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neering, provide more insight into the common mistakes pro-
ducers make with their tillage machines.
The first and foremost mistake of all is the lack of operator
training. Farm workers are the workers that are central to the
productivity and success of any farm. By giving the tractor/
machine operator proper training, it provides them with the
necessary skills and knowledge to carry out their job to the
best of their ability, increasing productivity and the quality
of work.
Maintenance is key to ensure that all equipment required
for production is operating at 100% efficiency at all times.
Through short daily inspections, cleaning, lubricating, and
making minor adjustments, minor problems can be detected
and corrected before they become major problems.
Going hand in hand with maintenance is the lack of su-
pervision by the producer or farm manager, by spending
30 minutes a day ensuring that the tractor and implement
is set correctly, not only will your maintenance decrease by
75%, but your yield will increase substantially.
Mike further explains that producers need to educate them-
selves regarding their machines, thus making sure that they
do not over-use the machine by making it work beyond
its design.
The spring release system or stump jump mechanism
cannot work forever – the more rocks and obstructions you
have in your fields, the quicker this mechanism is going to
wear out.
Your soil conditions are also a very important factor to
keep in mind when you start tilling your soil. Soil should be
slightly moist, and then it will break and crumble in textbook
fashion.
When buying a tillage machine, the machine comes with cer-
tain shears. Producers should not try to adapt these shears
as they become worn; this will not solve any problems, but
will make problems worse by compacting the soil and your
fuel consumption will increase tremendously.
3
4
5
6
3: Martiens du Plessis of NWK explains how
a chisel works.
4: A typical profile of how a chisel tooth
works.
5: If the tooth spacing is not correct, there
will be certain areas where the soil will not
be tilled correctly.
6: Attaching the wrong shear to an
implement could lead to this effect – vast
areas of the soil having not been tilled.
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