Great Plains Terra-Max: Hybrid tillage tool manages residue, provides improved weed control

SALINA, Kan. — The Great Plains Terra-Max is a versatile hybrid tillage tool with features that allows farmers to use it in the fall or spring.

“Across the country farmers have diverse tillage needs, whether that is cropping systems, soil types or local weather patterns,” said Blake Bergkamp, Great Plains agronomist. “Great Plains offers one of the widest lineups of tillage equipment in the industry to help meet the needs of today’s farmers.”

“We’re excited about the Terra-Max that gives us a second offering in this hybrid tillage category,” said Rodney Hake, Great Plains tillage engineering manager. “Velocity excels in the fall and does a pretty good job of a seedbed, so you could plant behind it in the spring.”

“Terra-Max excels in the spring since it leaves a fantastic seedbed and also with the aggressiveness of the machine, it will do a good job in the fall, as well,” Hake said.

“Hybrid tillage tools can do a really good job at preparing the seedbed in fewer passes than a conventional system, maybe down to one pass with these tools and you’re ready to plant,” Bergkamp said. “They really excel at managing the residue and help to warm up the seedbed to get even emergence that helps equate to yield at the end of the season.”

Another key advantage of hybrid tillage tools over vertical tools is the ability to take out weeds that have become tougher to manage with herbicides, Bergkamp said.

“Overall, they are versatile tools and we see them play a key role in a lot of farm operations,” Bergkamp said.

“There are a lot of similarities between the conventional disk harrow and the vertical tillage machines that hybrid machines bring together,” Bergkamp said.

“It starts up front with a concavity blade that is shallower than a conventional disk harrow and a narrower blade spacing at 7.5 inches versus the 10-inch blade space on conventional disks.”

This means the tools can work at shallower depths at faster operating speeds.

“It also makes these tools versatile, so they are able to work in the fall as primary tillage and in the spring as secondary or seedbed prep,” Bergkamp said. “The tools can work in a range of conditions.”

Terra-Max is available in widths of 20, 25 and 30 feet.

“We will launch the 35- and 40-feet tools shortly and we will expand to the smaller sizes in the next several years,” Hake said.

A key feature of the Terra-Max is the TurboSpeed blades on the front of the machine.

“The blades give you the mixing action and also the profile of a speed blade because they turn up to 5% faster than a smooth blade,” Hake said. “You can change the angle on these blades from zero to eight degrees on the go, hydraulically.”

The back blades of the Terra-Max can be set at zero to six degrees, which provides a little smoother finish.

“The back blades are tied to the front blades, so when the front blades move, the back blades move with them,” Hake said.

The rear attachments on the machine are designed for leveling and finish.

“For the rolling harrow attachment we went to a V-pattern which gives more consistent field finish and it does a better job of smoothing and leveling,” Hake said.

“The finish reels have hydraulic down pressure which provides consistent pressure from 0 to 900 psi, regardless of the contour of the field,” Hake said.

The Implement Command system, which was launched a few years ago on the Turbo-Max, is also available on the Terra-Max. Implement Command is ISO-compatible and the system has manual overrides for tractors that are not ISO-compatible.

The depth control can be changed with Implement Command, as well as the wing down pressure, which can be toggled up and down from the cab to keep the machine operating level throughout the field.

Varying the depth of the Terra-Max is important if there are areas in the field that have combine tracks or sprayer ruts.

“You are able to put the controls in the cab of the tractor at your fingertips,” Hake said.

“The Terra-Max is a whole new tool for us that complements what we currently have available,” Hake said.

For more information about the Great Plains Terra-Max, go to www.greatplainsag.com.