Shane Beattie, alongside his father Trevor and uncle Maurice, runs a mixed livestock and tillage farming enterprise near Nurney, Co Kildare.
With a profound interest in tillage farming, after his studies at Kildalton college, Shane returned home farming full time in 2018.
Over 700 acres of cereals and beans are grown, a large proportion of which tend to be winter crops. Alongside this, the Beatties keep 250 acres in grass, destined for haylage and sold on to nearby stud farms.
Since coming home full time, Shane has been keen to push on the family farm in terms of performance, all the while making it and the processes involved more efficient. Implementing better crop rotations has been one successful change.
At the moment around 40%of crops are sown using the Espro disc drill.
All operations are taken care of in-house from cultivations to sowing, as well as crop care and harvesting. All grass-related work is done by the team too.
Traditionally, all crops have been established using a plough-based method. Keen to reduce the farm’s reliance on continuous ploughing, Shane wanted to implement some form of minimum tillage and therefore looked into purchasing a disc drill. Being a young trained farmer, Shane qualified for the Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme (YFCIS) under TAMS II, so he applied for grant aid on a new disc drill.
Having secured grant aid, Shane and the lads set out to buy a suitable machine. After careful consideration, delivery was taken of a new Kuhn Espro 3000 for the 2022 planting season.
Why Kuhn?
Going back years, the family has a history of running Kuhn one-pass drills and Overum ploughs. Taking a sabbatical, an Amazone one-pass was used from 2012 to 2020 before returning to a proven Kuhn Venta 3010 machine.
Since then, the Espro disc drill and a Kuhn Vari-Master plough has entered the yard. Running short wheel base Case IH Puma and Maxxum tractors, the largest of which is a Puma 165, Shane wanted a trailed disc drill to suit the horsepower he had available. “Although a mounted disc drill was an option, I much preferred the trailed setup,” Shane said.
“It removed the weight from the tractor’s linkage and rear axle, meaning better weight distribution and allowed more room for material to flow between each of the toolbars.” Ignoring the fact that he already had a Kuhn Venta one-pass on the farm, Shane looked closely at the machines available on the market. In the end, the Kuhn Espro stood out from the rest, mainly down to the fact that it was the lightest and most straightforward machine within its class.
“Weight was important considering we wanted it to suit our Puma 150 or 165. The Espro had the very same metering unit as our Venta drill too, keeping things simple.” These reasons, combined with the proximity of local dealer, EV Condell, played a role in the Beatties’ decision to stick with the French manufacturer.
The drill is controlled with the CCI 800 Isobus terminal and CCI A3 joystick.
The drill
The Espro is Kuhn’s trusted universal trailed seed drill designed to work on stubbles, after initial cultivations or on ploughed ground all while offering a low horsepower requirement.
Like most drills, it is offered with or without a split hopper for companion cropping or for the application of fertiliser along with seed. “We stuck with a standard grain-only tank for one simple reason: purely because we feel a drill is too costly of a machine to have corrode away with fertiliser.
“It’s not like a fertiliser spreader that can be simply washed after use,” Shane said.
The Espro range spans from 3m to 8m. Essentially, there are five tool bars to “till, tamp and seed” in the one pass. First up is an option of levelling paddles or front consolidation wheels, followed by two gangs of 460mm concaved discs running at alternate angles to mix the soil. The discs are equipped with sealed, maintenance free hubs. After the discs, there is a row of 900mm individual consolidation wheels which are positioned in a staggered manner to lower the overall power requirement.
The Crossflex coulter bar provides constant pressure and coulter penetration for even and accurate seed placement.
Next up is the coulter bar and rear finishing harrow to finish the seeding process. Both the levelling paddles and disc elements are hydraulically adjustable from the cab and lift in and out of sequence automatically at the headland.
With flexibility in mind, Shane opted for the front levelling paddles which, along with the disc harrow, does impressive work – better than he had initially expected it would do.
Being the smallest model in the Espro range also sees it fitted with a 2,500l seed hopper which Shane says holds 1,500kg of seed. Getting down to the coulters, Kuhn offers its Crossflex double-disc coulter setup as standard. Here two 350mm discs offset by 41mm and with bevelled edges cut the surface for even seed placement.
Kuhn says that the front disc can wear down to 32mm before needing to be replaced. Having only had experienced Suffolk coulters prior to the arrival of the Espro, the accuracy and evenness of crops was a noticeable benefit seen as a result of the double-disc setup.
“Our Venta is fitted with Suffolk coulters, purely because it was the machine in stock at the time and we saw value in it. The double-disc coulters have the edge when it comes to seed placement. You’d see it when the crops come up. They’re more even,” Shane said.
The press wheel-controlled coulter design allows for a quick following of the soil contours at high speeds. The small press wheel on the back helps controls the depth of the sowing coulters, while the actual depth of the machine is controlled by spacer clips on the hydraulic ram raising it in and out of work.
Being a ‘grain-only’ drill, sees one single metering unit and distribution head. This VistaFlow system allows Shane to select his tramlines from the cab as well as shut off the drill in two 1.5m sections. The distribution head is also equipped with blockage sensors which in such an event will light up red to show the exact valve in question. However, he said that a blockage has yet to be encountered.
There are 20 seed coulters, offering a 15cm row spacing and high individual downwards pressures to ensure even seed placement regardless of the terrain.
Behind each double disc and coulter is a following press wheel which is designed to gently close and press the seed into the furrow created by the discs, before the coulters. Each disc and following press wheel are fitted with a scraper to prevent clogging.
Although Isobus-ready, Shane’s machine is controlled via a CCI 800 terminal and CCI A3 joystick. The layout and usability of the terminal is another major selling point for Shane.
Trailed vs one-pass
Now in his fourth planting season with the Espro drill, Shane feels that it has brought about many benefits, including increased output and versatility.
“Buying the Espro opened up a number of options for us. While it won’t completely replace the one-pass, it leaves us less reliant on it. Right now, the one-pass is sowing about 60% of the crops while the disc drill does the remainder. We aren’t completely min-till, and probably won’t be.
“Ploughing still plays a huge role. It’s more rotational ploughing, once in every three years, weather dependent.”
“We’ve used the Espro on ploughed ground after one run of the disc and it has done lovely work. However, on the shoulders of the year, with stickier conditions, the one pass comes into its own.
“But, from a labour and efficiency perspective, the Espro wins, hands down. I could go and grub 40 acres and then drill it with the Espro in the one day. That sort of output isn’t achievable with the plough and one pass with one operator.
“On a good day, 70 to 80 acres is achievable with the Espro, averaging around 12km/h compared to 40 acres with the one pass,” he said.
Fuel consumption is another major selling point of the Espro, Shane pointed out.
“One day I travelled to sow 40 acres in Naas with the Espro. Including the travel, I burnt 170 litres which breaks down to 4.25l/acre. The same job with the one-pass burns about 8.5l/acre which is a significant increase, not to mention the additional time it took.”
The 350mm double discs have a 41mm offset and bevelled edge to penetrate soil efficiently.
Verdict
“I’m more than happy with both the Kuhn drills. The Espro has allowed us to futureproof our business and increase output. Calibration is easy and is always bang on accurate.
“Without the TAMS grant aid, it wouldn’t have been feasible to have the luxury of a trailed disc drill alongside the one-pass. Now that the workload is shared between the two machines, we’ll likely run the one-pass on for a good few more years.
“What I like most about both drills is that they’re among the lightest in their class, providing we don’t run massive horsepower tractors – we don’t see the need to. Design and built quality can’t be faulted with either machine too. Taking all into account, including service, I don’t think we’d be for changing anytime soon,” Shane said.
Likes:
• Lightweight
• Running costs
• Accuracy
Dislikes:
• Xxxxx
Specs:
Model: Espro 3000.Working width: 3m.Number of rows: 20 (15cm spacing).Coulter: Double disc.Metering system: Electric.Hopper capacity: 2,500l.Starting price: €88,500 plus VAT.
Shane Beattie, alongside his father Trevor and uncle Maurice, runs a mixed livestock and tillage farming enterprise near Nurney, Co Kildare.
With a profound interest in tillage farming, after his studies at Kildalton college, Shane returned home farming full time in 2018.
Over 700 acres of cereals and beans are grown, a large proportion of which tend to be winter crops. Alongside this, the Beatties keep 250 acres in grass, destined for haylage and sold on to nearby stud farms.
Since coming home full time, Shane has been keen to push on the family farm in terms of performance, all the while making it and the processes involved more efficient. Implementing better crop rotations has been one successful change.
At the moment around 40%of crops are sown using the Espro disc drill.
All operations are taken care of in-house from cultivations to sowing, as well as crop care and harvesting. All grass-related work is done by the team too.
Traditionally, all crops have been established using a plough-based method. Keen to reduce the farm’s reliance on continuous ploughing, Shane wanted to implement some form of minimum tillage and therefore looked into purchasing a disc drill. Being a young trained farmer, Shane qualified for the Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme (YFCIS) under TAMS II, so he applied for grant aid on a new disc drill.
Having secured grant aid, Shane and the lads set out to buy a suitable machine. After careful consideration, delivery was taken of a new Kuhn Espro 3000 for the 2022 planting season.
Why Kuhn?
Going back years, the family has a history of running Kuhn one-pass drills and Overum ploughs. Taking a sabbatical, an Amazone one-pass was used from 2012 to 2020 before returning to a proven Kuhn Venta 3010 machine.
Since then, the Espro disc drill and a Kuhn Vari-Master plough has entered the yard. Running short wheel base Case IH Puma and Maxxum tractors, the largest of which is a Puma 165, Shane wanted a trailed disc drill to suit the horsepower he had available. “Although a mounted disc drill was an option, I much preferred the trailed setup,” Shane said.
“It removed the weight from the tractor’s linkage and rear axle, meaning better weight distribution and allowed more room for material to flow between each of the toolbars.” Ignoring the fact that he already had a Kuhn Venta one-pass on the farm, Shane looked closely at the machines available on the market. In the end, the Kuhn Espro stood out from the rest, mainly down to the fact that it was the lightest and most straightforward machine within its class.
“Weight was important considering we wanted it to suit our Puma 150 or 165. The Espro had the very same metering unit as our Venta drill too, keeping things simple.” These reasons, combined with the proximity of local dealer, EV Condell, played a role in the Beatties’ decision to stick with the French manufacturer.
The drill is controlled with the CCI 800 Isobus terminal and CCI A3 joystick.
The drill
The Espro is Kuhn’s trusted universal trailed seed drill designed to work on stubbles, after initial cultivations or on ploughed ground all while offering a low horsepower requirement.
Like most drills, it is offered with or without a split hopper for companion cropping or for the application of fertiliser along with seed. “We stuck with a standard grain-only tank for one simple reason: purely because we feel a drill is too costly of a machine to have corrode away with fertiliser.
“It’s not like a fertiliser spreader that can be simply washed after use,” Shane said.
The Espro range spans from 3m to 8m. Essentially, there are five tool bars to “till, tamp and seed” in the one pass. First up is an option of levelling paddles or front consolidation wheels, followed by two gangs of 460mm concaved discs running at alternate angles to mix the soil. The discs are equipped with sealed, maintenance free hubs. After the discs, there is a row of 900mm individual consolidation wheels which are positioned in a staggered manner to lower the overall power requirement.
The Crossflex coulter bar provides constant pressure and coulter penetration for even and accurate seed placement.
Next up is the coulter bar and rear finishing harrow to finish the seeding process. Both the levelling paddles and disc elements are hydraulically adjustable from the cab and lift in and out of sequence automatically at the headland.
With flexibility in mind, Shane opted for the front levelling paddles which, along with the disc harrow, does impressive work – better than he had initially expected it would do.
Being the smallest model in the Espro range also sees it fitted with a 2,500l seed hopper which Shane says holds 1,500kg of seed. Getting down to the coulters, Kuhn offers its Crossflex double-disc coulter setup as standard. Here two 350mm discs offset by 41mm and with bevelled edges cut the surface for even seed placement.
Kuhn says that the front disc can wear down to 32mm before needing to be replaced. Having only had experienced Suffolk coulters prior to the arrival of the Espro, the accuracy and evenness of crops was a noticeable benefit seen as a result of the double-disc setup.
“Our Venta is fitted with Suffolk coulters, purely because it was the machine in stock at the time and we saw value in it. The double-disc coulters have the edge when it comes to seed placement. You’d see it when the crops come up. They’re more even,” Shane said.
The press wheel-controlled coulter design allows for a quick following of the soil contours at high speeds. The small press wheel on the back helps controls the depth of the sowing coulters, while the actual depth of the machine is controlled by spacer clips on the hydraulic ram raising it in and out of work.
Being a ‘grain-only’ drill, sees one single metering unit and distribution head. This VistaFlow system allows Shane to select his tramlines from the cab as well as shut off the drill in two 1.5m sections. The distribution head is also equipped with blockage sensors which in such an event will light up red to show the exact valve in question. However, he said that a blockage has yet to be encountered.
There are 20 seed coulters, offering a 15cm row spacing and high individual downwards pressures to ensure even seed placement regardless of the terrain.
Behind each double disc and coulter is a following press wheel which is designed to gently close and press the seed into the furrow created by the discs, before the coulters. Each disc and following press wheel are fitted with a scraper to prevent clogging.
Although Isobus-ready, Shane’s machine is controlled via a CCI 800 terminal and CCI A3 joystick. The layout and usability of the terminal is another major selling point for Shane.
Trailed vs one-pass
Now in his fourth planting season with the Espro drill, Shane feels that it has brought about many benefits, including increased output and versatility.
“Buying the Espro opened up a number of options for us. While it won’t completely replace the one-pass, it leaves us less reliant on it. Right now, the one-pass is sowing about 60% of the crops while the disc drill does the remainder. We aren’t completely min-till, and probably won’t be.
“Ploughing still plays a huge role. It’s more rotational ploughing, once in every three years, weather dependent.”
“We’ve used the Espro on ploughed ground after one run of the disc and it has done lovely work. However, on the shoulders of the year, with stickier conditions, the one pass comes into its own.
“But, from a labour and efficiency perspective, the Espro wins, hands down. I could go and grub 40 acres and then drill it with the Espro in the one day. That sort of output isn’t achievable with the plough and one pass with one operator.
“On a good day, 70 to 80 acres is achievable with the Espro, averaging around 12km/h compared to 40 acres with the one pass,” he said.
Fuel consumption is another major selling point of the Espro, Shane pointed out.
“One day I travelled to sow 40 acres in Naas with the Espro. Including the travel, I burnt 170 litres which breaks down to 4.25l/acre. The same job with the one-pass burns about 8.5l/acre which is a significant increase, not to mention the additional time it took.”
The 350mm double discs have a 41mm offset and bevelled edge to penetrate soil efficiently.
Verdict
“I’m more than happy with both the Kuhn drills. The Espro has allowed us to futureproof our business and increase output. Calibration is easy and is always bang on accurate.
“Without the TAMS grant aid, it wouldn’t have been feasible to have the luxury of a trailed disc drill alongside the one-pass. Now that the workload is shared between the two machines, we’ll likely run the one-pass on for a good few more years.
“What I like most about both drills is that they’re among the lightest in their class, providing we don’t run massive horsepower tractors – we don’t see the need to. Design and built quality can’t be faulted with either machine too. Taking all into account, including service, I don’t think we’d be for changing anytime soon,” Shane said.
Likes:
• Lightweight
• Running costs
• Accuracy
Dislikes:
• Xxxxx
Specs:
Model: Espro 3000.Working width: 3m.Number of rows: 20 (15cm spacing).Coulter: Double disc.Metering system: Electric.Hopper capacity: 2,500l.Starting price: €88,500 plus VAT. 
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