Head to the bottom of this article to find out how to win a year’s use of Omnia Precision
July 2021 will mark the 40th anniversary of Claydon Yield-o-Meter Ltd (Claydon Drills), the family run Suffolk business know for its strip tillage drilling system.
It was formed in 1981 by Jeff Claydon to manufacture the Yield-o-Meter, the first ever on-combine grain monitoring device which he invented the year before. It provided farmers with an accurate tonnage reading per minute, hour, day, month or year, enabling them to analyse data and determine the best performing crops and make management decisions.
Costing less than £2,000 on launch, it was fitted to hundreds of combines across the UK and Europe (mostly larger models in the Claas range) and was awarded a silver medal by the Royal Agricultural Society of England in 1995. That same year, Claydon introduced the Furrow Cracker to the UK market. Fitted to a plough, the blades sliced through freshly turned furrows to help the weather break the soil down naturally.
In 2003, the company developed the V-Drill, it’s first direct strip tillage drill. At the time, grain prices had dropped to historically low levels while the cost of inputs and cultivation operations continued to increase. It featured a unique leading tine followed by an A-share, which alleviated compaction and helped improve yields.
It was followed by the SR (stone release) drill in 2006, which featured spring-type stone protection, greater inter-row spacing and was available in working widths of 3m, 3.45m and 4m. Three years later, Claydon would introduce the Hybrid drill, which incorporated the leading tine technology and has become the cornerstone of the company’s Opti-Till system.
Also part of the Opti-Till system is the Straw Harrow, launched in 2013 as a fast, low cost method of creating a tilth, encouraging flushes of weeds and volunteers for destruction and reducing slug populations. The range has continued to grow with the Hybrid T trailed drill, the TerraStar rotary cultivator and the TerraBlade Inter-Row Hoe mechanical weeder.
All Claydon machinery is developed on the family farm at Wickhambrook near Newmarket, where Jeff is the third generation to farm under the E.T. Claydon & Sons partnership. The farm has not been ploughed since 2002 and Frank Clayson establishes around 400 hectares with a single 6m Claydon drill, before sowing another 1,250 hectares on contract.
The company now employs over 50 staff and exports some 60% of production to 35 countries across the world. Despite the challenges of the last 12 months, it is reportedly on track to achieve record sales in 2021. Having emphasised the importance of soil health and raised awareness of how to improve it, the company is well placed to respond to growing requirements to reduce CO2 levels and increase carbon capture.
Win a year’s use of Omnia Precision
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Claydon has teamed up with crop production specialists Hutchinsons to hold a prize draw. The winner will recieve one year’s free access to the Omnia Precision system, which analyses information from a variety of sources to help operators make informed decisions about their applications and cropping.
To find out how to enter go to www.claydondrill.com