AN Aberdeenshire farming family has witnessed massive improvements in their arable enterprise since introducing min-till drilling to their farm two years ago and believe their crops look better than ever, with inputs and man hours significantly reduced.

The Milne family, Alex, his father Sandy and son Ross, farm at Meikle Gourdas, Fyvie, near Turriff, and farm 1400 acres between two units and contract farm land on the local estate. They grow 960 acres of cereals, most of which is spring barley for malting and fatten 1000 cattle per year and 1200 lambs.

The Scottish Farmer:

Three generations of Milnes - Ross, Alex and Sandy - pictured with their Springer Spaniel, Barley.

“In 2009, we made a switch from conventional tillage to min-till and since then, we’ve never looked back,” began Alex, who previously used a Simba Xpress cultivator and Horsch Pronto drill, but now uses the Mzuri Pro-Til Select.

“Since stopping ploughing, we’ve saved on plough metal costs, man hours and fuel and we’re not wasting energy breaking up the soil. We’re farming heavy land here and working with steep hills, so we were finding it hard to get up the hills and get through all the work in the winter. It was difficult to break down the ground and we were never getting the correct seed bed.”

Alex continued: “Our 4m Mzuri drill has done two springs with us now and we’ve saved so much time, cut costs and improved the condition of the soil and fields. One man and one tractor do the whole job – the seed is drilled directly into stubble; the field is then rolled, and we can quite happily shut the gate after.”

Initially, the Milnes knew little about the Mzuri system but were given the chance of a demo in 2016. Having moved to a min-till system so many years before, they were always ready to take the next step into direct drilling and when the first two hectares was sown with the demo two years ago, the product sold to them right away.

While input costs have decreased for the Milnes, the family reckoned that better moisture retention and the wider row spacing which in turn has resulted in better light interception, have been key to this year’s success in the field.

“The crops have conserved moisture better and the crops have stayed greener for longer. The strip approach to the field has meant that the sun can get into the gaps between the rows of the crops which results in more light interception and better air flow,” explained Alex, who added that the 4m Mzuri has a coulter spacing of 36 cm.

“We’re using fewer chemicals because of the air flow and have cut fertiliser rates as we’re applying the fertiliser exactly where it is needed,” he added.

The first year the Milnes used the Mzuri, the fertiliser granules went two inches down into the soil and although this suited winter crops due to their longer growing season, they found both plant emergence and roots reaching the fertiliser was delayed in spring crops.

With that in mind, this year they opted to change to liquid fertiliser thanks to local sprayer and liquid fertiliser specialist, Craig Scott, of CT Scott, who fitted a stainless-steel front tank and liquid fertiliser conversion.

“The big advantage of the design is that liquid fertiliser can be directed right into the seed and allows it to become more active. It suits the environment better and gives the drill more capacity to hold seed,” said Alex, who added that because it’s been such a dry year, the liquid has really worked to their advantage.”

He continued: “The Mzuri is much kinder to the soil and we don’t have the soil erosion we once had. This certainly helps the combine travel better because the ground is a lot firmer and we don’t have these ongoing tracks in the field. This year’s spring was so difficult though, as the wet harvest and winter had left a lot of combine tracks and we were making a mess when going in to clear the bales off the field. This resulted in 50% of the land being cultivated with the Simba.”

The Milnes have also found that they’re keeping the best of the sandy soil on top and they’re able to spread muck on the surface and still drill through. In turn, worm count has rapidly increased, which helps move the muck through the soil.

“I feel we’ve spent two or three decades ruining the soil here, so we need to spend time getting it back into a natural state with fertility, natural drainage and a good worm count. This system is repairing the soil back to what it should be and leaves a nice tilth on top,” commented Alex.

A unique feature included in the Mzuri is that the coulters and the subsoilers lift where the tramlines are which leaves a hard line for sprayers. The boys find this beneficial for spring time and especially when applying the first top dress application. Alex said: “Why break up a product and make tracks – you’re better to keep the ground firm.”

The Mzuri has also allowed the Milnes to direct drill cereals into grass ley fields after its been sprayed off with round up. This gives a much better turnaround from the old grass to a new sward and after two years of doing so, they’ve had no leather jacket activity. They reckon the Mzuri is the only drill in the market which can do a good job of direct drilling cereals into previous grass leys.

George Buchan, area sales manager for Mzuri said: “The Mzuri drill has been tried and tested by the maker and proves that direct drilling leaves minimal disturbance to the ground. We’ve had a lot interest already for the product, but it’s getting the farmer’s mind set to change.

“A fact that must be pointed out, though, is that you don’t have to be working a min-till system for so many years before introducing the Mzuri. If you were originally working a plough-based system and then used the Mzuri the following year, it would work just as effectively.”

He added: “Although there is only a handful in Scotland, more than 100 units have been exported to Poland this year, with around 20 to 30 units in total sold in the UK. The Mzuri is comparable with similar products on the market – it wouldn’t cost anymore than others, especially when your saving on input costs and man hours.”

While there can be no doubting that this drill has won over the three generations at Meikle Gourdas, with the Milnes having already sold their plough, Alex stressed that the next stage is getting other farmer customers’ mindsets changed.

“We do a bit of contracting in the local area, direct sowing oilseed rape with the Simba Xpress drill and seed hopper and we’ve found this has been an ideal system to allow other farmers to gain confidence in min-till farming.

“In an era like today, farmers should be moving towards machines which have lower running costs and that are less labour intensive,” he concluded.

The Mzuri comes in four models – the 3m, 4m and 6m trailed and the basic mounted 3m machine, with prices ranging from £45,000 to £124,000.