Horizon’s vision begins with the soil. Our commitment is to design and manufacture innovative products that promote soil regeneration whilst also helping our customers to improve productivity, yield and profitability.
As part of our journey, we have taken our increasingly popular DSX no-till direct seed drill and produced a mounted version, the MDSX. Light, compact and versatile, the MDSX mounted no-till disc drill aims to provide lower investment farmers the same performance and quality offered with our trailed DSX, thanks to our market leading row units.
With the current FETF 2024 grants, the MDSX purchased with one of our FT2200 front tanks will yield a grant of just over £40,000, cutting the cost of the MDSX and FT2200 by over half. The MDSX can also easily be combined with a customer’s existing third-party tank, creating a competitive seeding platform.
Because the MDSX is much lighter than a trailed equivalent, its horsepower requirement is only 145hp for the 6m version. In comparison, an equivalent 6m trailed drill would likely require 200hp, or more on sloping ground. This lightweight form factor is ideal for delayed drilling, as it provides a seeding platform that leads to minimal soil compaction and smearing in wet conditions, perfect for winter wheat.
Thanks to the versatility of the MDSX, the machine’s modular frame and easy to move row units, the MDSX is ideal for a variety of applications. Its single toolbar design is perfect for inter-row hoeing, and its low investment cost means it’s a perfect no-till disc drill to combine with a tine drill for farming a variety of soil types and weather conditions.
We offer the MDSX with row spacings of 22cm and 25cm, providing farmers with the narrowest row spacings available on a mounted no till disc drill.
The MDSX features the 3rd generation DSX row unit. Building on the success of the previous generation whilst mitigating any issues previously encountered, the Gen 3 row unit is market leading. It features a reinforced cast parallel linkage that is incredibly stiff and resistant to deflection, whilst also increasing the total travel to 370mm. This independent parallel linkage combined with a gauge wheel extremely close to the point of seeding means that every seed is delivered with planter level depth accuracy.
The downforce for each row unit is hydraulically controlled and can be adjusted in cab, along with the closing pressure and row cleaners through separate pneumatic controls.
Some farmers may have reservations with mounted no-till disc drills, as some competitor machines may struggle to penetrate the soil without the weight of a trailed chassis. Our testing in the spring, summer and autumn of 2023 showed that our prototype MDSX was always able to penetrate the soil thanks to its innovative undercut disc. The disc pulls itself into the soil, acting in a similar manner to a plough furrow or cultivation disc, meaning less downforce is required.
The unique combination of 10 degrees on the X axis and seven degrees on the Y axis means that the DSX’s undercut disc performs well in a wide range of soil types, including both light cultivated soils as well as thick and heavy clay.
However, we also offer optional wing weights to increase the downforce if necessary, as well as a hydraulic weight transfer system which is fitted to the three point linkage. This allows farmers to increase the downforce applied without carrying any extra weight, as the MDSX will utilise the tractor’s weight to apply downforce only when required.
With the MDSX suiting farmers looking for a lightweight agile machine, we are also keen to provide higher output for large farms. This led to the development and launch of our DSX 7.5-9m, which stands alone in the market as the only machine to combine wide working widths, narrow row spacings and transport dimensions that are EU road legal, meaning it can be towed on the road without an escort.
