As the harvest got underway, the company „Dotnuva Baltic“ organised a spectacular Big Field Day in the Šiauliai region, culminating months of agricultural machinery demonstrations. Farmers gathered in the fields of Egidijus Averlingis' farm for a chance to discuss and try out new machinery innovations and to have some fun.

In a few hours, they demonstrated almost the entire plant care cycle  

The field day demonstrated virtually the entire cycle of plant care and plant care by the farmer, from sowing and spraying to harvesting, hay bales and stubble management.

The harvester „Case IH 7150“ with „MacDon“ 7,5 m wide flexible belt mower was presented to the audience.

According to Paul Račiūnas, Product Manager at „Dotnuva Baltic“, the 150 series is available with up to 8.5 m cutterbar.

„Single rotor technology „grain to grain“, with efficient, minimal damage to the grain, allows clean cutting of all crops even in the most difficult conditions. And its design, with only a few belts and chains, makes it extremely easy to operate“, – said P. Račiūnas.

More impressive was the „Case IH 9250“ with „MacDon“ as much as 12.5 m of flexible belt mowing. The 250 Series „Case IH“ combine harvesters are the most popular models of the brand, equipped with 9.1 & 13.7 m of cutterbar.

The Harvest Command automatic threshing system will help any level of operator to achieve the required productivity and quality.

The field day also showcased other equipment such as the belt round baler „Case IH RB 455 RC“, the square bale baler „Case IH LB434“, the telescopic handler „Case IH Farmlift 742“, and other technology and tools.

SUMO – these are not strong Japanese wrestlers. It's a British drill

One of the more interesting highlights was the launch of the SUMO DTS, a UK-built 6 metre wide band drill. Since 1 July, „Dotnuva Baltic“ has partnered with the SUMO brand, which supplies drills from 3 to 9 metres in working width, capable of working in a wide range of conditions.

„Today we have shown how the drill works in a winter barley field. It is clear that they require even less tractor power than other drill manufacturers," said Mindaugas Dikšaitis, product manager at „Dotnuva Baltic“, stressing that less horsepower is also needed because of the design of the drill.

The 45 cm diameter „notched“ front disc cuts the straw, opening the way for the carbide-coated tine to work the soil. This is followed by the „winged“ coulter, which inserts the seed, and the row is covered by the rear discs. The coulter itself can be of different types, depending on the crop to be sown and the needs of the farmer. Fertiliser and seed are spread in the same row.

On field day, the 6 metre drill (with a 3 600 litre hopper) was pulled by a 400 hp Case IH tractor, although 350 hp would have been sufficient.

The working depth of the drill tine can be adjusted up to 25 cm as required. The single or double coulters insert the seed into the soil. The DTS is available with a choice of coulter options to suit the crop and the rate

This drill, like many other machines, can be rented through „Dotnuva Rent“. „We come, we sow and the farmer just has to watch his fields“, – said M. Dikšaitis.

For farmers on a more sustainable path, SUMO strip and direct drills can be a unique way to reduce ploughing and become more productive. We need to work quickly, efficiently and on time," concluded Mr Dikšaitis.

Not a demonstration, but real work

„This day is for our customers. After all, at exhibitions we meet where the beautiful, washed and polished machines are on display, and here we can get down on the ground, feel what these machines can do in the field," said Dangis Valaitis, Managing Director of UAB "Dotnuva Baltic", as he scraped the soil residue off a „Kvernel&&" implement with his hand.

With the tractor roaring in the background, Dangis Valaitis emphasised this added value.

„The aim of the Big Field Day is to show how combine harvesters thresh in the field, how tillage equipment works and to allow the customer to touch the soil when the equipment passes by, to see how deep we are working the land, how much we have lost after the combine, how the seed is placed if we are sowing with the drill, how it is pressed in and how it germinates or not. This is the biggest value for the customer when choosing new solutions," Valaitis said, stressing that you won't see this in an exhibition setting.

And indeed, when the SUMO drill passed by, at least 15 farmers rushed to see the result.

Every participant of the field day was able to get behind the wheel of a tractor or a sprayer and evaluate the most advanced farming solutions offered by „Dotnuva Baltic“.

Self-propelled sprayer „Agrifac Condor“ and drone race

The Big Field Day was crowned by a race between a drone „DJI T50“ and a self-propelled sprayer „Agrifac Condor“, which of them will spray a 4 hectares of land more quickly and with better quality, for the first time in Lithuania.

Licence papers were set out in the field to give a clear indication of the advantages in terms of time, speed and quality of application.

It was interesting to watch the drone drawing lines from one edge of the field to the other, 3 metres above the field. It took 9 minutes to do so. 25 sec. The farmers wondered whether the strong winds on that day prevented the drone from working well. The drone was followed by the self-propelled sprayer „Agrifac Condor“, which sprayed the same field twice as fast – in 4 minutes. 30 sec.

Drones are clearly not yet a substitute for self-propelled machinery, although they can be indispensable and can do the job to a very high quality in specific conditions, where the terrain is difficult and the area is not very large.

In this case, where the field has relatively small terrain transitions and is large enough, the „Agrifac Condor“ sprayer does its job perfectly. In addition, the abundance of intelligent technologies that allow the operator to adjust various parameters makes this self-propelled sprayer one of the best on the market.