NATIONAL FARMER email: editorial@nationalfarmer.net38

COMPANY PROFILE

British farmers have a long tradition that when faced with aproblem and finding that there is not a machine on themarket that ideally suits their needs, then they retreat to

the workshop and build something themselves.Suffolk farmer Jeff Claydon is no exception, except that his

development, the Claydon drill, has gone on to sellcommercially in its hundreds and provided a completely newway of crop establishment and thinking.

In the 10 years since the Claydon drill was first displayed atthe LAMMA Show, the Claydon drill and the Strip Tilling system

developed by Jeff has helped growers to substantially reducetheir growing costs, hence boosting profitability, both throughoutthe UK and now also increasingly throughout Europe.

Jeff is no stranger to developing unique solutions to meetfarmerʼs needs. In the 1980s he developed the Claydon Yield-O-Meter which was the first yield monitoring device to be fittedinternally to a combine, and was subsequently taken up byClaas. This was followed by the Furrow Cracker, which wasfitted to a plough and designed to break down heavy clods andreduce cultivation cost.

CLAYDON CELEBRATE 10YEARS OF STRIP DRILLING

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email: editorial@nationalfarmer.net NATIONAL FARMER 39

Hi-Tec SprayLimited

Branches NationwideEnquiries to: Tel: 01622 356590Email: sales@hitecspray.co.uk

www.hitecspray.co.uk

Established since 1987, Hi-Tec Spray Ltd is the leading supplierof paint spraying and fluid handling equipment in the UK.

With Depots located throughout the UK, we offer acomprehensive range of spray equipment, varying fromconventional airspray guns and compressors, through to

electrostatic, powder coating systems, spray booths and ovens.

Unit 4 / Cherry GdnsHelions Bumpstead RoadHaverhillSuffolkCB9 7AAEmail: geofflyn@btconnect.com

Geofflyn PrecisionEngineering Co Ltd

“Proud tosupport Claydon”

Richard Long Ltd are pleased to supportClaydon's, we are experience in the transport

of machinery throughout UK and Europe,full and part loads.

We also offer open and closed storage facilities.

Richard Long TransportWhite Hall Farm, Crownthorpe,

Wymondham, Norfolk NR18 9EP

About LaserfastLaserfast evolved from M&D Steel Supplies, a long establishedsteel stockholder and shearer, a family run business.

In 1995 an opportunity to move from steel stockholding intothe world of lasercutting arose, a choice that’s proved to bevery succesful.

An Amada LCE 645 was purchased to compliment theshearing but within 2 years and a further laser addition, anAmada Alpha 1212, profiling was more than 80% of thebusiness.

The name Laserfast was decided upon to reflect the aims ofthe company. More investments guaranteed the latestequipment and in 2006 Laserfast aquired new premises and anAmada FOL, probably the fastest fully linear laser on theplanet.

The future aim for Laserfast is to continue investing in newtechnology to compliment its expanding business and tocontinue to provide the service that our customers expectfrom their laser provider.

LASERFAST LIMITED l CANNON HOUSE BROCKS ROAD l ECOTECH BUSINESS PARK l SWAFFHAM l NORFOLK l PE37 7XG

Telephone: 01760 725 478 Web: www.laserfast.co.uk

But it is the Claydon drill which has had the greatest impact onarable farming and the way in which cereals are established.

The Claydon family farm 480ha at Wickhambrook in Suffolk, allof which is on Hanslope Series Grade 2 heavy clay soils.Historically crops were established using a conventional plough,power harrow, cultivation and drill regime.

But with wheat at £65/tonne and having taken on someadditional land that took 17 passes to create something that evenvaguely resembled a seedbed, despite diesel then being 18p/litre itwas clear something had to change, and Jeff retreated to hisworkshop.

Patented Two Tine drilling systemThe answer, he reckoned lay in working with the soil, rather thanagainst it, let nature do its work and to only move as much soils aswas necessary to create the ideal environment for seedgermination.

Having looked what early direct drilling techniques from the1970ʼs and 80ʼs and the lessons learned from that, it was clear thatusing modern herbicides the weed problems experienced thenwould be far easier to control. Also, whilst traditionally a direct drillrelied mainly on a disc to create a seeding slot, this was actuallydetrimental to seed establishment due to the leading edge of thedisc compacting the bottom of the slit, so restricting rootdevelopment and good drainage.

The solution, he felt, was to use tine-based establishmentsystem, working in a straight line that would only move the soilimmediately around the seed, but also create a drainage channelthrough which water could drain and plant could develop a good,deep unimpeded root system.

“After all, why work the whole field, which takes time and power,

when all you want is to create an ideal growing environmentaround the seed and to conserve moisture for good, earlygermination and growth,” says Jeff. “And also why work anydeeper than you need to as this will only bring up clods that arehard to break down and lose moisture.

The result was a simple yet effective patented two tineestablishment system, which is at the heart of the Claydon StripDrilling System that is central to Claydon drills today.

The first tine is a rigid tungsten carbide tipped breaker tine. Thiscan be adjusted to work at up to 15cm deep, and is designed toinitially break through the compacted soil and create a drainagechannel directly below the seeding zone, so that seeds do notbecome waterlogged and rot.

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We are an independently owned steelstockholder, operating from an elevenacre site at Kentford, near Newmarket,servicing East Anglia, Home Counties,London and East Midlands.

We hold in excess of 10,000 tonnes ofsteel in stock; covering a comprehensiverange of products, sizes and lengths. Inaddition to this we have in-house sawing,shot-blast and painting facilities, togetherwith a state of the art CNC drilling lineand plasma profile machines to servicethe greater demands for materialprocessing.

All this enables us to offer competitivelypriced steel, processed and deliveredpromptly and accurately to your works, inthe same way we have been able toservice Claydon Yield-O-Meter.

AJN Steelstock Limited, Icknield Way, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7QT

Telephone: 01638 555500 Fax: 01638 555501Email: sales@ajnsteelstock.co.uk

Ideally the working depth of this tine should reflect the rootingrequirement of the crop being drilled, going deep for plants such asoilseed rape but shallower for more fibrous crops like cereals.. Bynot having to compete with pans or compacted soils, the deep andlarge complex rooting structure that the Claydon systemencourages has resulted in a 10% increase in yields on theClaydonʼs farm, which is reflected on other farms and in trials.

The second spring mounted tine follows directly in line with thefirst breaker tine, and is typically fitted with a 17cm winged ʻAʼblade that is designed to clear straw from the seeding area andthen lift the soil and create a ʻYʼ shaped cultivated band into whichthe seeding boot, which is directly behind the blade, injects a bandof seed. However, depending on conditions and the crop being

drilled, the ʻAʼ blade can be quickly and easily replaced bynarrower 12cm or 7.5cm ʻAʼ blades, or a special knife is availablefor beans.

Finally a series of levelling ʻSkiʼ boards gently cover and pressthe seed band, and other levelling options are available for differingsoil conditions.

As can be seen, the aim of the Claydon Strip Drilling System isthat only the area immediately surrounding the seeding area iscultivated. Working typically at a row spacing of 30cm, the 12cmarea between each of the seed bands is left uncultivated to retainmoisture and nutrients, but also allow light and air to reach theplant. This also encourages earthworms to help encourage the airexchange ratio and soil fertility.

This uncultivated area also has a significant benefit in that it notonly helps to significantly reduce power requirement, but alsoserves to support machinery on subsequent passes, reducingcompaction and allowing operations, such as spraying, to becarried out in conditions where it would normally not be possible totravel.

Claydon Hybrid drillLaunched in 2011, the Claydon Hybrid drill is now available inworking widths of 3.0m, 4.0m, 4.8m and 6.0m all of which are fullymounted to avoid any additional compaction from the drill orscuffing when turning.

The Hybrid is suitable for use on a wide range of seed types,carried in high capacity hoppers. The Claydon Hybrid uses the wellproven and reliable Accord electric seed metering unit and iscontrolled using an RDS Artemis Electronics control unit withmapping and manual adjustment of seed rate on the move.

In the 10 years since he developed his drill, Jeff Claydon has

NATIONAL FARMER email: editorial@nationalfarmer.net42

C.H. AIR & PUMP SERVICES LTDUnit 10, Lion Lane, Needham Market, Suffolk, IP6 8NTTel: 01449 723 009Fax: 01449 723002Email: sales@ch-air.co.ukWebsite: www.ch-air.co.uk

We have over 30 years’ experience inthe installation, service, maintenanceand repair of industrial compressedair and dryer systems.

At C.H Air & Pumps we arecommitted to providing andmaintaining a high standard ofservice to all our customers. We arebased in Needham Market nearIpswich and are able to swiftlyservice the needs of our customersthroughout Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

seen establishment costs plummet and yields increase. Trialsover the past five years have consistently shown a greater yieldresponse from crops drilled using the Claydon Hybrid drillcompared to those established using a conventional ploughbased cultivations system.

In trials conducted by Saaten Union in the UK, results from 31wheat trial plots showed an overall yield average of 9.23t/ha, anincrease of 1.94t/ha (26.6%) over the conventional plots. Similarlyin oilseed rape there was a 15% increase in yield to 6.05t/ha.

V Rape Seed drillTaking the Claydon Strip Drilling system a stage further, new forthis year is the Claydon V Rape Speed drill which was launchedat Cereals.

This uses the patented Claydon Seeding Technique to allowgrowers to establish oilseed rape directly into uncultivatedstubble, so ensuring that soil structure is improved and essentialmoisture retained. This was particularly evident in the rapidgermination and growth of Claydon drilled crops in last autumnʼsdry conditions.

The new V Rape Speed drill has a working width of 5.0metres, folding to 2.8m for transport. It comprises of a ʻVʼ framefitted with the patented 2-Tine Strip Till legs mounted at 60cm rowspacing. This wider row spacing and high clearance ensuresplenty of room for trash to freely flow.

In place of the conventional seed hopper, the V Rape Speeddrill is fitted with a Delimbe T15 120 litre seed hopper, controlledusing a Delimbe GPS control unit, which helps to considerablyreduce weight.

One of the major benefits of the new V Rape Speed drill is its

reduced weight when compared with other hopper and cultivatorbased drilling systems. When working to a similar depth as thefront breaker tine on the V Rape Speed, which can be set to workat up to 18cm, typically a 3.0m wide cultivator with breaker tineswill require at least a 300hp tractor to pull it. By comparison thenew V Rape Speed, with its 5.0m working width, has a powerrequirement of only 180-200hp.

Thanks to its wide working width, typically working at aforward speed of 8-12km/h, the V Rape Speed drill cancomfortably drill about 40ha of oilseed rape a day. Because thepatented 2-Tine Seeding technique only moves the soilimmediately around the seed band, and leaves the area betweeneach band uncultivated, this not only helps reduce powerrequirement but combined with the high output, this has resultedin typical tractor fuel consumption figures of just 6.5-7.0 litres/ha.Likewise the wearing parts cost at only £2.50/ha is alsoconsiderably lower compared to a conventional deep-workingcultivator.

Effective weed controlWhen reducing cultivations with any system, effectiveweed control is essential.

Whilst creating a stale seedbed in order to encourageweed seed germination ahead of spraying off is nothingnew, this has tended to rely on light cultivations, whichcan result in uneven weed germination if done too deeply.

The new Claydon Straw Harrow has a working widthof 7.50m and is designed to be both quick, and so cheapto operate, and to only stir the top 1.0-2.5cm in order toencourage chitting for more effective herbicide control andis also highly effective in controlling slugs.

The Straw Harrow consists of five banks of hard-wearing double-coil spring tines, the angle of which canbe hydraulically altered in order to achieve a moreʻaggressiveʼ action, and can typically be used at a highoperating speed of up to 25 kph, so allowing outputs ofaround 12ha/hour to be achieved.

Considerable cost savingsOver the 10 years since the Claydon Strip Drill system wasdeveloped, in addition to an increase in yield, this has resulted inconsiderable cost savings, due to increased drilling output, soallowing greater areas to be drilled, and reduced powerrequirement.

Comparing the Claydon system to a conventional drill systemto annually drill 500ha, using a 3.0m Claydon hybrid on a 150hptractor, this area could be established in just 28 days, whilst witha 6.0m Hybrid this would be cut to just 14 days, so providing awide drilling window into which crops can be established.

As a result, in addition to drilling all their own crops, using a6.0m Hybrid drill on a 360hp tractor, Jeffʼs brother Frank Claydonnow also has time to do a further 1200ha of contract drilling onneighbouring farms, working at a rate of 400ha per 100 hours.

Whilst typically it will cost around £130,000 to cultivate anddrill 500ha using a conventional cultivation based system, withthe Claydon system, establishment costs will be about 1/3 of thisat £44,000 and about half of a minimal tillage basedestablishment system at about £82,000.

Burley Hydraulics (Cambridgeshire) Limited20 Edison Road, St. Ives, Cambs PE27 3LFTelephone: 01480 497725 Email: burley-hydraulics@tiscali.co.uk24 HOUR ON SITE 'EMERGENCY':Cambs / Beds: 07818 204073London / SE: 07872 695203

Since 1992, BurleyHydraulics (Cambridgeshire)Limited have been meeting thegrowing requirements of adiverse range of customers andtheir requirements throughoutEast Anglia. Initially thecompany was set up to offerlocal industries a repair serviceon hydraulic hose assembliesand associated products fromour trade counter based in St.Ives. Our business today hasgrown and developed into oneof the countryʼs leadingindependent distributors ofhydraulic equipment. We areable to offer products from asimple hose clip to a fullycommissioned hydraulicsystem designed around yourrequirements. Whether you area small business looking forspares on your plant oragricultural equipment or alarge OEM looking forcontracted hose assemblyproduction Burley Hydraulics(Cambridgeshire) Limited arehere to meet your needs.

Proud to be Celebrating20 Years in Business