Home » Issue 23-2021 » Farm report » Focus on the Focus: Mariusz Podulka, PL

Focus on the Focus

Once the decision is taken to convert to ploughless cultivation, the next step is soon to follow: the reduction of passes on the field respectively the combination of tillage and sowing in only one pass. The HORSCH focus is a machine that fulfils these requirements. The Focus now is not only interesting for large farms, but more and more also for medium-sized family farms. Thus, after the conversion to ploughless cultivation Mariusz Podulka chose the Focus for his farming strategy.

Mariusz Podulka runs a 200 hectares arable farm. It is a family farm owned and managed by Mariusz Podulka. In his case this means that he carries out almost all tasks in the field himself. Only when combining an employee or his father-in-law help him to transport the grain from the field.
The farm is located in Silesia, in the Southwest of Poland. The average rainfall is rather high with 600 to 700 mm. On his medium and light soils, the farmer grows mainly two crops – rape and cereals. The farm consists of several fields form 0.6 to more than 20 hectares. This is the reason why the farmer opted for a 3 m version of the Focus.

Farm: Owner-operated, approx. 200 ha
Location: Southwest Poland, Silesia
Soil: Medium to light soils, approx. 60 to 70 soil value (Polish soil class 3-4)
Terrain: Mainly flat, partly hilly
Crops: Winter wheat, rape, new: soya with a row spacing of 30 cm instead of catch crops

The medium and light soils are ideal for ploughless cultivation. After he took over the farm from his parents and extended it, Mariusz Podulka decided against inversion tillage and started to mix deeply and reduce the passes step by step. “I saw that farmers on large farms quite successfully worked with ploughless technology. And I was convinced that on my farm, too, I would be able to achieve stable yields and keep the soil structure and the humus content on a high level – with the lowest possible effort. I was one of the first farmers in our region to convert to ploughless cultivation”, Mariusz Podulka explains his reasons.
The rotation of the Polish farmer consists of rape and cereals – mainly wheat. This year he grew 60 hectares of rape, 100 hectares of wheat and 30 hectares of soya. Within the scope of greening, he actually wanted to start cultivating catch crops on his fields, but after a test last year he decided to grow soya after all. With the Focus you can sow cereals after soya directly into stubbles without the machine getting clogged by too many residues. In his opinion, soya is an optimum completion of the rotation, and it is easier to sow a main crop after soya.

Copied from a neighbour

However, at the beginning, the Focus had not been the farmer’s first choice. He first worked with his old seed drill and a tine cultivator. This solution, however, required quite some effort – two tractors and two drivers. The year after that Mariusz Podulka commissioned a contractor who was to loosen the soil deeply and sow with his machine in one pass. In the next three years the farmer tested three different seed drills. But he was not particularly satisfied with the results. Finally, he asked a neighbour, a large farm, to sow rape and wheat with a HORSCH Focus 6 TD. This was the solution Mariusz Podulka had been looking for: “The emergence completely convinced me. Moreover, the machine carried out three working steps in one pass: tillage, fertilsation and sowing. This was very important for me. I work alone and this technology perfectly fitted my conditions”, the farmer explains.
As his fields are rather small-structured Mariusz Podulka needed a machine that on the one hand was very manoeuvrable, but on the other hand was large enough to loosen and sow the larger fields quite quickly. “When I asked my dealer for a Focus with 3 m working width, he told me that did not know when this small machine would be available. So I have been waiting for three years. But I did not regret it. I finally found a machine that allows me to work all my fields on my own. In this first season I have already done more than 220 hectares” the farmer proudly states.

3 metres on 200 hectares

The HORSCH Focus 3 TD is equipped with a 2100 litres hopper for fertiliser and a 1400 litres hopper for seed. According to Mariusz Podulka this is absolutely sufficient to cultivate most of his fields with one filling. As this fields often are some kilometres away from each other he attaches great importance to the fact that he can finish a field.
Despite the working width that at first glance is rather small the farmer manages to sow up to 20 hectares per day. Sowing with the Focus means to additionally loosen the soil and apply fertiliser precisely. The precise placement of the fertiliser is very important to the farmer as he wants to make sure that the fertiliser is quickly available to the plant.

The tines of the HORSCH Focus can work at a depth of 30 cm. This, of course, requires a tractor with sufficient horsepower. At first Mariusz Podulka was not sure if he would be able to keep up the optimum operational speed with his New Holland T7.170. But after the first hectares it was clear that the tractor was completely sufficient on most of his fields. “On my shallow fields 170 hp are enough to work at a depth of 21 cm with an operational speed of 10 to 11 km/h“, he confirms. However, Mariusz Podulka still thinks about a larger tractor for the future to be able to work smoothly with 10 km/h even on the fields with medium soils and stones. On these fields, too, the solid design of the Focus pays off. “My neighbours told me that it sounds like a little explosion when I pass over my stony fields with the Focus. But so far no tine has broken“, Mariusz Podulka smiles.
Some fields are up to 30 km away from the farm. This is why the Focus 3 TD has to be prepared quickly for the work in the field and for transport. The gear unit of the tractor is designed for a maximum speed of 50 km/h. Thus, at first Mariusz Podulka was a little bit concerned about the height of the Focus. But due to the large tyre packer the machine is very stable and, in the meantime, has proven its worth on more than 200 hectares.

Into cultivated stubble or…directly

In Mariusz Podulka’s opinion another advantage of the Focus is that in certain conditions it is possible to even sow rape directly into cereal stubbles. Since the first year of use of the Focus Mariusz Podulka only carries out one or two passes. Directly after the combine he uses a compact disc harrow and then only the Focus. Sowing rape directly into short stubbles after cereals worked excellently. Winter wheat was sown late, after the 10th of October, with 100 kg underground fertilisation. However, emergence is excellent in the meantime. “Better than the emergence on the fields of my neighbours who used a plough”, Mariusz Podulka proudly comments.
These experiences even more convinced the farmer of his new seed drill and by now he only uses the Focus to sow all his fields. The old seed drill is no longer used. “Driving on the field only twice after threshing, of course, preserves the soil. For me it also means that I manage to sow all my fields,” Mariusz Podulka summarises.

All these reasons and, of course, the precise fertilisation are the main factors for the farmer to achieve a stable and regular emergence – the basis for safe yields on a high level.
Sowing directly with the Focus makes sense if there are only little residues. Mariusz Podulka takes care of this in the first tillage step, i.e. right after threshing. As the conditions that are thus created are optimum, the farmer can use LD points without any problems. On the medium and light soils of the farm there is only little wear. Wear costs thus are low – according to the farmer another advantage of the Focus.

Touch 1200 for everything

For operating the Focus 3 TD the Polish farmer chose the largest terminal Touch 1200 – for a simple reason: He also uses the Touch 1200 to control his sprayer which is not from HORSCH but is equipped with Isobus. Thus, he can again save costs. There is only one terminal in the tractor cabin and the farmer can use the tractor which is not equipped with a terminal of its own for all his machines. Due to the divided screen, he can see the settings of the seed drill while working and after the sprayer has been linked also the map which shows the position and the treated area. According to Mariusz Podulka the calibration of the Focus can be carried out without any difficulty. His opinion: “A simple machine – regarding handling as well as maintenance.”
The seed bar, too, can be replaced quickly and smoothly. The seed bar with a row spacing of 30 cm does not only allow for optimally sowing rape. The system also works excellently for soya.