KUHN equipment: KOSMA

Contractor ETA LE CARPENTIER (France)

Area: 500 ha

Crops: maize

"It is true that this model is lighter and easy to adjust. The combination of the cultivator/KOSMA has exceeded all my expectations," - Wilfried Lecarpentier, manager of SARL LE CARPENTIER.

Why KOSMA? Wilfried Lecarpentier, manager of SARL LE CARPENTIER: "The main reason for purchasing KOSMA is that the sugar factory in the region closed down, which is a huge problem because now we lack crops. Rotations are short, and we often return to the same types of crops, such as we returned to maize production.

There were already silage crops for breeders, but we grew very little grain maize because it is difficult to grow wheat after grain maize. But we are returning to similar technology due to the cessation of sugar beet cultivation, so we are forced to grow other crops.

Furthermore, having a seeding combination with a front hopper, vertical miller, and mounted seed drill beam, I didn't have to buy a KOSMA seed drill with a hopper for mineral fertilizers because I already had it. I just had to attach the KOSMA seed drill to the rotary cultivator instead of the seed drill beam, so it was economical and great.

In our region, the soils are mainly clayey, so there are minor problems with mounted seeding units due to tractor tracks. That's why I prefer the combination principle, evenly distributing the load on the tractor. Moreover, the design includes simplicity of depth adjustment and its maintenance.

"To start with, the sense of combining soil preparation unit and seeding units for me was to do everything in one pass. And then, we spend less time and avoid excessive compaction on our clayey soils, especially in rainy periods. The cultivator/seed drill combination works consistently at a working speed of 7/8/8.5 km/h, and that suited us. I didn't have any problems with the appearance of KOSMA; it worked."

"The fact that this new KOSMA seed drill model is lighter. I don't have many large tractors in the company, that's a choice. I prefer to have versatility in my fleet with smaller models. The weight of the cultivator/seed drill combination at the rear is very, very large. So, if you attach a loaded seed drill, it tilts the tractor backward. But the combination – front hopper + rotary cultivator/KOSMA at the rear was perfect, and it met all my expectations."

"One thing can be said confidently – it's easy to adjust. Depth adjustment is simple. Moreover, the additional pressure component on the ground is important. I was a little afraid of this, but the seeding modules entered flawlessly in our clayey soils. I liked the simplicity of the machine because I assigned workers to seed. In our days, it is important to have simple adjustments. If it's too complicated, you spend a lot of time training people. The goal of our business is work productivity.