Vertical tillage is an excellent approach, but in hard turf soils it can quite easily become a headache for farmers.

Bednar Africa solved this problem by importing Bednar equipment, deve-loped for Eastern Europe, to Southern Africa. “We import the Bednar equipment from the Czech Republic and assemble it in our factory in Frankfort in the Free State province of South Africa, from where we distribute it through a dealer network,” says Frikkie Hefer, Business and Marketing Director of Bednar Africa. He and Michael de Klerk are the owners of Bednar Africa. “This is our fourth year of existence in Southern Africa. Bednar Africa is the sole importer of Bednar machines for Africa all the way up north to Nigeria,” Frikkie says.

“The reason why we chose Bednar is because they build wide machines and when you build wide machines, you automatically build heavy machines with stronger frames than those of lighter implements coming from Western Europe. In the east of Europe, you will find a lot of turf and heavy soil, and the challenges are very similar to ours. The other reason is that they build machines that are able to work deep. Now, we have a whole range of products that can work from shallow to deep and from 3 to 18 meters wide,” says Frikkie.

Bednar is a family business in Rychnov nad Kněžnou, owned by the Bednářs, a father and two sons. All three have doctorates in Agriculture. They started manufacturing the implements themselves after they could not find suppliers with suitable equipment for their region.

These golden yellow tools attracted a lot of attention this year when they proved their worth during the famous and popular Val Farmers’ day. 

The Atlas HO 6000 towed cultivator is heavy, short and compact, but will not compact the ground; it will rather consolidate it. This cultivator is built for heavy and dry soil. It cuts and incorporates crop residues up to 18 cm below the surface and crumbles it up thoroughly and ready for the next process. “X-precise” and “Cross Control” are the names of the features that control the x-shaped disc section in front. This changes the angle of the discs continuously so that they follow in the tracks of the tractor’s wheels. An integrated axis ensures that the implement remains stable, even at its high working speed or through a small turning circle. The rear pressure wheels can be adjusted for different soil conditions.

For an excellent chisel plough, a farmer needs to look no further than the Terraland TN 4000 HD9R Profi. Two rows of chisels, two tined rollers and two rows of discs work together to prepare the soil for planting. The front chisels loosen the soil to break up stratified layers, while stover is effectively mixed into the soil. Finally, the rollers and cutting discs work together to crumble the clods and form a smooth and consolidated seedbed.

The Terraland TO 5000 HM will stand its ground if a farmer wants to loosen and cultivate his soil up to 55 cm deep. Two rows of chisels in front are up to the hardest, heaviest soil types and large clods and plant material can pass underneath the 79 cm high frame before the two rollers at the back create a smooth seedbed. Four beams form the construction of the central frame and the transport axis is placed between the two wings so that the rollers can be lifted when working in very wet conditions. A quick chisel change system makes it very easy to replace the chisels.

Contact Frikkie Hefer at 060-976-2200 or frikkie@bednar-machinery.co.za, or Werner Strydom at 082-797-2441 or werner@bednar-machinery.co.za. Also visit their website www.bednar-machinery.com.