High Speed, German-Built Disc Harrow

High Speed German-Built Disc Harrow TILLAGE EUIPMENT Harrows “It mixes soil and residue better than any other disk harrow on the market and leaves the ground nice and smooth ” says Jim Balstad sales and marketing manager for the new Lemken Rubin 9 disc harrow It was on display at the recent Big Iron Show in West Fargo N Dak The German-built tillage tool has been used in Europe for about 10 years and in Canada for a few years but is just now entering the U S market It’s available in widths up to 40 ft and is designed to operate at speeds up to 11 mph The Rubin 9 features 2 rows of individually attached 24 1/2-in dia concave discs set at different angles and mounted on individual arms The discs have a dual angle built into them as they’re angled 17 degrees from parallel to the direction of travel and 20 degrees from vertical to the ground This combination guarantees intensive mixing across the full working width at depths as shallow as 3 in says the company “The dual angle of the discs is unique and is key to the performance of the machine They’re the most aggressive disc cutting angles on the market ” says Balstad “At a 3- in or greater working depth the discs will cover every inch of the entire profile of the soil Compared to conventional disk harrows this machine does a better job of sizing and incorporating residue into the soil and also leaves a far smoother finish while breaking up clods into finer pieces ” A row of rebound harrows follows behind each row of coulters “The rebound harrows help break up clods and deflect residue back onto the ground so it can be worked over by the second row of discs There are several different manufacturers of compact harrows in Europe but Lemken is the only one with a rebound harrow ” says Bolstad Ring rollers at the back of the machine firm up the soil and push any residue down into it Balstad introduced the Rubin 9 in August 2012 and says customers have used it on everything from corn stalks to soybean residue to sugar beets and potato vines “Some farmers make one pass into corn stalks in the fall and one more in the spring for seedbed preparation before planting soybeans ” He says the machine’s high working speed results in better cutting and beating of plant material “When hitting obstacles such as rocks the unit’s individually attached concave discs can move upward independently of each other whereas on ordinary disc harrows half the machine will lift up ” The concave discs are attached individually using pre-tensioned spring elements “The springs ensure that optimal pressure is always maintained on the discs ” notes Balstad Retail prices for the Rubin 9 range from $20 000 for a 3-pt mounted 10-ft unit to $195 000 for a 40-ft pull-type unit Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Lemken USA Inc 1920 Queensbury St West Fargo N Dak 58078 ph 701 630-9154; balstad@lemken com; www lemken com

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