Sowing season 2025. Crop summary

It has been a few weeks since we finished the sowing campaign, and we would like to summarise our crops and also take this opportunity to introduce you to our friend Nemesio's Gil seed drill.

Regarding the crops we sow, as we have mentioned on other occasions, we mainly rotate crops with pulse vegetables and some sunflowers. Pulse vegetables are working quite well for us because they are inexpensive to grow (mainly because they do not need fertiliser) and also leave very good stubble for the following year's cereal crop... hence why they are called soil-improving crops. We notice this especially with the yeros, which means that the barley for the following year is always slightly more advanced in its growth than ther fields that have not had yeros. The problem with yeros this year is the very low selling price (€170/tonne).

Another pulse crop that is performing very well is pardina and verdina (Ston) lentils. This type of lentil is not as delicate as the Castilian lentil, as it can be harvested with a combine harvester, and its selling price is quite attractive (around €600/tonne). This year we have also sown vetch, whose main challenge is harvesting, as it tends to stay very close to the ground… so we will tell you later how this crop turns out.

As for cereals, we continue to avoid wheat and focus on barley. We have been using Medinaceli barley for years with excellent results, but this year we were short on seed and sowed Záncara barley, which also yielded good results for many farmers in our village last year. Finally, we have sown some Rumboso triticale in areas with a high rabbit population… Some fields are seriously affected by rabbits, which cause significant damage.

We would also like to take advantage of this sowing-related post to introduce you to our friend Nemesio's Gil seed drill. What makes it special? As you can see, the hopper is mounted at the front of the tractor, while the rear only carries the sowing system. This has one main advantage: it allows you to use a high-capacity seed drill with a smaller tractor (Nemesio has the Fendt 314 Vario Profi+). As you know, seed drills (colloquially known as “octopuses”) usually require high-powered tractors to operate smoothly, especially when transporting them and when manoeuvring on slopes at the headlands. With this type of seed drill, a medium-power tractor works without any problems as the weight of the machine is distributed. It is a very good option!

Versión en español.

Seeding… with Tungsten Carbide

In several previous posts, we have already talked about the points and shares (wear parts in general) that use Tungsten Carbide and have delivered outstanding results in terms of durability. On more than one occasion, we have even explained how these wear parts are manufactured and how Tungsten Carbide plates are brazing to the critical wear areas. This seeding season, we have expanded the use of this material to the shares on our seed drill, and we would like to share our experience with you.  

Our friends at Bellota sent us some parts (15023 CP C1 DURATOP) to test on our seed drill, allowing us to compare them with standard shares. At the end of the seeding season, we will assess the wear on both types, but based on our experience, these parts will be practically everlasting for us.  

One of the key features we highlight in these seeder shares is their thickness, which is usually much thinner on standard models (in fact, this one weighs over 1 kg), as you can see in the image showing its technical specifications. In addition, the Tungsten Carbide plate is located in the most critical wear area, making it a very well-designed and well-manufactured wear part.

As you can see in the photos, they also sent us some points for our Ovlac cultivator. What makes them special, besides the use of Tungsten Carbide? The angle of attack to the soil is different… but we’ll talk about that in a future post.

Versión en español.

Smart Broch System

During the Christmas season and as the purple garlic sowing  campaign was coming to an end, we had the opportunity to visit a beautiful farm in Herencia (Ciudad Real) called ‘Casas de Vida’. Here, we witnessed the Spanish manufacturer Broch’s new garlic planter in action and explored their innovative Smart Broch system for machine control and management—a truly fascinating solution that we’ll explain in detail below.

Before we continue, we want to extend our gratitude to Antonio, his father, his brother and his sons for the warm hospitality they showed us during the morning we spent with them in their farm.

Regarding the garlic planter, it is a pneumatic machine that we have already covered in previous posts. However,  this version introduces many new features, which we’ll detail here. The most innovative aspect is the Smart Broch system—a machine management platform—which enables to have all the control from a tablet connected wirelessly (via Wi-Fi) to the machine. This allows operators to adjust configurations from the tractor cab and they can make the adjustment needed without stopping sowing, as well as seeing all the information from its multiple sensors ... all this is the Smart Broch system.

As shown in the video, this evolution takes the machine from a mechanical and analog system to a fully hydraulic and digitalized one. But how does this transformation work? Let’s break it down:

1. Hydraulic Transmission System. Replacing the traditional chain and sprocket system, the new hydraulic setup is controlled by three key sensors:
1. Machine speed sensor: Measures sowing speed.
2. Waterwheel speed sensor: Monitors the speed at which garlic is deposited before it’s placed in the soil.
3. Garlic clove sensor: Counts the number of cloves deposited in the ground.
2. GPS Receiver and Processing Software
1. Integrates sensor data and GPS positioning.
2. Wirelessly transmits machine information to a tablet, where specialized management software is installed.

From the tablet in the tractor cab, operators can access the following real-time information, categorized into three main sections:

• Machine Operation Control
• Working speed
• Pneumatic turbine revolutions
• Sowing density per row
• Geolocation and plants per meter
• Vibrator sensors
• Geolocation and Traceability
• Tracks and stores job records in the cloud.
• Alarm and Maintenance Systems
• Alerts to detect irregularities.
• Maintenance
• Predictive maintenance program to anticipate wear and prevent breakdowns.

Smart Broch system is truly impressive, offering real-time insights into the machine’s performance and ensuring the planting is carried out correctly.

One particularly useful example we observed was adjusting the plant density per meter—a critical factor in garlic planting. This adjustment was made seamlessly from the tablet, without stopping the sowing process, altering the working speed, or physically modifying the machine.

In conclusion, Smart Broch system represents a leap forward in agricultural technology, combining precision, efficiency, and user-friendly control to deliver.

Versión en español.