Serafin Pasture King seeder rolls in

Serafin Machinery says is new double-disc seeder is winning farmers over with its affordable pricing and narrow transport width, despite measuring six metres wide when in operation.

Ideal for pasture renovation and cereal cropping, the Serafin Pasture King was released last year but has just been updated with some modifications to its frame and row spacing.

Over the past year, Serafin says its Pasture King has won favour with contractors and dairy farmers in Victoria, northern NSW and the Riverina for its low maintenance, set-up options, constant seeding depth and trash-handling ability.

Featuring a working width of 5-7m, the seeder's narrow folding manoeuvrable frame results in a transport width of 3.2m.

The Pasture King has the ability to sow into compacted ground or soft sandy soils, and sports a rugged, durable and locally built, fully powdercoated 9mm RHS frame equipped with a hydraulic rolling bar for spring down pressure.

Narrow-row spacing
Serafin Machinery sales manager Rodney Dunn said grower feedback had resulted in modifications to the Pasture King this year to include six inch (15cm) narrow-row spacing.

Mr Dunn said the Pasture King was designed as a stepping stone for growers using the Semeato double-disc combine but has since grown from there.

The frames are manufactured locally by Collier and Miller in Griffith (NSW) and the double-disc row units are imported from Brazil, while the air seeder boxes are by Gason.

"There are a lot of customers who use the double-disc Semeato and really like to have a nice, narrow spacing with accurate seed depth, sow into a lot of trash and have good stubble handling ability," Mr Dunn said.

"But the Semeato is limited to 5.5m and we have had a lot of clients say they want something easy to work on, a wider machine with an air seeder box that's easy to calibrate. Hence the concept of the Pasture King was born.

"The stubble handling and ground following ability on the Pasture King is outstanding – it excels in undulating ground and rocky conditions.

"Like the single disc, they are all independently depth controlled – the double disc gives the ability of up to 350mm of vertical travel per unit so it will ride up over rocks and undulating ground quite effectively without altering the seed depth of the next unit.

Positive feedback
"The feedback so far has been excellent – it comes in a little cheaper than some of the other double-disc air-seeder options on a 6m configuration.

Mr Dunn said six units had been sold to date with a further four under manufacture.

It is fitted with a Tatu double disc opener with 15 inch (30cm) discs.

"We have been bringing in Tatu row units for a long time for our linkage bars and using those for row crop work – they are a similar opener to the Semeato design with the long triple spring and the closing wheel at the back," Mr Dunn said.

Row spacing on the Pasture King ranges from 155 to 300mm.

"We are aiming this machine at the pasture market so we keep the row spacing on six inches (15cm) unless it's a specialised custom build," Mr Dunn said.

"However, we have done spacing out to 300mm in the past."

A depth ring on the side of the disc provides leading seed placement accuracy, from 15 to 60mm.

Myriad set-up options
"With a disc seeder in general, there are a few more set-up options available compared to a standard tyne machine," said Mr Dunn.

"The closing wheel can be moved in or out depending whether it is hard of soft soil, and the down pressure and scraper positions are easily adjusted.

"With the double disc unit, the rolling bar lifts the unit up and down and also compacts the main triple spring so the top link can be used to increase or decrease the down pressure."

Weight distribution on the Pasture King is achieved by single row-mounted units, reducing pressure on the tractor linkage.

"Some machines have the air seeder box towards the tractor with the row units at the back so they are effectively behind the main drive wheels," said Mr Dunn.

"We find that is putting a lot of weight on the back of the tractor – we decided to reduce the amount of weight on the back of the linkage by moving the air box to the back of the frame so the weight is taken over the back wheels.

"Keeping it short on one row and having that air box positioned correctly has resulted in 2.5 tonnes of weight on the back of the tractor, compared to 4-5 tonnes in other machines.

"It means a smaller horsepower tractor can be used on the Pasture King.

"For a 6m, 38-row on 15cm spacings, 150hp would be quite comfortable."

Flexible application
The Pasture King can also handle sowing on beds, row crop sowing for rice or on wider row spacings for winter cereals, coupled with uniform seed placement.

Mr Dunn said the long triple spring design gave the flexibility of running the same down pressure on the top of the bed as well as in the furrow simply by adjusting the spring rod.

Pasture King is fitted with a Gason 3200-litre twin bin with a 50/50 split while a 2200-litre option is also available, as well as a 380-litre small seeds box.

It is run through a Farmscan 7500 controller or alternatively, a John Deere, Trimble or Top Con ISO terminal.

Maintenance is down to two greasing points on the unit at the front pivot and the back closing wheel.

The disc hub is fully sealed with quality bearings and with the optional pivot upgrade, maintenance will be reduced further to only one greasing point per unit.

Optional extras include air diffusers, a rear tow hitch for liquid carts, blockage monitors, rear pivot upgrade, and an ISO controller instead of the Farmscan 7500.

The Serafin Pasture King double disc seeder will be on display at the Agquip (August 22-24) and Henty (September 19-21) machinery field days, with prices starting at $145,000 plus GST.

For more information contact Rodney Dunn on 0459 755 881.

Serafin Pasture King specifications
Sowing width: 5-7m
Row spacing: 155-300mm
Transport dimensions: 3m width, 3.5m height
Type of row units: Tatu double disc with long triple spring, cast closing wheel
Frame: 200 x 200 x 9.5mm wing frame with 200 x 100 x 9.5mm chassis
Depth control: Depth control ring on side of double disc, sizes vary from 15, 25, 40 and 60mm
Air box: Gason 1230lM, 3200 litre two bin with 50/50 split (standard fitment)