Aitchison's Innovative Seedmatic

Nov 24, 2022    Posted by Brittany Cunningham

AITCHISON’S INNOVATIVE SEEDMATIC ‘DOES A GREAT JOB ON A ROUGHER PADDOCK

For more than 50 years farmers have enjoyed the remarkable innovations and efficiencies of Aitchison machinery. Famous for designing and making products tailored to Australian conditions, Aitchison’s drills lead the way in seed delivery, contour following ability and ease of calibration, resulting in the perfect environment for germination.  

The Seedmatic range of tine drills require little maintenance, delivering uniform plant emergence with optimum yields at lower costs. Aitchison’s seed and fertiliser models all feature 5” row spacings and come in three sowing widths, 2.5m, 3.0m and up to 3.5m. These machines will comfortably work to fully establish a new product in cultivated ground or bulk up and renovate existing pasture. 

Often used as direct drills with reduced passes to establish new crops, the Seedmatic series features a 14" disc coulter kit up front, reinforced and stronger stepped axles and pivots and a seed box / fertiliser box capacity from 450 litres to 630 litres.  Aitchison’s unique sponge seed distribution system allows the user to gently meter all types and size of seed, be it large or small, at low or high rates.   

Then there’s the legendary Aitchison tungsten tipped inverted “T” boot, mounted on the same coil spring as the renowned AirPro.  The disc coulter undercarriage is standard on all Seedmatic machines, cutting through residual plant matter ahead of the “T” boot.

One Victorian farmer who switched to Aitchison is Russell Wheeler. He and his family farm on 2000 acres at Rochester with a mixture of dairy, hay and silage operations. He purchased his Aitchison Seedmatic 4124CT last year. 

“We bought it new last season,” says Russell. “My brother has one and we used it a bit, which made us go with Aitchison, but we got the bigger model. We’ve got the horsepower with our Deutz tractors so we could go a little bit bigger. That said, our property is fully irrigated, plus the guys have to go through gates, so manoeuvrability of the machine is important, too. 

“We over-sow 1500 acres of rye grass every year and then it goes into cropping. We sow all of our crops, so we’ve got a disc machine and the Seedmatic. We wanted a machine that was going to plough a bit, which is the difference between a disc and a T-boot; it breaks up the soil. It does a great job on a rougher paddock, levelling it off and smoothing it out, and it’s an easy machine to use.” 

At the rear of the Seedmatic, Aitchison has fitted a large tread board and safety rails, while both the seeding and fertiliser box lids feature pneumatic stays as standard to assist with opening and closing. Other standard features include LED lighting, rodent stop and a tow hitch.

“When we’ve got two combines going we seed about 80 acres a day,” says Russell. “Both seeders do the same job, but the Seedmatic is designed to rip and tear the ground a bit, whereas the other simply cuts and sows.  The width of the seedbed is important and the Seedmatic has 5 inch spacings, so the cow grass seed or sheep grass seed is close together, which is what we’re after.” 

If your seeding application needs a boost, turn to Aitchison, a manufacturer synonymous with innovation in environmentally sustainable, zero tillage seeding and soil management equipment. Competitors may imitate but Aitchison remains the original – and the best.  

For more information on the Aitchison range call 1800 335 623 or visit Aitchison Range.