Farming News - HORSCH continues to focus on soil health at Cereals 2026

HORSCH continues to focus on soil health at Cereals 2026

Cereals 2026 will see HORSCH continue to focus on soil health as the driver for sustainable farming. From shallow and ultra-shallow cultivators to min-till, strip-till and direct drills, the guiding principle has always been on improving soil health by minimising soil disturbance. Features such a low-disturbance coulters and wider row spacings are part of this approach.
This allows the soil structure to develop, increasing the organic matter and earthworm population, and by association, capturing and managing carbon within the soil.
 
Direct drilling with wider row spacing
“The 25cm row spacing is proving popular with the very successful 12m Avatar model. Customers are reporting little to no detriment in yield in most crops, particularly in winter crops, yet lower input costs,” highlights Stephen Burcham, General Manager at Horsch UK.
 
HORSCH customer, Wright’s Agriculture carefully considered the move to an Avatar with 25cm spacing. “We wanted a 12m drill with discs and it needed to have the flexibility to work in varied conditions. We had reservations about the 25cm row spacings compared with our 12.5cm spacing on our previous 8m drills,” says Eric Wright.
 
“We wanted to plant all cereal and broad-leaved crops with the drill, although the crops look widely spaced when they first emerge, you can’t tell the difference by harvest. The crops had room to grow and because we’re only disturbing half the land we were before, we needed far less herbicide.”
 
The Avatar 8.25 SD, 9.25 SD, 10.25 SD and 12.25 SD offer 8-12m working widths respectively and feature the popular 25cm row spacing. The models feature a versatile triple tank system with a capacity of 6400 litres. The triple tank offers a 60:10:30 split in capacity while a double-tank option with a 60:40 split is also available.
 

A choice of disc or tine direct drilling

In addition to the disc Avatar, the Sprinter 12.25 SC tine drill offers 12m working width with a 3m transport width with a 4m transport height to make it even more manoeuvrable. It is equipped with a 6300-litre double hopper and will soon be available with a triple tank or additional MiniDrill options. The hopper design is based on that of the Avatar 8.25 and can apply up to four components. 

 

The tines of the Sprinter 12.25 SC are hydraulically pre-stressed, with a coulter pressure up to 180kg, and can be retracted for transport. They ensure a high clearance between frame and surface as well as between the seed coulters making them ideal for direct or mulch seeding. The tines are individually depth-controlled with a press wheel and the 3-bar tine section and 25cm tine spacing offers a straw-free and clod-free sowing horizon.

 

6m mounted drills with wider row spacing

The trailed Avatar and Sprinter models also have mounted siblings combined with a Partner FT front tank, offering farmers great flexibility and manoeuvrability, and retaining the wider spacing.

 

The 6m Avatar SL is designed for precise sowing in mulch seed conditions. The SL mounted model reduces tillage to a minimum yet works well in high amounts of straw residue, and in harder soils. Row spacings of 25cm or 30cm pave the way for mechanical weed control.

 

The 6m Sprinter 6.25 SL is ideal for working in wetter conditions and on light and medium soils. As with the Sprinter SC, the tines are individually depth-controlled with a press wheel and have 25cm tine spacings.