Cross Slot®: Cross Slot®

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Members: 180, Newest: Neil Maltby

Farmers in Germany and New Zealand, using Cross Slot no-tillage, won 10 national and regional environmental awards in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Proudly designed and manufactured in New Zealand by

Cross Slot gives you the opportunity to follow a typical New Zealand intensive livestock operation using Cross Slot no-tillage to provide continuous high-quality feed for sheep and cattle finishing.

NEW: Details of this Farm can be found here

Farmer Alistair Hogg has kindly allowed us to follow one field on his farm in Manawatu, New Zealand, as it goes through its annual cropping cycles. Alistair has recently taken over the management of this block and will convert it from an extensive permanent pasture based system to a much more intensive system based on annual forage crops.

As the story unfolds, we will outline the programme and provide updated photographs taken from the same spot each time. We will also show more detailed photos where appropriate. Remember that it is spring in New Zealand in November!

View the Cropping Sequence Gallery here

Benefits of Cross Slot no-tillage

The only known no-tillage technology and system in the world that arose from extensive, independent, published and peer-reviewed biological research.
View summaries of individual experiments

In New Zealand, Cross Slot no-tillage produces 12-14 t/ha (180-200 b/ac) winter wheat and 10+ t/ha (150-190 b/ac) spring wheat & barley crops. Average New Zealand wheat and barley yields by all other methods are little more than half of these figures.
View our Testimonials.

The highest independently-measured plot yield so far recorded for Cross Slot no-tillage (Foundation for Arable Research, 2007) is 16.8 t/ha (257 b/ac) of winter wheat.

See what FAO (United Nations) said about the science that underpins Cross Slot
View our books and videos

Benefits attributable to our patents:

True low-disturbance no-tillage, even through the heaviest residues, pasture (sod) and stones
Separate banding of seed and fertilizer without sacrificing row spacing (down to 150 mm) or residue handling and retention (up to 90%)
Genuinely accurate seeding depth control (adjustable between 15 and 70 mm) through even the roughest terrain (individual hydraulic cylinders on each opener)
Opener downforce automatically adjusts on-the-move to changing soil hardness (electro-hydraulic load sensing with maximum downforce of 450 kg or 1,000 lb)

Benefits backed by the science and field results:

Maximizes seedling emergence and crop yield potential
Harnesses an otherwise unused resource of untilled soils (soil water vapour or pore-space humidity)
Is demonstrably cost-effective [see Cost-effectiveness] to download a calculator (coming soon) that determines the cost-effectiveness of Cross Slot versus competing technologies)
In many cases, Cross Slot no-tillage has exceeded the best crop yields previously obtained by any other means [See Testimonials]

Books and Videos
Brochures
Owner Comments
Testimonials: New Zealand
Testimonials: Australia
Testimonials: United Kingdom
Experiments simplified

Single row units for small agriculture
Self-contained air drills - ridgid frame
Self-contained air drills - folding frame
Praire agriculture sized large drills
Retrofit kits for existing toolbars
Research/Plot drills
Corn planters due 2007