While the science of farming continues to add to the farmer’s chances of producing good crops each year, it is also vitally important to remember the basics that brought success in years gone by – the kinds of basics that now seem like simple common sense. Take aeration, for instance. The idea of opening up the soil a little to allow life-promoting air in seems perfectly obvious when you think about it.
Oxygen is as important under the surface as it is above – and it’s not just that celebrated gas we should be thinking about. Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and other vital nutrients stand a better chance of adding their contribution to the underground magic if the soil is well aerated and has a bit of looseness in which these important elements can have a chance to work.
Then there is the matter of penetration and growth: as roots begin to do their stuff, they naturally need to reach out, and well-aerated soil gives them the chance to move. If your soil is not aerated, everything down there is constricted, and that is not what nature needs.
Fortunately, there are aerator machines to help, and while they may not look like the most sophisticated pieces of kit in the agricultural world, a good one can do the elementary job superbly and produce stupendous results.
The Importance of Strength and Quality in an Aerator
When you think of the tonnes of soil we’re dealing with, plus the weight of the farm machinery that routinely presses down as it passes, not to mention the subtle but ever-present force of gravity, it is clear that man-made machinery has got its work cut out, so it is essential to equip yourself with tools that are up to the job. You are essentially going to be poking pieces of steel through a hardened surface and a highly-resistant layer of compacted earth, so this is no place for cutting corners in terms of strength and durability – not if you want to be able to do it again next year and the foreseeable future with the same piece of equipment.
You need the finest materials, state-of-the-art design and the best engineering – and if you can get all this from an Australian company, so much the better. Everything from high wear-resistant tines to large capacity greaseable rotor bearings need to be taken into account, along with the parts that are often taken for granted: the infrastructure that holds the working parts in place and attaches the aerator to the tractor. You need a chain with no weak links, an assembly in which every part stands with its fellows to get its own humble part done and achieve the overall aim.
Why Australian? Because this country produces fine agricultural steel to back up its pedigree as a place with an impressive work ethic. As a bonus, if you’re dealing with an Australian firm, your spare parts don’t have far to travel -and when you need these things, you tend to need them in a hurry, because they go when the work is being done, not in some convenient off-season. All of which points to us at Agrifarm Implements.
