A new high output, one-man system for soil levelling and rolling in one pass is saving farmers time and money by reducing the machinery and manpower costs involved in seedbed establishment.

Adopting a new one-pass system for seedbed preparation has not only significantly reduced fuel and labour costs for a major Peterhead contractor, germination in the cereals he has drilled has shown a marked improvement too.

Brothers Mike and Brian Salmon of Trewinick Farm, Rymford, Saint Ervan, Wadebridge bought a set of OPICO 6.3m extra heavy-duty HE-VA Rolls equipped with a Shatta-Board spring levelling board from local dealer Cornwall Farmers in February.

How refreshing. How different. Been down the lo-till route, got the T-shirt, got the resistant black-grass and gone back to the plough. That's where John Collen found himself after almost fifteen years of 'minimal-discing' at White House Farm, Gisleham, near Lowestoft, Suffolk.