SWIFTERDISC Replaced DOWNLANDS after 17 Years of Work

The Farming and Trading Cooperative of Starosedlský Hrádek in in the Příbram District mostly works with BEDNAR agricultural technology in aggregation with John Deere tractors. The Cooperative owns ten BEDNAR machines so far. They purchased the first one in 2001, and the last one this spring. And what machines are they? What is their experience? You can learn a lot of other information from ZOD Starosedlský Hrádek in this article.

ZOD Starosedlský Hrádek

The Farming and Trading Cooperative manages about 2,420 hectares,out of which 2,200 hectares are arable soil and 220 hectares are permanent grass. In addition to plant production, the business is also involved in animal production and electric power production from a biogas station. In their plant production, they mostly grow plants for their own animal production and for the operation of the biogas station. The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ing. Josef Žid, Ph.D.,told us about the current crop composition: “We have just harvested 300 ha of winter barley and 300 ha of oil seed rape. Then, we have 80 ha of alfalfa, 150 ha of spring barley, 550 ha of corn, 600 ha of wheat and several hectares of potatoes.”

New cowshed in ZOD Starosedlský Hrádek.

Part of the animal production in the new cowshed.

“We raise both cattle and pigs,” the Chairman adds. Currently, they have almost 1,640 cattle animals, out of which 580 are dairy cows, 300 heifers and 300 bulls for fattening. The rest are calves.The pigsty capacity is almost full. Out of the total possible number of 1,380 animals, the Cooperative now has 1,350 pigs. The Farming and Trading Cooperative continues to develop. Ing. Josef Žid, Ph.D., informed us about the development: “In 2009, we opened a new shop with pigs where we have 180 sows. Last year, we put our new cowshed into operation and we are now planning the construction of another one. We would like to increase the current capacity to 700 dairy cows.” The Cooperative also operates a biogas station with an output of 835 kW. The station consumes a large quantity of organic matter on a daily basis and its output is 98% on average. To achieve that, it is supplied with 40 m³of liquid manure, 17 tonnes of fresh cow dung, 12 tonnes of maize for silage and 8 tonnes of grass forage.

From the left: Ing. David Ryčland Ing. Josef Žid, Ph.D.,by the new SWIFTERDISC XO 8000 F disc cultivator.

The DOWNLANDS DH 6000 disc cultivator purchased by ZOD Starosedlský Hrádek in 2001.

Investment into Machine Equipment

The Cooperative regularly renews its agricultural technology. Last year, they made a large investment. They purchased the John Deere 8600 thrasher. Then, they had another smaller investment this year. Instead of the ageing DOWNLANDS DH 6000 disc cultivator, they purchased a SWIFTERDISC XO 8000 F. The Cooperative used DOWNLANDS until this years spring. The Chairman of the Board of Directors shared the reasons why they chose a SWIFTERDISC XO 8000 F: “I wanted to choose a simpler machine. Especially with regard to design. That's why I chose the SWIFTERDISC with a width of 8 m. The machine width is not the only advantage: it also breaks down and processes soil well. Naturally, it is easier to work with soil after stubble cultivation. One of the decisive factors was the opportunity to test the machine out in our conditions. Last year, we borrowed the SWIFTERDISC XO 6000 F disc cultivator and it worked great. That’s why we decided to purchase this machine with a width of 8 m.”

SWIFTERDISC XO 8000 F incorporates digestate.

The machine operator performs stubble cultivation at a speed of approx. 12 km/h.

BEDNAR on the Farm

The Cooperative in Starosedlský Hrádek works with 10 BEDNAR machines. They use three seedbed cultivators for quality seedbed preparation: namely a SWIFTER SO 8000 F, SWIFTER SO 7000 F and SWIFTER SO 6000 F. Furthermore, they use a MULCHER MZ 6000, three trailers and a manure spreader. The latest purchased machine is the SWIFTERDISC XO 8000 F disc cultivator that replaced the still functioning DOWLANDS DH 6000 with a width of 6 m, used for 17 years without interruption.

The rear packer, consisting of three overlapping parts, provides perfect levelling of the field.

SWIFTERDISC XO 8000 F disc cultivator with a width of 8 m performs fast and cheap stubble cultivation at 12 cm.

Cooperation with BEDNAR FMT

The cooperation started with STROM Export and it still continues. Ing. Josef Žid, Ph.D., says more: “I am completely satisfied, both with regard to service, which is very important for us, because the machine should be working in the field and not standing in a barn, or in the farmyard. Also availability of spare parts, service, communication and logistics between the company, or the cooperative, and BEDNAR. I would like to praise the logistics and our cooperation with regard to the operability of the machine.”

Ing. Zdeněk Souhrada, BEDNAR FMT s.r.o. [email protected] Marketing Specialist

GALLERY