For the 2026 season, the 4,000-acre operation has doubled its working width, replacing the trusty e-drill with a 6m Kverneland f-drill combination, using an Isobus-controlled Rotago 4060 folding power harrow. Supplied by Farmstar, including a 2,200-litre capacity f-drill Maxi Duo front hopper with dual metering units, the farm has the capability for half-width auto shut-off across its 48 CX-II coulters, spaced at 12.5cm.
Bert and operator Morgan Thickitt, pictured, reckon the 6m f-drill will handle close to 1,000 acres of drilling each season – 25% of the farm’s drilling workload, across a range of field sizes from three to 174 acres.
“It’s easily a 10-15 year investment for us, and is a game changer for our business,” says Bert. “There is so much output and adjustability, that we can now use a power harrow combination with a high degree of efficiency. It’s no longer the slow, tedious job it once was. Choosing an Isobus controlled power harrow means we can independently vary the working depth of the rotors and the clod bar height, separate to the coulter depth and pressure.”
With full RTK coverage across the farm for potatoes, the team applies the same levels of accuracy to its cultivations and drilling regime.
“We’ll save a bit on seed by reducing overlaps, but the real efficiency comes from matching the power harrow to our soil depth,” he says. “We farm across a wide range of soils, and in those areas where top soil is thinly covering patches of limestone, or across stony banks, the harrow can be adjusted on the move.”
“This capability means we can move less soil, and that translates into burning less fuel too, but without compromising on the results,” adds Bert. “We had CX-II coulters on our old outfit, so we know how good they are at seed placement.”
In the right conditions, operator Morgan Thickitt says the outfit can be run comfortably at around 10kph, and is regularly achieving an output of around 100 acres/day.
“At that output, it’s only 10 days work, and it’s surprised us both that an Optum 300 can manage this 6m outfit with ease,” says Morgan. “It’s not often that 100% engine load is reached, and 75-85% is more the average. There’s also a temperature monitor on the power harrow, so I can see how everything is running.”
Morgan has high praise for the combination’s rear transport wheel, which carries much of the weight of the folding harrow and toolbar, when travelling on local roads.
“We’ve land that’s quite spread out, so the rear transport wheel has made this outfit very safe, and takes a lot of weight off the tractor,” he adds. “It’s a great idea to help manage the weight of larger kit like this.”
Morgan says forward visibility isn’t an issue as the Maxi front hopper sits slightly lower than the tractor’s bonnet, and the front press wheel assembly shares the hopper weight, and consolidates soil ahead of the power harrow.
“When the Optum 300 is swapped for an Optum 340 model, we’ll gain 710 tyres over this tractor’s 650’s, spreading weight that bit better,” he adds. “With Isobus, it’s all run through the tractor terminal and is very easy outfit to use. With just a few taps on the screen, we can get so much more efficiency from this combi.”
