• Great Plains Seeding
• Simba Great Plains Tillage

The Xpress Xcells

May 8, 2012

The three-metre Simba X-press compact disc harrow with cage roller was recently awarded the Tractor and Machinery Association’s 2012 Machine of the Year at FarmWorld for best unpowered machine. 

The TMA is a member-based industry established more than 40 years ago to represent the interests and developments of importers, manufacturers and sellers of agricultural machinery in Australia.

The award was sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank.

After seeing the capabilities of the Simba X-press, Victorian dealers Agrimac, with branches at Warrnambool, Ballarat, Hamilton and St Arnaud, signed up to supply the machines.

Agrimac Dealer Principal Hugh McEachern said within a week of taking on the Simba cultivator, they had sold two of them.

“They are well constructed and cleverly designed, with a unique ability to alter the angle of the disc gangs.  That’s the reason we took them on and we’re getting very positive feedback on them,” he said.

Steve Robertson, National Sales Manager for Simba Great Plains products at PFG Australia, said the Simba’s adaptability provided many practical advantages for the farmer.

“The success of the Simba X-press is down to the fact you can adjust it to suit different conditions and create a well-cultivated, level seedbed instead of having to compromise on what you can achieve,” he said.

The Simba’s individually mounted, 500mm-diameter cultivation discs have 250mm spacing on both front and rear gangs.

ProActive disc units provide cushioning protection against stone damage.  The chrome vanadium steel mounts have a trip height of 120mm for improved ground following whilst maintaining a consistent depth. 

Both the front and rear disc gangs are fully adjustable between 0-25 degrees.  An acute angle will produce maximum mixing of stubble in one pass.  Shallow gang angling will chop down ploughing and avoid turning the furrow again.

Mr Robertson said the design provided massive clearance between both gangs of discs and the roller, allowing the X-press to deal with high trash levels.

“If the machine does block, you can easily adjust the disc angle to allow the trash to flow freely and keep you on schedule.  With other types of multi-disc machines, you’d have to make another plan for the paddock because they cannot adjust their disc angle.

“Changing the angle allows you to vary how aggressively the soil is worked.  These machines really can dig in very tough conditions and you can fine tune the finish to whatever you need,” he said. 

“The weight of the machine is also an important factor because it can reduce the number of passes you make over the paddocks.”

By adding a five-tine ST tool bar onto the front of the Simba X-press, the machine becomes a one-pass cultivator which can restructure the soil, taking out compaction down to 25cm and removing damage caused by harvest traffic.

The ST bar has staggered loosening tines that work down to 200mm.  The tines are followed by the working discs on the X-press harrow which create a fine surface tilth, and then the cage roller consolidates and weatherproofs the ground.

“The X-press and ST bar combination is ideal for canola production,” Mr Robertson said.  “The points are specially designed to last longer than other ST points, increasing your cost saving per hectare.  And the overall price of the X-press with the addition of the cage roller instead of a DD roller is another reason to take a look at these machines.”