Taege AS 480 air seeder to be unveiled at Farm World

VISITORS to Farm World will be witness to an Australian “first” with the unveiling of the latest New Zealand-made Taege air seeder.

Reaching out: The Taege AS 480 will sow cereal crops and handle impressive sowing rates.

VISITORS to Farm World will be witness to an Australian “first” with the unveiling of the latest New Zealand-made Taege air seeder.

Released through Taege’s sole Australian distributor, Tooradin-based Gendore Group, the AS 480 fits into a range of seeders spanning 3m to 6m.

Though designed primarily for pasture renovation, the machine will also sow cereal crops and handle sowing rates anywhere from 600g per hectare for fine seed up to 200kg per hectare with fertiliser, all controlled from the tractor cabin.

Gendore Group managing director Derek Genoni said Taege built its 6m version first, “but in Australia 5m or thereabouts is a very popular size for machines of this kind”.

The Taege AS 480.

“A 6m machine requires considerable horsepower, but at 4.8m you get back to a power range where most farmers have a tractor to suit,” he said.

“There’s also the matter of transport width — we sell a lot of 3m models because they can be taken on the road without concern, but we can now offer the 4.8m which hydraulically folds to just 3.1m.

“Nearly every air seeder on the market uses a metering unit ultimately derived from the old Accord system, but Taege has totally redesigned its own and made it the most accurate and easiest to set of any.”

Mr Genoni said working speed over the paddock could be up to 25 per cent faster with a Taege.

“You can only do that if you have a machine that follows the contours,” he said.

The Taege AS 480.

“Taege’s patented flexible tine and vibrating tip are the secret contour following and tip penetration, creating exceptional tilth and therefore superior germination.

“The advantage of the 4.8m over, say, a rigid 4m machine, is that the gull wing pivoting of the side seeder bars allows such close following of uneven ground.”

The AS 480 employs 39 dual fertiliser and seed-delivering tines with 121mm spacings, 850-litre hoppers, fully-welded, hot-dipped galvanised frame and brackets and a Phasing Ram system for even planting depths.

An optional small seed, slug bait or micro-granule third hopper is also available.

Price for the AS 480 is $89,775 (+ GST). For details, visit gendore.com.au, or go to site K2 at Lardner Park.