and are available with all the features associated with the Aerosem range.
