An agricultural row unit having a coulter assembly comprising a pair of gauge wheels and a coulter between the pair of gauge wheels, wherein the coulter is configured to penetrate soil and cut debris. The row unit also having a soil engaging assembly comprising sweep and a seed tube, wherein the sweep is configured to open a seed channel and the seed tube is configured to deposit seeds into the seed channel. The row unit also including a closing assembly configured to replace soil displaced by the coulter and sweep. The row unit configured for independent and optionally automatic variable depth control of the seed channel.

The invention relates to a soil cultivation arrangement (100) for the agricultural cultivation of a soil (500), in particular a field and/or arable land, with a carrier device for attaching to an agricultural tractor and with one or more soil cultivation units (200, 201, 202, 203) for preparing and/or generating a seed furrow (530), which soil cultivation units (200, 201, 202, 203) as modular components of the soil cultivation arrangement (100), can be connected to the carrier device and/or to a sowing unit that can be towed by the agricultural tractor and can be arranged along the carrier device in the desired sequence.

A control system for a tillage implement broadly includes front and rear sensors, a leveling assembly, and a controller. The front sensor is positioned on a front of a central section, wherein the front sensor is configured to obtain height information indicative of a height of the front of the central section above a ground. The rear sensor is positioned on a rear of the central section, wherein the rear sensor is configured to obtain height information indicative of a height of the rear of the central section above the ground. The leveling assembly is configured to adjust a front to rear orientation of the central section. The controller is configured to receive the height information from the front sensor and the height information from the rear sensor, and to provide instructions to the leveling assembly to adjust the front to rear orientation of the central section based on the received height information.

A seeding apparatus includes a trailing arm pivotally attached to an implement frame and a bias element exerting a downward bias force on the trailing arm. Fertilizer and seed furrow openers are attached to the trailing arm such that a seed furrow has a seed furrow depth less than a fertilizer furrow depth of a fertilizer furrow. A packer wheel is rotatably attached to a rear end of the trailing arm. A furrow controller is selectively operative to change the relative positions of the seed furrow opener, the fertilizer furrow opener, and the packer wheel to attain a desired one of a plurality of configurations where in each configuration the seed furrow has a seed furrow depth less than the fertilizer furrow depth to provide a separation distance. The seed depth and separation distance is quickly and conveniently increased in adverse soil conditions and decreased in favorable soil conditions.

A system for monitoring seed placement within the ground during the performance of a planting operation includes a row unit configured to create a furrow in the soil for depositing seeds and to close the furrow after the seeds have been deposited therein, where the seeds deposited within the soil include both real seeds and artificial seeds. The system may further include a seed sensor supported relative to the row unit and configured to generate data indicative of the artificial seeds as planted underneath a surface of the soil according to a dielectric property of the artificial seeds. Additionally, the system may include a computing system configured to receive the data generated by the seed sensor, and to determine a seed-related parameter associated with the artificial seeds as planted underneath the surface of the soil based at least in part on the data generated by the seed sensor.

Agricultural seed planting systems include a processing unit, a frame, a furrow opener coupled to the frame for opening a furrow in soil, and a sensor in communication with the processing unit and adapted to sense a characteristic associated with seed planting. The sensor may generate a signal associated with the sensed characteristic and the processing unit may receive the signal. In some aspects, the sensed characteristic may be either a soil characteristic or a seed characteristic. Information associated with the sensed characteristic can be saved in memory for future use and to assist with more effective planting in the future.

An agricultural tillage implement has a vertical tillage section and an aerating section behind the vertical tillage section, each extending substantially perpendicular to the pull direction of the implement. Individual vertical tillage elements, such as disc blades, can be indexed with individual rotary tine assemblies of the aerator section so that discrete holes formed by the aerator section are positioned between substantially continuous slits formed by the vertical tillage section. A ground deposit system deposits a component on the ground and may be configured for conducting and depositing a granular component, such as seeds, fertilizers, minerals or the like, or liquid components, such as liquid manure.

An apparatus (1) and method are disclosed for seeding soil. The apparatus (1) comprises a soil-sensing arrangement. The apparatus (1) comprises a seed-delivery mechanism. The soil-sensing arrangement comprises one or more soil-sensing elements. Each of the one or more soil-sensing elements is configured to sense one or more conditions of the soil. The one or more soil-sensing elements can take the form of one or more soil-sensing tines 19. In the method, material is delivered to a locally-optimised soil depth LOD. In the method, there is at least periodic sensing of one or more conditions of the soil, and at two or more depths at mutually differing proximities to the locally-optimised depth.

A system for measuring temperature and dielectric properties of soil and other semi-solid materials on-the-go uses a long-wearing non-ferrous wear plate with two metal prongs supported by the wear plate to measure dielectric properties. The metal prongs each have a mounting end soldered to a printed circuit board containing a capacitance sensor circuit. The metal prongs have exposed ends arranged to contact the semi-solid material being measured. The sensor circuit has an oscillation frequency of 50 to 100 MHz to allow rapid dielectric measurements to be made as the sensor moves through the semi-solid material. In one embodiment, the system includes an implement for traversing a field, a shank with a leading edge for opening a furrow in soil, and a spring-loaded mounting system for biasing the wear plate downwardly relative to a shank to maintain a consistent pressure of the wear plate and metal prongs against the soil.