New HORSCH company structure 36Growth involves changes

BoomControl Pro 22 and 44Silver medal for optimised boom control

Agritechnica 2013 4Most successful show in the company’s history

07 / 2013

More than just machinery

www.horsch.com

THE FUTURE IN CULTIVATION IS HAPPENING TODAY

4-bar universal cultivator

— Shallow mixing and deep loosening— Very manoeuvrable due to large wheels in the centre chassis— SteelDisc packer for heavy soils

3

terra

Editorial

Dear reader

At the beginning of 2014 we – from the company point of view - are looking back on a very

successful and eventful year 2013. The turn of the year is always an occasion to look back on

the past year – what we experienced, what we learned,

what we achieved.

Due to my job I am lucky to have the possibility to visit for-

eign countries and to get to know a lot of people - and this

is very important to me as it makes my life multifaceted and

full of impressions of all sorts. At the beginning of 2013, our

activities for the HORSCH Foundation took my husband and

me to Ethiopia. And we discovered a country that did not

quite correspond to my ideas and prejudices. I thought I

would travel to Africa, see enormous poverty with a lot of

sad people who have no perspective and who suffer. And at

first I did not want to go there at all, just to avoid seeing all

this suffering.

Poverty is immense – compared to our countries it is ex-

treme, almost a cultural shock – but Ethiopia is a colourful,

sunny, beautiful country, with an old culture (example: mon-

olithic churches from the 12th – 13th Century, Lalibela) and

with happy, positively radiant, smiling people in the streets

who take pleasure in small things. Although suffering is con-

siderable these people succeed in giving a positive impres-

sion. Where do they take this power and this optimistic atti-

tude from? They seem to be much more contented than we

are here in Germany. There are, of course, many reasons:

the sun, their faith, the

mentality, their attitude

towards life.

And each time I walk

through the streets in

Germany, look into people’s faces, read the event news with

only negative headlines, reflect on my own thoughts… I ask

myself: Are we happy and contented in Germany?

I learned a lot from this completely different African attitude

towards life, I admire it. When I feel blue I think of Africa,

Ethiopia and its people. The very memory and the photos

help me and give me strength. And that’s what I am grateful

for.

I wish you and your family experiences that give you

strength in a positive way as well as a good, successful and

blessed year 2014!

Contents

IMPRINT

News

Agritechnica 2013 4

Extension of the HORSCH site in Ronneburg 6

Setting things in motion

(Dr. Matthias Rothmund) 7

Around the world

Around the world:

38 machines in South Africa 8

Made in USA 10

profi FAHRBERICHT Stainless steel has its price:

HORSCH Leeb 7 GS 12

Practical experience

A different kind of maize grower:

Michael Ehmann (FR) 15

Company insights

The invisible men (IT department) 18

It’s awesome (Michael Horsch) 20

A different way (Theodor Leeb) 22

Single grain for cereals and rape

(Philipp Horsch) 24

HORSCH Foundation

MEDA Forum 2014 27

Ongoing and new projects 28

Farm report

A storm tipped the scales

(Hendrik Bünger-Lang, DE) 30

Farmer and contractor (Paolo Montana, IT) 32

On a large scale (TOV Kischentzi, UA) 34

Inside HORSCH

New company structure 36

Florian Reil – Germany’s

best production mechanic 41

Service & Sales

Successful together: BayWa and HORSCH 42

FITZ training centre

DLG Silver Medal: BoomControl Pro 44

DLG Silber Medal:

Singling technology for rape and cereals 46

HORSCH France Field Days 48

Edited by: Johannes Hädicke

Articles written by: F. Benabadji, D. Brandt, M. Braun, Dr. G. Eikel (profi Fahrbericht), J. Hädicke, C. Horsch, P. Horsch, T. Horsch (MEDA), H. Keller, G. Martin, C. Mühlhausen, J. Stangl, H. Wolf

Photos: Archiv Horsch, Photographie Petra Kellner, J. Hädicke, A. Hein-Horsch, C. Mühlhausen, O. Olexijovytch, A. Pacek, Hr. Tovornik (profi Fahrbericht)

Translations: English: H. Wolf; French: E. De Saint Laumer, S. Proust, S. Vanderhaeghe; Polish: B. Dudkowski; Russian: M. Sinichenko

terraHORSCH is published twice a year in the following languages: German, English, French, Polish and Russian.

The magazine and all its articles and illustrations are pro-tected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the limits fixedby the copyright act is illegal without the approval of the publisher.

Layoutkonzept: MarkenGrün

Layout: Otterbach Medien KG GmbH & Co

Druck: Vogel Druck, Würzburg

terraHORSCHMore than just machinery

It is the international customer magazine of HORSCH Maschinen GmbHSitzenhof 1DE-92421 SchwandorfTel.: +49 9431 7143-0Fax: +49 9431 41364terra@horsch.comwww.horsch.com

Responsible for the content: Cornelia Horsch

Cordially

Cornelia Horsch

terra News

Agritechnica 2013 - Most su ccessful show for HORSCH so far

Two silver medals, Machine of the

Year, Milestone of Agricultural

Engineering, Agro-Marketing Award,

a lot of innovative novelties and an

interactive show review

This year HORSCH was present

with a 2,000 m² show stand at

the Agritechnica 2013 which

with 450,000 visitors undoubt-

edly is the most important agricultural

show worldwide. HORSCH exhibited a

total of 18 machines from the sectors

cultivation, sowing and plant protec-

tion.

According to the DLG 115,000 inter-

national guests figured

among the 450,000 visi-

tors of the show. A lot

of them were inter-

ested in Farming with

Passion and the innova-

tions that were shown

at the new HORSCH

stand in hall 12. At

times there were 120

HORSCH employees at

the stand to discuss

with the visitors.

Already before the show HORSCH for

the first time had been awarded two

silver medals by the DLG for the innova-

tions single grain seed for cereals and

the new plant protection boom control

system BoomControl Pro. The medals

rank among the most important awards

of the whole sector. The crowd of visi-

tors for exactly these machines was ac-

cordingly.

An elevated Terrano FX was displayed

directly at the main building of the

stand. It was a symbol for another

award. This year HORSCH was awarded

the Milestone of Agricultural Engineer-

ing for its pioneering spirit and its in-

novations in the sector of „Farming

without a plough“.

During the show the whole plant

protection line, the innovative Leeb PT

330, the self-propelled sprayer Leeb PT

270 and the trailed sprayer from the

Leeb GS line, was awarded the prize

„Machine of the Year 2014“ for the

5

Most su ccessful show for HORSCH so far

revolutionary boom control system

BoomControl Pro which will be availa-

ble for all sprayers as of summer 2014

and can even be retrofitted to already

existing BoomControl machines.

Finally the current advertising and

communication campaign InnoFalcon

was awarded the Agro-Marketing

Award. For 10 years no manufacturer of

attached implements has been able to

win this prize. The InnoFalcon includes

components of all HORSCH machines

and convinced the jury due to the visu-

alisation of the core elements innova-

tion, quality, technology and the refer-

ence to farming.

HORSCH exhibited machines for

farmers from all countries - starting

with a lot of machines with 3 and 4 m

working width for farm sizes of about

50 hectare (75 % of the visitors farm at

least 50 hectare according to a survey of

the organiser) to a 18 m wide 24-row

Maestro for single grain seeding or a

Pronto NT for Eastern European coun-

tries and farm sizes of more than 10,000

hectare.

After the Agritechnica the HORSCH

corporate management (Michael

Horsch, Philipp Horsch, Horst Keller, Cor-

nelia Horsch, Traugott Horsch and Theo-

dor Leeb) agreed: „The Agritechnica is

the most important agricultural show

worldwide and for us like for most of

the manufacturers of agricultural engi-

neering is a barometer of public opin-

ion. With regard to the numerous con-

versations with our dealers and

customers from all over the world we as

a manufacturer are looking forward to

a positive future. With a turnover of

about 250 million Euro 2013 will be the

most successful year in the company’s

history. Our expectations for next year

are moderately positive. HORSCH stands

for Farming with Passion. For us it is not

only the machine that counts, but a cor-

responding intensive counselling of

every individual customer with regard

to his specific site. This as well as top-

quality and perfect service have always

been HORSCH’s core competences which

we are going to develop even further in

the future.

Agriculture and agricultural engi-

neering are the future and play a key

role with regard to feeding the increas-

ing world population, but also with re-

gard to producing renewable energies.“

75 % of the Agritechnica visitors are

planning to invest in machines in the

course of the next two years and 50 %

are even planning this investment for

next year and prepared it at the Agr-

itechnica. This is a positive sign for the

future, not only for the farmers, but

also for HORSCH.

Another indicator for the success of

this year’s Agritechnica surely also is the

HORSCH Shop. Despite a well-filled

stock especially high-quality clothing or

the new Schuco model (scale 1:87) of

the HORSCH Leeb PT 270 soon were in

short supply.

This shows how much customers and

visitors identify with the brand HORSCH.

On our website www.horsch.com the

shop is available all over the year.

Enthusiasm for the brand, product

quality, service and innovation are also

reflected in the DLG Image Barometer

of agricultural engineering which was

published shortly before the Agritech-

nica. For the sixth year in a row HORSCH

ranks forth behind the three large trac-

tor manufacturers Fendt, Claas and

John Deere. This year again HORSCH

was on the first ranks in most individual

categories like „particularly innovative

companies”.

Those who did not visit HORSCH at

the Agritechnica or who want to experi-

ence the show stand and its highlights

one more time at home, can simply visit

our website www.horsch.com. This year,

too, there is an interactive stand where

you can move around as well as see in-

formation and videos about all novelties

and show highlights in full detail.

terra News

Extension of the HORSCH site in Ronneburg –

the largest individual investment in the company’s history

On the premises of the HORSCH

Industrietechnik a 3,400 m²

steel storage area with several

levels was built and the pro-

duction capacity has been extended to

5,300 m². In the production and pre-cut

department the money was invested in

plasma and laser cutters as well as in

welding robots. The incoming and out-

going goods sector was adapted to the

new capacities. The investment sum for

this sector amounts to about 14 million

Euro. On the production premises of the

HORSCH Maschinen GmbH an annex

with 4,500 m² has been built. A new sec-

ond powder spray coating facility for

small mass parts was set up. Adjacent to

the new logistic hall an additional stor-

age area for the incoming and outgoing

goods has been created. The parking

area for finished machines has been ex-

tended to a capacity of 400 units. Ad-

ditionally, a shipping centre for trucks

has been created. The investment sum

for these sectors amounts to about 6

million Euro.

In September the extended buildings

were officially inaugurated. The Ron-

neburg employees and their families

were invited to the opening. An official

part with speeches of the HORSCH man-

aging directors was followed by an in-

teresting programme for young and

old. 800 visitors spent an interesting day

with machine demonstrations, factory

tours and entertaining activities for the

children.

This year’s HORSCH Press Day, too,

took place in Ronneburg in mid-Sep-

tember. HORSCH had invited about 90

international specialist journalists to

present the new factory that has been

extended for a total of 20 million Euro

as well as nine technical innovations. On

the occasion of a common dinner Cor-

nelia Horsch, head of marketing, and

the managing directors Michael Horsch,

Philipp Horsch and Theodor Leeb wel-

comed the guests. They gave a detailed

insight into the Ronneburg investments

and informed about the machine inno-

vations. The next day the journalists vis-

ited the HORSCH factories in Ronneburg

and got a picture of the investments on

site on the occasion of a factory tour.

The next part was all about technology:

the machine innovations were pre-

sented and then shown in the field. The

Press Day was to give advanced infor-

mation before the Agritechnica in No-

vember where HORSCH, in the mean-

time, has officially presented the new

disc harrows and cultivators.

Presentation of the machines on the occasion of the Press Day in September

The extension of the HORSCH site in Ronneburg only took a little more than one year. The construction works of the

20-million-Euro project started in July 2012. This largest individual investment in the company’s history was to almost

double the size of the Ronneburg site to be well prepared for the future growth of the company.

7

terraHORSCH: Considering your pre-

vious activities, why did you decide to

work for HORSCH?

Dr. Matthias Rothmund: I was

intrigued by working directly for a man-

ufacturer and not for a supplier of com-

ponents. In addition, there was the chal-

lenge to start a completely new

department from scratch.

terraHORSCH: Where is the develop-

ment headed today, what are the cur-

rent challenges?

Dr. Matthias Rothmund: To us, it is

not only important to develop amazing

electronic systems, but also to make

sure that they can be operated in an

optimum way. There are various

approaches. On the one hand, we are

programming our electronic systems in

such a way that an optimum use is also

guaranteed in combination with all ISO-

BUS terminals of other manufacturers.

On the other hand, we are developing

completely new systems of our own,

e.g. for our self-propelled plant protec-

tion sprayers. They are very innovative

and include elements of tablet comput-

ers. Our focus is on an absolutely simple

and intuitive handling even of complex

control systems. People should be able

to handle the systems easily and not vice

versa. Of course, together with our sup-

pliers we are continuing to develop the

already existing systems even further.

terraHORSCH: What are the qualifi-

cations and training of the people in

your team?

Dr. Matthias Rothmund: There are

now 11 people working in my team

with the most different qualifications.

There are software engineers and devel-

opers and the typical computer scien-

tists. But there are also electrical engi-

neers who are responsible for the sector

cabling, sensors and circuits as well as

technicians who test these systems and

then put them to practical use. It is,

however, my objective to develop whole

systems. This is the reason why we also

have an expert in hydraulics in our

team, as here too the electronic system

more and more serves as a control sys-

tem. With regard to documentation we

have to work hand in hand to get the

whole developments across to sales, ser-

vice, dealers and final customers in an

easily comprehensible way.

terraHORSCH: The simpler and more

intuitive the tools are, the easier is the

handling even of complex systems?

Dr. Matthias Rothmund: Absolutely.

Let’s take the current version of our

Maestro seed drill as an example. If we

transfer it to the world of PCs, it has

developed from mouldy Windows XP to

state-of-the-art Windows 8. In the

future, it will be possible to control and

check the functions of the machine also

via an iPhone directly at the sowing

units. So to adjust the machine I do not

have to run to and fro between the

operation terminal in the tractor cabin

and the sowing unit. This saves time.

You even do not need a telephone con-

nection as there will be a WLAN connec-

tion. And if there is a software update

for the machine with new functions,

you can deploy it rather quickly to your

seed drill via iPhone.

Setting things in motion

Dr. Matthias Rothmund: „People should be able to handle the systems easily and not vice versa.“

HORSCH talked to Dr. Matthias Rothmund. Since 2010 he has been head of Systems Engineering, a specialised department

within R & D.

terra

8

Around the world

Around the world

For about one year the company Ter-

raTill has been operating actively as a

HORSCH sales partner. And quite suc-

cessfully so: They sold 38 machines at

one go. terraHORSCH accompanied

the delivery.

Normally, the working place of

René Lederer, Jan Schmid and

Eugen Trokmann is at Sitzen-

hof. They are part of the as-

sembly team that produces the Tigers,

but also the large Maestros. This year in

August, however, they worked in the

field. They accompanied the delivery of

HORSCH machines to the South African

importer TerraTill. From the marketing

side Freddy Linzmaier and Constantin

Horsch were with them on site in South

Africa. Their task was the final inspec-

tion and testing and the support of the

initial use of the machines in the field.

But let’s start at the beginning: Like

any other HORSCH product the machines

were produced according to the usual

quality standards – in this case in Schwan-

dorf – and were ready for delivery after

having been tested extensively. South

Africa, as is generally known, is situated

on the other side of the globe, the usual

mode of transport via a forwarding

agency was un-practicable. So every-

thing was disassembled again to make it

fit into maritime containers. The ship

went to Durban and from there to Ter-

raTill near Johannesburg. There were

slight delays during the sea transport as

the Cape of Good Hope truly lived up to

its by-name “Cape of Storms“.

The HORSCH technicians arrived in

South Africa on the 19th of September.

First of all their task was to unload the

machines and prepare the assembly. The

machines involved were mainly 24-, 12-

and eight-row Maestros as well as eight

units of a special edition with 16 rows

and a row spacing of 95 centimeters. This

is due to the immense dryness on the Af-

rican continent and is to prevent the

maize roots from taking water away

from each other.

“We were very surprised how well

TerraTill was prepared“, Freddy Linz-

maier told us. “They had invested heav-

This is how one imagines South Africa: dryness and red soils.

9

ily: in a new garage, the necessary tools

and service vehicles. A spare part storage

is being set up at the moment. The most

important special parts, like for example

hydraulic blocks, are available. And a lot

of other things can easily be purchased

on site – after all South Africa is not a

developing country.“

The main task of the technicians, how-

ever, was not to assemble the machines.

They trained the native employees and

showed them the ultimate tricks and fi-

nesses for the final assembly. After all

the latter is to be carried out by TerraTill

in the future.

On the one hand, Freddy Linzmaier

and Constantin Horsch were responsible

for the final control. There is, after all,

one standard for HORSCH machines all

over the world. But on the other hand

they also prepare the tractors and every-

thing else on the farm for the initial use

of the machines. “The dimensions are

gigantic“, Linzmaier says. „Farm sizes up

to 20,000 hectare are not uncommon.

One customer owns 120 tractors. I was

quite surprised that there are specialised

employees on the farms who are well

versed in all aspects of electronics, in Sec-

tionControl and in GPS. Wherever we

went we were very well received. The

farmers appreciated very much that we

handed over a completely assembled

machine. Products from Europe are usu-

ally delivered in a container.“

South Africa’s main crop is maize that

stays in the country and is the staple food

for the people. The yields are about

seven to eight tons per hectare, provided

that there is enough water. In this case

up to three harvests per year are possi-

ble. The technicians told us that at the

time of their visit it had not been raining

for more than one year. Therefore, they

often use centre pivot irrigation. These

fields are ideal for the eight-row Maes-

tros.

For René Leder, Jan Schmid, Eugen

Trokmann, Freddy Linzmaier and Con-

stantin Horsch the activity in South Africa

was a quite impressive experience. “It

was very interesting to experience the

country so closely and not as a tourist.

For those – like most of the white popu-

lation – mainly move in guarded sec-

tions“, Linzmaier states. “In former times

the area around Johannesburg was pop-

ulated by Germans and Dutch what can

still be seen today. You even get Thuring-

ian bratwurst. The cities show a consider-

able European influence, infrastructure

and the streets are excellent.“ However,

the extreme differences between the

poor and the rich are striking. And poor

in almost all cases means black. Apart-

heid can be felt always and everywhere.

Thus, it went without saying that the

white employees rode in the driver’s cab,

while the black employees sat on the

cargo bed of the pickup. It also was un-

thinkable that the black people would

eat with the others in the farmhouse.

Too big is the fear to arouse envy and

thus to provoke burglaries.

Security in general is an important

topic. Freddy Linzmaier adds: “As a mat-

ter of principle there is a fence around

the farm, often even an electric fence. In

addition, there are alarm systems and

security guards. Everything that is on the

field, like for example pumps, is addi-

tionally safeguarded. And every day you

can see bushfires which are either caused

by technical defects on a machine or by

arson. In such cases the farmers help

each other. By the way, they often use a

Joker to make fire belts around the

farms.“

In the meantime all HORSCH ma-

chines in South Africa have proven their

worth in practice. The demonstration

machines which already had been in the

country have been modified to serial

standard. However, HORSCH employees

again are on their way to accompany the

machines in practice. TerraTill is still be-

ing active, exhibited at the most impor-

tant agricultural show and shows

HORSCH technology in practice. For

whether here or in South Africa: Before

the farmers decide to buy a machine,

they want to see the machine in the

field. For the time being the assembly

team is no longer needed at the Cape.

TerraTill now can do everything by them-

selves. But the employees have already

planned to come back as tourists. The

reason: Once Africa has put its spell on

you, it will not let you go again.

It was the task of the HORSCH technicians to train the local colleagues in assembly and technology.

terra

10

Around the world

Made in USA

At the beginning there was a

partnership between Kevin

Anderson – Kory’s father –

and Michael Horsch. They de-

veloped the idea to offer special seed

drills for the American market. Today

HORSCH is present overseas with a large

product range.

terraHORSCH: Mr Horsch, what is

HORSCH’s market position in America?

Traugott Horsch: From modest begin-

nings we developed into a very impor-

tant supplier for the American farmers.

First we mainly stood for the Airseeder,

today we have a much wider range of

cultivators and seed drills.

terraHORSCH: How are sales in the

US organised?

Traugott Horsch: The same way as

everywhere in the world: our partners

are local dealers on site that we support

with our own sales and service team.

terraHORSCH: But especially America

is dominated by agricultural engineer-

ing full-liners. How do you handle their

claim for exclusivity?

Kory Anderson: The big companies in

our line of business put an enormous

pressure on their dealers. We only have

the possibility to work with dealers that

represent a short-liner. But there are a

lot of combinations where we fit per-

fectly. I am thinking for example of

North Dakota or Nebraska where we

successfully co-operate with Cat-deal-

ers. In total we operate at 70 to 80 sites.

terraHORSCH: Compared to Ger-

many, are there differences in the

dealer structure?

Traugott Horsch: Of course. First of all

the dealer’s sales area is much larger. On

the other hand, a lot is expected from a

dealer in the US. A call center that is

available 24/7 is standard. Moreover,

they need a much higher capital cover

to be able to survive on the market.

terraHORSCH: How do American

farmers take the decision to buy a

machine?

Traugott Horsch: That’s quite similar

to Germany. Demonstrations are very

important and the farmers attend

shows to get information. But what I

notice – except for the Farm Machinery

Show in Louisville – is that the gigantism

is by far not as distinctive as in Europe.

A lot of shows quite simply are open-air

events.

terraHORSCH: What are the features

HORSCH can score with on the Ameri-

can market?

Kory Anderson: We have some types

of machine that work very well in the

US. What is interesting is that the Joker

is ranking quite at the top. This type of

machine entered the European market

in the nineties. In America the trend for

this machine is only growing now. For

The farmers attend demonstrations and shows to get information.

HORSCH, of course, is a German manufacturer. But they also produce abroad. For

example in the US where among others Maestros are produced for local use and

for Canada. terraHORSCH talked to Kory Anderson and Traugott Horsch about

those markets.

11

us, the Joker is not only an important

top-seller, but it also opens the doors to

some dealers. Everyone wants such a

machine and we are the ones to sell it.

However, the Maestro, too, is an

extremely important machine.

terraHORSCH: Why is that?

Kory Anderson: Every farmer imme-

diately sees the advantages at first

glance. It is very clearly arranged where-

as American manufacturers often add

additional functions afterwards in a

rather inadequate way. I am talking for

example about things like coulter

adjustment. In our machine everything

is already built in. For quite some time

the farmers have been attaching great

importance to facts like that. With

regard to design it is quite similar.

American machines look rather rustic,

our machines are quite impressive. But

first and foremost the seed units that

are driven by an electro motor are what

make the Maestro a real trendsetter.

terraHORSCH: Which general trends

do you see?

Traugott Horsch: Among American

farmers the concentration process has

already started much earlier than in Europe. In the meantime it has almost

been completed to a large extent. With

regard to cultivation systems there were

two extremes: “no-till“ which means

doing almost nothing and “ripping“

which means moving a lot of earth with

deep cultivators or rotary harrows.

Today the farmers have found a com-

promise in the middle with Strip or

RidgeTill. By the way, for about one

year there has been a completely new

field of activity for our Airseeders: They

are used for the mere application of fer-

tiliser.

terraHORSCH: What about your pro-

duction sites in the US?

Kory Anderson: The construction

works have completely been finished by

now, production is in full swing. We

have employed some new employees,

everything else will now proceed

dynamically.

terraHORSCH: Why does HORSCH

produce in the US?

Traugott HORSCH: Almost all

machines we sell there are born-and-

bred Americans, i.e. they adapted to the

local conditions in an optimum way. For

example the transport width – quite dif-

ferent than in Europe – is only a minor

matter. The same is true for the com-

mon working widths. But what is even

more important: all connections are

made in inches. We, thus, are consid-

ered as an American brand with Ger-

man virtues.

Maestro production in the US

The construction works for the new production sites have completely been finished by now.

Traugott Horsch

Kory Anderson

HORSCH LEEB has updated the trailed sprayers of the GS line.

The technology of the previous GS 8000 has been transferred to

two smaller sprayers. We have tested the new 7 GS with 7,000

litre stainless steel tank with a 27-metre boom.

Stainless steel has its price

HORSCH Leeb trailed sprayer 7 GS:

IThe designation “GS“ for trailed

HORSCH Leeb sprayers is already

known from the GS 8000 with a

nominal capacity of 8,000 litre

and the GS 6000 with a nominal capacity of

6,000 litre. Both sprayers have been on sale

since 2009 and differ strikingly particular-

ly due to the parallelogram boom suspen-

sion of the GS 8000 and the vertical slide of

the GS 6000.

The new GS series basically corresponds to

the previous GS 8000. The line now consists

of three sprayers – the models 6 GS, 7 GS

and 8 GS – with a nominal capacity of 6,000,

7,000 and 8,000 litre, bottom hitching and

a parallelogram boom suspension. Except

for the tank capacity the design of all three

models is identical.

The stainless steel tank – with an actual ca-

pacity of 7,400 litre for the 7 GS – is with-

out doubt characteristic for the Leeb spray-

ers. To keep the centre of gravity as low as

possible the tank encloses the double beam

frame like a saddle. Due to this design 1,000

litre are at the same level below the frame.

Thus, two outlets are necessary to lead the

spraying mixture via two short hoses and a

central tube to the suction filter in the front.

Speaking of the frame: the tank is positioned

close to the front, the indicated vertical load

is up to 3.4 tons. Thus, the GS sprayer can

only be used with a bottom hitching with a

size-80 ball coupling. The dead weight of

the 7 GS is 5.5 tons depending on the equip-

ment, the sprayer is licensed for a maximum

load of 14 tons and a speed of 40 km/h.

According to HORSCH LEEB the production

costs of the stainless steel tank are eight

times those of a plastic tank. But in this pro-

fessional line of business there is one obvi-

ous advantage that counts for HORSCH

LEEB: Even after more than 130,000 hec-

tares of practical use you will not find any

deposits in the barrel.

However, the Bavarian plant protection

specialist is well aware of one fact: If they

want to increase their importance on the

The HORSCH Leeb 7 GS impresses with a very smooth control of the 27-metre boom. Fotos: Tovornik

12

terraprofi FAHRBERICHT from profi 10/2013

market in the future, they also will have to

produce less expensive sprayers. And the

tanks of those sprayers can only be made

of glass-fibre reinforced plastic or other

plastics.

Another characteristic of the GS sprayers

is a centrifugal pump. HORSCH LEEB relies

on this system not only because it is main-

tenance-free, durable and efficient – with a

maximum flow rate of 1,000 l/min, it takes

seven minutes to fill the tank . You have to

hurry to fill all spraying agents into the in-

duction hopper in this short period of time.

Good thing that the flow rate can easily be

reduced for complex cocktails.

According to HORSCH LEEB other advantag-

es of the 1,000-litre centrifugal pump are

the low installation space as well as the fact

that the system requires no pressure-relief

valve and no additional hose lines. The nec-

essary pressure is controlled electronically

via the pumping rotation speed, the pump

supplies exactly the quantity that is re-

quired for spraying and for the agitator –

with pre-selected intensity. The pump is

driven via the load-sensing hydraulic sys-

tem of the tractor. An on-board hydraulic

system with hydraulic pump for the pto-

shaft of the tractor is available as an option.

“No hose is the best hose“, this is what the

leaflet already has stated so far. And for the

new edition of the GS HORSCH LEEB also

stuck to that rule. They were even able to

cut down on some metres of hoses to avoid

breakdowns caused by abrasions. Basically,

all hoses which are kept as short as possi-

ble are combined in the front in a box that

also houses pump, filter and electric ball

valves. There is only one long hose leading

to the boom and one return line – and that’s

it.

To fill the sprayer, there is a comfortable,

completely electrical control panel at the

left side below a practical box for e.g. gloves

and mask. Above the box the tank level –

like in the terminal – is displayed digitally

in addition to the flow meter. When the tank

is full and when the quantity that has been

pre-selected via the terminal has been

reached, the pump automatically stops the

filling process.

The induction hopper – also made of stain-

less steel – is easily accessible after it has

An electro-hydraulic kingpin steering is optionally available for the axle (which is braked by com-pressed air) with anti-lock braking system, pneumatic suspension and level regulation.

From below the HORSCH Leeb 7 GS seems clearly arranged, smooth and thus plant-protective.

Few short hoses mark the image of the sprayer. The operation via electrical ball valves are…

Nominal/actual capacity 7 000/7 400 l

Boom width 21 to 36 m

Boom height 0.30 to 2.50 m

Fresh water tank 530 l

Pump output 1 000 l/min

Length/width/height 8.37/2.82/3,60 m

Dead weight/

admissible total weight 5 500/14 000 kg

Track width 2.00/2.25 m

Tyre sizes 380er bis 650er Breite,

top-seller: 520/85 R 46

Ground clearance 0.85 m

Manufacturer’s data

Horsch Leeb 7GS

DATA COMPASS I

…comfortable and functional like the stainless steel induction hopper.

13

the spraying mixture tank and has a capac-

ity of 530 l.

An additional piston diaphragm pump

supplies the nozzles of the inside cleaning

system with clear water while the rotary

pump constantly sucks off the diluted spray-

ing mixture. The concentration of the spray-

ing mixture decreases quickly, thus reduc-

ing cleaning time.

At the front of the sprayer there are three

manometers for the agitator output, the

pressure filter and the inside cleaning.

The rotary pump is equipped with an elec-

tronic protection against dry running.

The platform is easily accessible via a lad-

der and is sufficiently large.

A hydraulic support leg is standard equip-

ment.

An option of a powerful LED spot lights

at the inside wing lights the outside seg-

ments of the boom. To prevent them from

getting blocked due to deposits, they are

cleaned each time the main valve is switched

off. A monitoring camera is also available.

The 7 GS is ISOBus compatible and, thus,

can be controlled and operated via corre-

sponding terminals. Two different Müller

Elektronik ISOBus terminals are available as

an option.

Summary: For the Agritechnica HORSCH

LEEB has updated the trailed sprayer GS

line.

Their distinctive characteristic still is the

stainless steel tank. In addition to a lot of

details other features are the 1.000-litre

centifugal pump, short hoses and the paral-

lelogram boom suspension.

And to get back to the title: Stainless steel

has its price! And this price can only be paid

by professional farms who can make full use

of the sprayer’s technology.

Gottfried Eikel

of the filter as any dirt is returned to the

tank lid filter basket and gets caught in the

filter.

The 7 GS we used was equipped with a sev-

en-piece 27-meter-boom. We were im-

pressed about how smooth the boom is tak-

en over the population at operating speeds

of about 16 km/h. The parallelogram sus-

pension with nitrogen accumulators togeth-

er with a shock absorber is really doing a

great job. Even when carrying out fast turn-

ing manoeuvres the boom hardly plunges

as a cylinder that is coupled with the main

switch locks the oscillation compensation of

the boom. Due to the tank which has been

shifted to the front the boom is quite near

to the axle so that horizontal oscillations,

too, are contained.

To control the height of the boom, the 7 GS

was equipped with DistanceControl. The

whole working width remains rigid and is

kept in position by an ultrasonic sensor at

both outside segments. That is sufficient for

a level field. For hilly and very irregular ar-

eas the sprayer can be equipped with Boom-

Control where four sensors control the

height of both arms separately.

Variable nozzle spacings increase the ver-

satility. According to HORSCH LEEB 70 per

cent of the boom are sold with a nozzle

spacing of 25 cm. The 7 GS we used was

equipped with a 0.25-double flat fan nozzle

with a spacing of 50 cm as well as with

0.2-nozzles with a spacing of 25 cm. Due to

the pneumatic nozzle control you can

choose the suitable nozzles depending on

application rate, operational speed and tar-

get. For a nozzle spacing of 25 cm the boom

can be lowered and thus is less affected by

the wind.

What we also noticed:

The fresh water tank is positioned behind

comfortably been swung downwards by

means of a gas-filled shock absorber. With

a powerful circular flushing line, the push

nozzle, the washing lance as well as with a

rotating canister flushing nozzle the hopper

has been perfectly equipped to fill in even

powdery compounds reliably and complete-

ly. The capacity of 60 l is adequate and on-

ly for 50-kilogramme bags of urea it is a lit-

tle bit tight.

When the spraying tank is full, spraying mix-

ture instead of clear water is sent through

the induction hopper. It, thus, has proven

its worth to reduce the filling rate for com-

plex spraying cocktails. By the way, all

agents that are flushed in are led to the

spraying hopper via the tank lid filter bas-

ket so that any pollution is caught in the fil-

ter.

It also has to be mentioned that each time

the main switch is turned to “OFF“, the pres-

sure filter is cleaned. Thus, it is hardly nec-

essary to carry out the annoying cleaning

The GS sprayer is ISOBus compatible and can be operated via corresponding tractor termi-nals like the John Deere GreenStar.

The boom is suspended via a hydraulically spring-loaded and damped parallelogram (left). According to HORSCH LEEB 70 per cent of the GS sprayers are delivered with a combined nozzle spacing of 25 and 50 cm (above).

terraprofi FAHRBERICHT from profi 10/2013

14

1515

terraPractical experience

terraHORSCH: How did your family

come to Bézéril?

Michael Ehmann: In 1981, my father

Heinrich Ehmann quite simply fell in

love with the Gers region. As because of

the expansion of Stuttgart Airport he

had to sell part of his farm anyway, he

decided to invest in France. He bought

a 250-hectare-multi-crop farm in Bézéril

that was managed by a farm manager.

terraHORSCH: 1985 your father was

one of the first farmers in France who

bought a HORSCH seed drill. Can you

tell us a little bit about it?

Michael Ehmann: Of course, my

father opted for a semi-mounted Seed-

Exactor with four meter working width.

After almost 30 years we still sow all our

wheat with it, as it quite simply is opti-

mally adapted to our site. Can you

imagine that?

terraHORSCH: How did you come up

with the idea of growing maize for pop-

corn?

Michael Ehmann: After having fin-

ished my agricultural studies in Germa-

A different kind of maize grower

Michael Ehmann (left) and his farm manager, Christophe Morelière (right)

The department Gers in the south-west of France. What first comes to mind is

confit of duck and goose liver, but our topic is not poultry farming or the pro-

duction of gastronomic specialties, but maize growing. More precisely the grow-

ing of popcorn maize. Michael Ehmann is the founder of the company Nataïs,

the European market leader for popcorn maize. The farmer originally is from the

south of Germany, his wife is American and they have three children. In 1989 he

went to France to take over the family farm his father had bought eight years

before. terraHORSCH talked to him about this European success story.

Rotation 2013 :

245 hectare arable land

terra

16

Practical experience

ny, my wife and I decided to go to

France in 1989. I had been working

there for two years, before I took over

the farm in 1991. During a trip through

the USA I met a colleague who grew

popcorn maize. I immediately took seed

with me to France to carry out the first

tests. I offered a sample of this first har-

vest to a customer in Germany. The

result was my first contract for 50 tons.

So I started to grow popcorn maize on

ten hectare. Step by step, with the

demand increasing constantly, the cul-

tivation area grew, too.

terraHORSCH: How did your com-

pany develop from that?

Michael Ehmann: 1994 further farm-

ers from Gers signed the first produc-

tion contracts and at the same time the

foundation contract for the company

Pop-Corn Midi Pyrénées that later on

became Nataïs. It was the first company

that was able to set up an important

production of popcorn maize in Europe

– in competition to the American com-

panies that so far were dominating the

popcorn market. Our popcorn maize

was able to convince by its quality, at

first in Germany, then in Great Britain

and in Central Europe. 1997 we decided

to offer our popcorn maize readily

packed for the microwave. In the US,

this already was a huge success – and it

was only a question of time till this

would become popular in Europe, too.

So we invested in a first production line

and were able to land a contract in the

Czech Republic. The final breakthrough

came in 2005. The company concluded

a contract with Benoit, a company that

supplies 80 per cent of the cinemas in

France! In the same year we started the

co-operation with the French market

leader for party snacks, Menguy’s. Today

packed microwave popcorn maize

accounts for two thirds of the turnover,

loose maize for about one third. From

one employee in 1994, over more than

forty employees in 2006, Nataïs today is

a company with 120 employees. Our

strategy paid off: On the European mar-

ket for popcorn maize which in the

meantime is between about 70,000 and

80,000 tons, Nataïs has the largest share

by far with 30,000 tons. Contracts with

220 producers from Gers and the south-

west of France confirm the success. We

produce 150 million packing units of

microwave popcorn per year and thus,

are way ahead of our largest competi-

tors who produce about 90 million

packing units.

terraHORSCH: What about your agri-

cultural farm? Could you give us some

information about the farm? How has

your cultivation technlogy developed?

Michael Ehmann: Though I am a busi-

nessman, I first and foremost am a farm-

er with all my heart and soul. I still man-

age my 250-hectare farm myself – we

are cultivating popcorn maize on half of

the land, and soft wheat on the other

half. Our manager, Christophe More-

lière, is responsible for the daily activi-

ties on the farm. He sees to it that the

technical processes are kept as simple as

possible. Situated in the heart of Gers

the rotation of the farm is short: pop-

corn maize and soft wheat. The soil that

is clay by nature has a clay content of 25

to 35 per cent depending on the plot.

Some plots in the hilly area have an

inclination of up to 35 degree what, of

course, causes erosion problems. The

high amounts of rain in winter saturate

the soil completely during this period.

Moreover, the soil structure is very sensi-

tive and the lack of frost makes sowing

in spring difficult. Residue decomposi-

tion is slow and requires particular

attention. Popcorn maize is cultivated

with a row spacing of 60 centimeters,

contrary to silage or grain maize for

which the row spacing in the region in

general is about 75 or 80 centimeters.

Thus, we were able to increase yields by

five to seven per cent and due to the

quick covering of the row spacing weed

management became easier, too. Sow-

ing in general starts on the 20th of

March and has to be finished before the

15th of April to be able to make full use

Nataïs is the European market leader for popcorn maize – company premises (left) and silos (right).

17

of the temperature sums the plant

needs. Harvest, however, is the restric-

tive factor for popcorn maize. The con-

ditions at the time of harvest have to be

good and the moisture content should

be below 21 per cent. Thus, the early

sowing date and the necessity of an

optimum soil preparation in autumn.

With 5 to 8 t/ha the popcorn maize yield

is slightly lower than that of grain maize

– here the yields in the region go up to

14.5 t/ha. For these difficult conditions

we were looking for a ploughless solu-

tion with the possibility of sowing catch

crops. So we were looking for a technol-

ogy that improves soil structure and

encourages straw decomposition. Step

by step we found out that the solution

is to sow on ridges. The basic idea is to

create a small ridge at the end of sum-

mer where you then will sow maize in

spring. While creating the ridges we at

the same time sow field beans and

phacelia as a soil cover between the

future maize rows. Thus, we are able to

sow the maize into the dried soil. More-

over, the seed row is free from residues

and the spacing is covered by the resi-

dues of beans and phacelia, thus in turn

reducing the danger of erosion of the

soil. At the same time we benefit from

the 60 to 80 units of nitrogen which is

gathered by the field beans.

terraHORSCH: How does HORSCH fit

into your cultivation concept?

Michael Ehmann: Sometimes dreams

come true. After we had analysed all

these parameters, Michael Horsch

offered to develop a machine that

would be perfectly adapted to our

region and our conditions. This machine

was to allow for preparing the soil in

autumn and sowing catch crops – with-

out using a plough! The attached culti-

vation tool is 4.80 meter wide and con-

sists of two tine rows as you know them

from the Terrano and that are mounted

with a spacing of 30 centimeters. At the

rear of the Focus frame there is hopper

for sowing catch crops. Thus, strip culti-

vation found its way into our farm.

HORSCH constantly accompanied us

during the use of the machine. And thus

the basic principle of the prototype

developed. At first the machine was

exclusively equipped with tines that

worked at the same depth at the front

and the rear. The second tine row sowed

the field beans in the trench of the

ridge. Phacelia was sown over the whole

working width. The first further devel-

opment resulted from the fact that we

wanted to work deeper under the

future maize rows, i.e. with the front

tine row. Therefore, HORSCH mounted

tines of different sizes. In the front row

there are 850 mm tines that loosen

deeply – exactly where later on the

future maize row will be. A second row

with 750 mm winged tines places the

field beans at a depth of 10 centimeters.

It throws earth on the area where the

first tine row worked previously. Thus,

the ridge is created. The second further

development was carried out because

the earth did not heat up fast enough

as the surface was completely covered.

To solve this problem, guide plates place

the phacelia seed at a width of 15 cen-

timeters between the ridges. The

machine is RTK-controlled so that the

ridges are totally parallel even on the

hills.

To improve the efficiency of this sys-

tem even further, HORSCH developed a

seed drill that crushes the catch crop

population in the trench and at the

same time sows maize on the ridge. This

Maestro is equipped with guide discs to

determine exactly the position of the

seed drill via RTK so that the maize real-

ly is sown exactly on the ridge. The

objective is to keep the catch crop as

long as possible. Previously we removed

the population three weeks before sow-

ing. After some tests and experiences

we realised that these three weeks in

the cycle of the field beans bring us 40

additional nitrogen units – so 80 units in

total. What we did not expect was that,

as a positive side effect, the snail and

insect attacks were reduced, too.

terraHORSCH: Does strip cultivation

go in line with the climatic conditions

on your farm?

Michael Ehmann: 2007 we started to

modify our technical processes for the

cultivation of popcorn maize. In the first

year we only cultivated one hectare

with the StripTill method, 2008 27 hec-

tare, 2011 already 50 hectare and 2013

we cultivate 114 hectare with StripTill.

We gradually familiarised with StripTill

technology which developed into strip

cultivation. At the same time the RTK

control system was introduced on the

farm – an essential tool when working

in stripes. With strip cultivation we

wanted to reduce the risk of erosion

and the cultivation passes as well as to

sow plants for covering the soil in

autumn. Maintaining the organic mate-

rial, but at the same time increasing the

humus share in the soil which are two

big challenges in our region. We perma-

nently have to develop further and fur-

ther with regard to the technology we

use to improve our production and

quality. After the maize harvest in July

we make one pass with a cultivator and

then a second one in mid-August. In

September we sow the catch crops with

the HORSCH Focus. Popcorn maize is

sown in spring directly on the strip next

to the catch crop which in turn is crushed

by the seed drill. 60 l/ha of liquid ferti-

liser (14-48-0) is applied in the furrow.

This method works excellently and we

try to introduce it at all our producers.

Our farm is sort of a “show window”.

We offer the popcorn maize producers

to adopt our technical procedure and to

test it on their farms.

terraHORSCH: Together with the

other farmers you have set up a system

of sustainable farming. Can you tell us

a little bit more about it?

Michael Ehmann: Two years ago we

all together took the step towards sus-

tainable farming. First of all it is all

about the personal conviction that

farming should work in harmony with

nature and not against it. But moreover

it was what the consumers and our cus-

tomers expected. You wouldn’t believe

how interested our customers are in

what we do and in how we do it. We

decided to work on three strategical

sectors: First on the fertility of the soil.

We try to motivate the farmers to work

without a plough and with catch crops.

In our opinion this is indispensable in

order to maintain the fertility of the

soils in our region.

The second sector is optimising irriga-

tion to reduce water consumption. A

network of 40 measuring sensors allows

us to provide extremely exact informa-

tion about irrigation. The objective is to

reduce water consumption by 20 per

cent and to improve the efficiency of

irrigation.

The last sector is to fight the corn

borer biologically. On 3,700 hectare we

use parasitic wasps. We worked quite a

long time on optimising the distribution

and on finding the right quantity of

parasictic wasps per hectare to achieve

an effect that corresponds to the use of

chemical agents.

terra

18

Company insights

The invisible men

Whether for the FITZ train-

ing centre, the R & D de-

partment, the produc-

tion sites in Schwandorf,

Ronneburg or in Landau or even for

HORSCH LLC in the USA – with regard to

information technology (IT) all threads

come together at the Sitzenhof. Thomas

Huber is head of IT. Although he is re-

sponsible for the whole IT of the com-

pany, his personal area of expertise is

the ERP software SAP. As in many other

large companies this software is used to

execute all business processes like pur-

chasing, production, sales, service, but

also financial accounting, controlling

and warehousing.

“One of the greatest challenges for

the IT is setting up and supporting the

networking system“, Huber explains.

“For with the growth of the company

the IT requirements have risen to the

same extent.“

Whereas formerly individual work-

places with local PCs were the general

rule, today all processes are interlinked.

This means for example that a supplier

gets an order from HORSCH per SAP and

via e-mail – all that, is carried out in a

SAP-assisted way – and the design data

from the HORSCH R & D department can

at the same time be imported into the

machine tool of the supplier.

There also is a network system be-

hind the new spare parts catalogue that

is now available under www.horsch.

The IT-Team (from left to right): Sebastian Pusch, Stephan Mauerer, Mathias Bein (on his knees), Markus Roppert, head of IT Thomas Huber, Hubert Beer, Markus Ströll and Anton Wittmann

They neither design nor assemble nor sell anything. But they are nevertheless significantly involved in the success of the

HORSCH company: the employees of the IT department. terraHORSCH talked to Thomas Huber, head of IT.

19

com. Access is not only granted to deal-

ers, but also to final customers. The lat-

ter, however, cannot order directly, but

they can choose their spare parts on the

screen. “We managed to get every sin-

gle part for every machine into the

catalogue“, Thomas Huber states

proudly. “And it does not matter which

web browser is used by the dealer or the

customers – all data formats especially

those of the exploded drawings are set

up neutrally and also work with older

browsers.“

At the moment nine people are em-

ployed in the IT department. All EDP

systems are operated and all IT business

processes are supported from here. An-

other team which from an organisa-

tional point of view is separated from

the central IT and is part of R & D devel-

ops control systems for HORSCH prod-

ucts.

“However, such a central structure

can only work because we have so-

called key users in almost all depart-

ments and at each site respectively“,

Huber explains. “They are completely

integrated in their department and act

as an interface with IT. They consult

with us their department’s require-

ments and they are able to solve a lot of

problems themselves. Apart from that

we still have the possibility to intervene

via remote maintenance at each site.“

There is one thing Huber has no illu-

sions about: “No IT system is flawless.

But it is our task to provide concepts

which reduce such flaws – and the con-

sequences – to an absolute minimum.“

All processes are in constant flow. Eve-

rything is reviewed regularly – hard-

ware as well as software. To be able to

cope with future requirements, it is im-

portant to already have scalable solu-

tions in mind, says Huber.

Whereas SAP is running via an exter-

nal data centre, almost all other pro-

cesses are handled in-house. To be able

to do so they have a redundant network

system with up to 10Gbit at their dis-

posal. The tasks are assigned to several

physical servers in separate data centres

which handle the data of more than 50

virtual servers. Thus, maintenance work

can be carried out during the day with-

out shutting down large parts of the

company. The Sitzenhof is connected

via a glass fibre cable with a complex

redundant security architecture for

global communication.

Thomas Huber has only been work-

ing for HORSCH for one year, but he is

very satisfied with the working atmos-

phere. In his opinion the quick decision-

making processes are striking. While

other companies work with strict for-

malities with regard to EDP-problems,

at HORSCH a lot is still handled via per-

sonal contact. “It happens several times

a day that colleagues who have a re-

quest knock on our doors“.

By the way, the colleagues from the

HORSCH IT department from time to

time also work in the field. And not only

at the different sites, but for example

also at the Agritechnica 2013: a sepa-

rate team including hardware and

server saw to it that the data acquisition

system via iPad worked smoothly.

Within the HORSCH company IT is, of

course, essential, but by no means an

end in itself. “I am the most satisfied

when the colleagues don’t even notice

that we exist“, Huber comments.

Horst Keller

Within the management board responsi-

ble for the IT department

We cannot do

without IT. And

what an outcry

can be heard in

the offices and

production halls

when the com-

puters do not

work or are slow.

We as the users

do not realise

what the col-

leagues from the

IT department

work on quietly in their offices to make

sure that our computers start and that

we have all information we need for our

daily work at our disposal like we are

used to – at any time day and night. We

can all deal with sales, production, capac-

ity and cost plans, but what the guys in

the IT department do and plan is like a

closed book to most of us. And yet al-

ready today they have to take major and

cost-intensive decisions to guarantee that

our company will also run smoothly in

two years even if we continue to grow.

Network architecture, server landscape,

data back-up systems, storage media, cus-

tomer and supplier linking, smartphones,

tablets, and so on …. All that is linked

and supported by the IT department – in

an environment where everything

changes faster and faster. I am very

happy to have a team I can completely

rely on, who covers all sectors and is able

to look ahead and thus again and again

sets the right courses to make sure that

tomorrow, too, all our IT systems boot up

as a matter of course.

terra

20

Company insights

It’s awesome

Bombastic“, “awesome“, “gigan-

tic“ – when Michael Horsch talks

about the harvest 2013 on the

farm AgroVation in the Czech

Republic, he gets enthusiastic - although

the conditions were anything but good.

After weeks of extreme heat on one day

at the end of July it rained 80 millime-

ters in only 10 minutes. In addition,

there was a strong wind with gusts of

hurricane and 80 per cent of the rape,

wheat and partially the maize popula-

tion was down. Two reasons prevented

the harvest from becoming a mudbath:

Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) and the

consistent use of caterpillar systems.

One could not wish for better condi-

tions for CTF!

terraHORSCH: Mister Horsch, how is

the progress of the conversion to CTF?

Michael Horsch: Conversion is the

wrong word. AgroVation is set to CTF.

Unfortunately, we have not yet man-

aged to implement 100 per cent of the

system as the fields were in an extreme-

ly bad condition when we took them

over one year ago and these extremely

uneven, very compacted fields first had

to be sorted: trees and hedges had not

been cut out, drains were clogged and

there are a lot of waterholes.

terraHORSCH: And still in your opin-

ion CTF was the essential factor for a

successful harvest 2013?

Michael Horsch: Definitely. But there

also were other factors: First of all our

general manager Christoph Foth had a

knack with regard to population man-

agement, second we consistently rely on

caterpillar systems and third we exclu-

sively work with a track width of 3m

with a cutting width of 12m.

terraHORSCH: Please tell us about

the harvest.

Michael Horsch: For three weeks I

myself have been on site most of the

time. To begin with rape harvest was

very difficult because of the extremely

wet soil. We worked with two own

Claas Lexion 780 combines. On one of

those combines Claas extended the

unloading auger to 12m as a test. Thus,

the auger waggon could drive exactly

on a 12m track. We knew right from the

start that the pipe would stick out quite

considerably at the rear and that the

cutting unit would have to be transport-

ed separately. Moreover, the drivers had

to be very careful when turning. But it

worked very well. We ourselves mount-

ed an extension on the second combine

that folds in and out each time. During

the wheat harvest, however, a coupling

broke down. This extension has already

been redesigned. Apart from that with

regard to wheat beside lodged wheat

we had to struggle with the fact that

because of the wet soil the plant togeth-

er with the root was drawn into the cut-

ting unit. It was a nerve-racking stop

and start as we constantly had to get off

to remove earth from the cutting unit.

For the maize harvest Geringhoff put a

16-row picker Horizon Star II at our dis-

posal. By using auto-contour we wanted

to chop a stubble length of max. 10cm

and everything to a length of max.

Michael Horsch

Agricultural engineering and farming – the Horsch family manages two farms in the Czech Republic – a total of 6,000 hec-

tare – in a future-oriented way. And due to their constant striving for increasing efficiency they do not hesitate to break

completely new ground. terraHORSCH talked to Michael Horsch.

21

10cm in one pass. To avoid fusarium

problems for wheat after maize to the

greatest possible extent, one must not

compromise with regard to crushing

straw and stubble. Re-chopping is of no

use at all because of the combine and

auger waggon tyre tracks a large part

of the stubbles and stems has already

been pressed into the soil in an unat-

tainable way. It only works with an

operational speed of 5 km/h and with

caterpillar system on the combine and

with 16 row resp. 12 m one can still har-

vest 120 to 140 tons per hour of maize.

It really is a pleasure to observe this rig

at work. For good maize the picker

requires about 250 hp and considering

the working quality it really is worth it.

Depth control has to be optimised a lit-

tle bit. If with 12m you want to go down

to 10 cm there is still some potential for

improvement with regard to soil scan-

ning and regulation. Geringhoff already

has found solutions.

terraHORSCH: How did the caterpil-

lar systems prove their worth?

Michael Horsch: Fantastically. It is

absolutely awesome to see how every-

thing runs in one track. I would not

want to miss the experience. We were

able to make a direct comparison when

a contractor with combine and auger

waggon worked on our fields: these

fields looked like after a war. We are

very consistent: At AgroVation we

exclusively use caterpillar systems – we

bought a third big one in 2013 – the

combines are equipped with caterpillar

systems and all-wheel drive and next

year I want to spread liquid and solid

manure with CTF and caterpillar system.

We will also have a new CTF fertiliser

spreader with caterpillar system and

Rauch components. Of course, with a

3-meter track especially driving on roads

is a disadvantage, but this problem

could be solved by using telescopic cat-

erpillar systems. All in all the “caterpillar

effect” was quite obvious: few tracks

which only are compacted from above

and which as of a depth of 15 cm leave

an intact good structure. Despite the

increased horsepower requirement the

advantages of the caterpillar system

simply are gigantic.

terraHORSCH: Apart from the cater-

pillar tractors, are there machines for

CTF on the market?

Michael Horsch: Hardly any. But what

we cannot buy, we build ourselves.

terraHORSCH: Do you see marketing

opportunities for these own designs?

Michael Horsch: I am not too much

interested in that. If we would only

think of business when developing a

new idea, 80 per cent of the ideas would

not be realised at all! We develop our

ideas, test on our farms if they prove

their worth and it is only later that we

decide whether to market them or not.

terraHORSCH: What about the yields?

Michael Horsch: For the first year

they were significantly better than

expected. We harvested more than 4

tons of rape. Although I estimate that

we surely lost half a ton due to the

heavy rainfall. We have not yet been

able to weigh all of the wheat, but it

was about 9 tons. Maize was quite ok

and should range between 10 and 11

tons. Harvest has not yet been finished

completely as our new silo plant with

drying unit has not yet been completed.

The authorisation procedure took quite

a long time and it was only in August

that we were able to start with the con-

struction works. Thus, we had to sell

most of the grain maize wet or to have

it dried by a contractor – this reduces

the profit margin.

terraHORSCH: During our last visit we

saw the self-propelled PT 330. How did

you use this machine?

Michael Horsch: This basic prototype

was the only plant protection sprayer

on the farm during the whole season.

Despite a lot of modifications the PT 330

did the 3,000 hectare all on its own –

with an operational speed of 20 to 30

km/h.

terraHORSCH: What about the other

branches of the farm, the apple orchard

and the dairy cattle house?

Michael Horsch: Both sectors do not

yet run smoothly. With regard to the

bio apples because of the high amount

of rainfall we suffered considerable

losses because of parasites which we

could not fight properly because of the

bio-status. In the meantime, however,

we started working with a fruit special-

ist from Dresden – a co-operation that

works well – but in 2013 we could hard-

ly market any dessert fruits, but almost

only fruits for processing. With regard

to the dairy cattle house there were a

lot of staff and management changes.

We invested in four liquid manure con-

tainers made of stainless steel with a

capacity of 8,000 cubic metre and in a

new bunker silo plant.

terraHORSCH: What are your plans

for next year?

Michale Horsch: We are planning

some construction measures: a new

machinery hall with chemical storage

and a repair shop. Moreover, the

HORSCH Field Days will take place at

AgroVation.

terraHORSCH : Your summary?

Michael Horsch: In my opinion, CTF

with 3m tracks on a caterpillar system is

an irreversible way. It was fantastic to

see how all that worked in extremely

wet soil conditions. We will now imple-

ment the CTF system even more ambi-

tiously, although some problems still

have not been solved. I am enthusiastic

about the fact that especially young

farmers all over the world get more and

more interested in this topic.

We regularly report about AgroVation. Please also see

the previous issues of terraHORSCH.Quite obvious: the advantages of the caterpillar system

terra

22

Company insights

A different way

At the Agritechica 2013 Boom-

Control Pro by HORSCH LEEB

Application Systems was even

awarded two prizes: the silver

medal of the German Agricultural Soci-

ety (DLG) and the prize “Machine of the

Year“ which is awarded by a jury con-

sisting of specialised journalists. At the

show the system was mounted on the

PT 330. But soon BoomControl Pro will

also be available for the HORSCH Leeb

self-propelled sprayers and even for the

trailed plant protection sprayer line.

terraHORSCH: Mister Leeb, what was

the crucial factor that made you encour-

age the development of BoomControl

Pro?

Theodor Leeb: The requirements of

practice. The farmers want to apply

plant protection agents very precisely.

Already in 2008, we have carried out

tests in the wind tunnel and later even

in the field which showed that the

essential factor for minimising drift and

improving the adherence of the agent

is an extremely small distance between

nozzle and the plant. Our objective is a

target area spacing of 30 cm. In addi-

tion, the farmer wants to go fast to

increase efficiency. With the common

boom control system this had not been

possible so far.

terraHORSCH: What were the first

steps?

Theodor Leeb: Ever since we have

been building own booms for our plant

protection sprayers, we have also con-

centrated on the topic of boom control

and boom suspension. One suspension

possibility is the so-called free pendu-

lum. This type of suspension compen-

sates the rolling motions of the machine

excellently. But when turning, the boom

tends to swing and can only be read-

justed very slowly. To avoid this shock

absorbers are mounted between chassis

and boom which in turn, however, result

in a coupling of boom and tractor.

A second possibility is to suspend the

boom in the centre of gravity. Turning

here is a minor problem. Slope compen-

sation and boom control are carried out

by means of hydraulic cylinders and

springs. But, depending on the spring

stiffness, the boom is connected to the

tractor in a more or less intensive way.

If the springs are very stiff, the boom

mirrors every movement of the chassis.

Thus, so far a really freely suspended

boom has not been available on the

market.

In 2009 we opted for an extremely

damped pendulum suspension. But with

regard to a control system we broke

completely new ground. We no longer

control the slope compensation (the

usual proceeding today) but the height

Theodor Leeb

Sometimes you have to detach yourself completely from traditional ways and break new ground. At best, the result is

something like BoomControl Pro. Theodor Leeb, managing director of HORSCH LEEB Application Systems GmbH, describes

the way towards the product that is ready for practical use.

23

of the individual boom wings indepen-

dently via a proportionate hydraulic

control.

This kind of control allows for a very

good adaption to the ground and

results in an extremely smooth boom

position especially at high operational

speeds.

terraHORSCH: But that was not

enough?

Theodor Leeb: No. With BoomCon-

trol we learned that mechanic suspen-

sion and control system have to be har-

monised in an optimum way to make

the boom control work in different con-

ditions – driving fast or slowly, on even

or hilly ground resp. with good or bad

tramlines. However, the optimum

adjustment is not always the same so

that one would have to find the opti-

mum adjustment for every extreme.

This is, of course, not possible in prac-

tice. We now use various absorber

adjustments depending on boom width

and main operational speed. This is

where we – like all other manufacturers

– had to compromise.

terraHORSCH: Where did the idea for

BoomControl Pro come from?

Theodor Leeb: Our objective clearly

was to further develop our control sys-

tem so that we would not have to com-

promise with regard to adjustment.

We were quite aware of the fact that

a completely decoupled boom would be

the optimum. But the question was how

to control a free boom as any adjusting

element, whether a hydraulic cylinder,

air cylinder or springs, would again

bring about a connection to the chassis

and, thus, again the rolling motions of

the machine would be transferred to

the boom. The essential approach came

from Otto Hirthammer. Mr Hirthammer

is responsible for the development of

the new PT 330 chassis and in the past

was hardly ever involved in the topic of

spraying boom technology. But proba-

bly it was exactly this that made him

find the solution. The best ideas often

come from an unbiased mind. The idea

was to actuate a hydraulic cylinder in

such a way that in the first case it fol-

lows the motions of the tractor in real

time. Thus, it does not influence the

boom. Only when an adjustment

becomes necessary a force will be trans-

ferred to the boom via a cylinder.

terraHORSCH: How did you go on?

Theodor Leeb: To be able to compen-

sate the motions of the vehicle, it has to

be possible to position the hydraulic cyl-

inder quickly and precisely. For this new

control approach we needed an

extremely fast-working system consist-

ing of hydraulic cylinder and valve. We

were able to carry out initial tests on the

test rig of our supplier Log Hydraulik.

The results were so promising that we

immediately started to develop a con-

trol algorithm together with our elec-

tronic partner Inmach. The result was a

control system which allows for trans-

ferring a force to the boom in a target-

ed way. The adjusting element follows

the motions of the tractor. If the need

for adjustment arises the adjusting ele-

ment presses an elastomer element with

a calculated path. The position of the

adjustment cylinder is measured and

kept up constantly so that the rolling

motions of the machine are compen-

sated even while adjusting.

terraHORSCH: That sounds compli-

cated. Did you have to test it first?

Theodor Leeb: Yes, of course. We first

built a carriage with a simple boom to

carry out initial tests on a bumpy road.

terraHORSCH: And then you turned

to practice?

Theodor Leeb: The next step was to

mount the new control system to the

prototype of the self-propelled PT 330.

The interesting part of the development

was: It is often the case that an idea

more and more improves over a longer

period of time and in the end there is a

final result – with regard to BoomCon-

trol Pro there was the idea, it was put

into practice and the system worked

immediately. Of course, we could rely

on our long-term experience with boom

control systems – due to this advantage

we were able to realise the control sys-

tem this quickly as we could exclude

some aberrations in the first place.

terraHORSCH: When will BoomCon-

trol Pro be in your price list?

Theodor Leeb: As of next season

BoomControl Pro will be available. To

tell the truth, it was our ambition to put

the system on the market right after we

had received the DLG silver medal. An

advantage is that the system can be ret-

rofitted very easily. As of now we

already equip our plant protection

sprayers with the necessary cabling. The

costs for the retrofitting will then only

amount to about 1,600 Euro. Older

sprayers with BoomControl can be ret-

rofitted for about 2,000 Euro.

terraHORSCH: Was it complicated to

adapt the system of the prototype PT

330 to the trailed sprayers and the PT

270?

Theodor Leeb: At our current booms

we adjust the central part via air cylin-

ders. Thus, the task was to actuate the

air cylinders also very quickly. We had to

carry out some programme adjust-

ments. After a short start-up we were

ready to carry out first tests in the field.

Straightaway the result was stunning.

terraHORSCH: What features still

have to be refined?

Theodor Leeb: For the PT 330 we are

still working with a very expensive

hydraulic system, for the trailed sprayers

with a pneumatic system. This works

just as well and the machine is already

equipped with the cylinders. But we still

pursue both approaches. At the moment

the operating interface is redesigned in

a more user-friendly way.

terraHORSCH: A straight answer

please: How long did it take to develop

BoomControl Pro?

Theodor Leeb: From the first idea till

the realisation: 1 ½ years.

terra

24

Longitudinal distribution or more

precisely the optimisation of plant

distribution when drilling has always

been an important topic for HORSCH.

Already in the middle of the eighties

HORSCH carried out tests with pneu-

matic singling systems - and quickly

realised how complex it was to meter

for example wheat in high frequencies

and place it in the soil. Philipp Horsch

tells us about it.

However with the HORSCH Seed-

Exactor the plant distribution

topic became less important.

For with the Seed-Exactor and

its almost perfect broadcast sowing we

were able to solve the distribution prob-

lem in an optimum way. Only in the sec-

ond half of the nineties, when disc seed

drills entered the market, we started

again to focus more and more on longi-

tudinal distribution.

The following external influences

played a major role:

The seed quantities especially for

wheat were reduced more and more se-

verely and often ranged from 100 to 150

grains per square meter. The more you

reduce the seed quantity, the more you

notice the insufficient longitudinal distri-

bution of today’s seed drills. Small heaps

and gaps in the row, thus, became much

more evident.

Various farmers, especially from

the high-yield areas in Northern and

Central Germany as well as from France

and Great Britain again and again con-

tacted us with regard to this topic and

stated their dissatisfaction with the avail-

able technology for seed distribution.

The consultants, too, put more

and more pressure on us.

From our own agricultural activities

we were, of course, well aware of this

problem, but finally the above men-

tioned external influences of many cus-

tomers and consultants made us start

about ten years ago to concentrate on

finding a technical solution.

At the beginning I was absolutely

sure: Within two to three years we would

Company insights

Single grain for cereals and rape

Philipp Horsch

25

have found a solution! But far from it – it

took us a whole decade including a lot

of setbacks. During this time an average

of two engineers continuously dealt with

this topic. This amounts to about 20 man

years!

My first concrete approach: in 2004 I

built a drum with 24-hole rows for three

meter working width, sucked the grains

from a central grain supply to the holes

and at one spot placed the grains into an

air hose. However, this idea of a central

metering system combined with a pneu-

matic transport to the coulter failed com-

pletely. I neither achieved the intended

grain frequency of a minimum of 60 to

70 Hz (resp. grains per second) nor was it

possible to keep the grains even roughly

singled via this long transport distance. I

realised: The longer the transport dis-

tance, the worse the distribution at the

end – and the problem already starts

with rather short transport ways as of

two meters.

I then changed my approach com-

pletely and tried to concentrate on sim-

ply improving the longitudinal distribu-

tion by simple modifications in the

pneumatic transport system.

This was followed by a two-year test

period – with the most different, partly

crazy approaches. In addition, we dealt

with systems which were already known

on the market, like the cascade and cy-

clone systems. Although at first some ap-

proaches even showed promising results,

in the end there was not one single mod-

ification in the pneumatic system that

was able to influence the longitudinal

distribution in a safe and sustainably

positive way.

The conclusion: It is not possible to re-

ally influence today’s usual pneumatic

distribution principle which finally is

based on coincidence resp. chaos. The

same is true for mechanical seed drills.

Tests in the laboratory proved that even

grains that started falling down in a per-

fectly singled way begin to catch up with

or overtake each other already at drop

heights of 30 to 40 centimeters. Thus, the

singling is null and void.

Practical analyses again and again

confirmed: For all seed drills, no matter

which principle or colour, the variation

coefficients (VC) in general range be-

Exact singling in a row

This system allows for grain frequencies of up to 120 grains per second per row.

terra

26

Company insights

tween 90 and 120. For comparison: For

well placed sugarbeets the VC is about

20, for maize it is about 30.

Parallel to our development efforts

the Betriebsgemeinschaft Schackenthal

KG in Saxony-Anhalt started to sow rape

and especially wheat with a single grain

seed drill from the specialised crop sec-

tor. Since then they have been drilling

some hundred hectares per year this

way, so considerably more than only

some few plots. Although this system

only allows for operational speeds of five

to six km/h, the VC improves rather re-

markably to 60 to 80.

Eight years of experience speak for

themselves: With the high-yield condi-

tions in Saxony-Anhalt it was possible to

increase the wheat yield by an average

of six per cent (five to ten per cent de-

pending on the year) compared to the

conventionally sown fields – and all that

with severely reduced seed rates! For

rape the yield increase is significantly

lower.

However, you could see clearly that

the better distribution results with more

regular and more healthy plants with

better developed roots.

These practical results confirmed our

development efforts – the pressure to

find a solution grew considerably. But

we still were far from finding an even

roughly appropriate solution.

In 2008 I could win over two people

from my extended family to concentrate

on this topic. It was our common objec-

tive to single wheat and rape up to a

frequency of 100 Hz per row. This was

the start of an intensive cooperation dur-

ing which Thomas Horsch and Gerald

Funck independently worked full time

on this topic.

They found several different ap-

proaches, but they all failed.

However, we came to one essential

conclusion: High-frequency metering is

not the problem – it was even solved

rather quickly. Bridging the way from

the metering system down to the ground

is the greater challenge by far. Even mi-

nor influences, like small swirling parti-

cles of earth in the grain area, uncon-

trolled touching of the grains or

movements in the coulter unit, mix up

the once perfectly singled grains com-

pletely.

With increasing frequency this effect

intensifies even more – up to the point

that no improvement of the VC com-

pared to conventional seed drills can be

measured at all. After two more years

without any useful results I almost

wanted to give up the development ac-

tivities in this sector. But I started one last

attempt with a completely different ap-

proach:

The new line of approach was: Back

off from the approach to single every

single grain and work on a “blackbox“

in a pneumatic distribution system at the

end of the hose directly at the coulter

itself that will influence the distribution

in a positive way.

At the end of 2011 we made a break-

through: for the first time even two dif-

ferent systems worked in a very promis-

ing way.

In both systems we were able to solve

the problem of the grain transport be-

tween metering and soil by accelerating

the grains extremely fast, thus bridging

the way towards the ground quickly and

leading the grains along a circular path.

After intensive tests we decided in

spring 2013 to take Gerald Funck’s sys-

tem to serial production.

After first comprehensive tests in the

field we sowed rape as well as wheat at

different sites and under different condi-

tions with a Pronto 3 DC in summer 2013.

The results are extremely promising: For

seed rates between 100 and 200 grains

for wheat and between ten and 25

grains for rape we were able to achieve

VC of 30 to 50 – and all this with normal

operational speeds of ten to fifteen

km/h!

This system allows for grain frequen-

cies of up to 120 grains per second per

row.

With regard to practical use I assume

that we will succeed in reliably achieving

VCs of about 50.

But one precondition is absolutely

necessary: the more regular the seed, the

better the VCs. The best VCs were

achieved with calibrated seed. In this sec-

tor a cooperation with seed breeders

and growers will surely bring further

progress in the future.“

My prospects:

In our opinion, there is a market po-

tential for singling primarily in region

where high yields can be achieved with

low seed rates. After another year of

intensive testing the market launch of

this technology is likely to start as of

2015.

The great advantage of our system is

that the singling is exclusively carried

out at the end of a conventional seed

hose on the coulter itself. This means

the already existing Pronto seed drills

can be retrofitted with the system any-

time!

The seed rate for a singling

frequency of 100 Hz per row is

240 grains per square meter

with a seed row spacing of 15

centimeters and a sowing speed

of ten km/h.

DLG president Carl-Albrecht Bartmer hands the silver medal to Gerald Funck (left).

2727

terraHORSCH Foundation

MEDA Forum 2014 – Venture responsibility

The main speaker Dr. Tomáš

Sedláček is one of the “young

wild ones“ among the econo-

mists. The Czech governmental

adviser and chief economist of the most

important Czech bank demands more

sense of responsibility – from everyone.

Sedláček, born in 1977 and crosser be-

tween economy, science and politics,

was an advisor of President Václav Havel

and is the author of the economy best-

seller “The Economy of Good and Evil”

(Hanser Publishing). Why he believes a

look into the Old Testament to be inspir-

ing and why he believes the proclaimed

Jubilee – the year when debts are abat-

ed, slaves are released and acquired

property is returned to the original

owner – to be quite up-to-date will be

very exciting.

In addition to journalist, author and

baptist minister Andreas Malessa the

political scientist Dr. Andreas Püttman

also takes part – well-known due to his

bestseller “Society without God? Risks

and side effects of Germany’s de-Chris-

tianisation“ (Gerth Media) – as well as

editor Norman Rentrop, member of the

synod of the Protestant Church in Ger-

many, founder of Bible TV and donor of

the ecumenism sermon award.

MEDA reprensentaives from all over

the world will take part and discuss live

on stage, among others vice-president

Kim Pityn and Gerhard Pries (invest-

ment) from Canada/Ontario, Tigist Tes-

faye (EDGET project) from Ethiopia.

They together with Frieder Boller, direc-

tor of the Theological Seminar Centre

Bienenberg from Liesthal/Switzerland,

Eckhard Eyer, management consultant

from Köln, and others will talk in detail

about responsibility with all its facets.

MEDA (Mennonite Economic Devel-

opment Associates) actively fights pov-

erty and underdevelopment worldwide.

Entrepreneurs, self-employed people

and committed individuals all over the

world today are part of the MEDA net-

work which was founded 60 years ago

by a small group of Mennonite business-

men in the United States.

What they all have in common is that

they have a heart for the poor, a sound

entrepreneurial spirit and the wish that

other people prosper, too.

Women and men with their experi-

ences and resources contribute to MEDA

and become part of the solution. Thus,

the living conditions of millions of peo-

ple are sustainably improved.

MEDA’s characteristics are creative,

innovative and market-oriented pro-

grammes which are marked by courage,

expertise, esteem and faith in God.

The conference is to bring people to-

gether – people with entrepreneurial

expertise and a heart for their fellow-

men. Here they cultivate long-standing

friendships, make new contacts and ex-

tend their personal network. They get to

know what economists, theologians,

ethicists and entrepreneurs think about

the pressing questions of our time. In

2014, we particularly address people

who bear responsibility in companies or

organisations. With this forum, we want

to contribute to the fact that they get to

know MEDA’s work and that they find

balanced responsibility for their profes-

sional and private everyday life.

For more information and for

registration to the forum please see

www.meda-europa.org

0 / 15 / 78 / 36 Farbwerte in CMYK 0 / 15 / 78 / 76 95 / 0 / 100 / 27 95 / 0 / 100 / 77 0 / 9 / 50 / 74

After the MEDA Forum “Go for fairness – When entrepreneurs are finding new

ways ...“ which took place in Bonn in March 2013 and attracted an enormous in-

terest, the preparations for next year’s forum are already in full swing. On 14th

and 15th of March 2014 the next MEDA Forum is taking place in Bonn. The topic

is “Venture responsibility” and experts as well as committed laymen discuss, find

orientations and approaches to change the world sustainably for the better. The

focus is to be on venture in the double sense of the word – as a place of value

creation, of earning money and working together as well as the verb, the action

behind it.

terra

28

HORSCH Foundation

Ongoing and new projectsIn terraHORSCH we regularly report

on the projects of the HORSCH Foun-

dation. Here is a short summary of

what is going on at the moment and

of what is new.

Sierra Leone:

The HORSCH Foundation tries to

meet its mission of a sustainable devel-

opment not only by means of project

donation, but it also uses part of the

foundation capital to transfer capital

via direct investments and credits to the

poorer regions of the world. The latest

international investment project is lo-

cated in Sierra Leone, Africa. Via its

partner MEDA (Mennonite Economic

Development Associates) the Founda-

tion here co-operates with Mountain

Lion Agriculture. The latter is an agri-

business which improves the lives of Si-

erra Leoneans by strategically and prof-

itably displacing lower quality rice

imports in Sierra Leone with a higher

quality, competitively priced domestic

brand. Mountain Lion Agriculture

places improved seed at the farmers’

disposal and supports them in improv-

ing their farming methods. The income

situation of the regional farmers al-

ready has improved considerably due to

higher yields and improved sales poten-

tial.

The capacity of the existing rice mill

already was doubled in 2012. Currently

the HORSCH Foundation has provided a

credit for building a new rice mill.

Gera, Thuringia:

The HORSCH Foundation does not

only work internationally, but also at

the HORSCH sites in Germany. Thus, it

even supports three institutions in and

around Gera with donations:

The Evangelische-Freikirchliche Ge-

meinde Gera (Protestant/Free Church

Community Gera) provides free lunch

for the homeless two times a week. Af-

ter the flood in 2013 the community

started a project to repair the play-

grounds in Gera which had been de-

stroyed by the flood.

The Christliche Lebenshilfe e.V. Werk-

und Lebensgemeinschaft „Die Ranch“

(Christian working and living commu-

nity „The Ranch“) is an assisted living

community for people with addiction

problems. It encourages and demands

co-operation: living together, believing

together during the daily morning

prayers and the Sunday mass attend-

ance as well as working together. Each

occupant takes over jobs and tasks in

various sectors. Renovation works at the

farm, daily housework, taking care of

the farm cattle, working in the orchard,

in the garden in the bakery and in the

farm shop, production of fruit spread

and syrup which together with self-

made bread is sold in the farm shop or

at the farmer’s market – everyone con-

tributes his part. Sense of responsibility

is essential, but there is always enough

freedom to discover one’s strengths and

even new talents. Supported by pastoral

workers and experts a houseparent cou-

ple provides help to people which is

mainly financed by donations and vol-

unteer activities. With the latest special

donation of the HORSCH Foundation

they purchased a high grass mower.

The association Alternative e.V. is an

association for the promotion of public

health care as well as for education and

mainly works on the sectors aid to ad-

dicts and youth welfare. The projects

are divided in ambulant and residential

ones. Here is a short summary of the ac-

tivities: ambulant therapy for people

with substance-related disorders (espe-

cially alcohol and drugs), courses for

drivers who have committed alcohol-

29

and drug-related offences as prepara-

tion for the physical and mental (status)

examination, relaxation and smoking

cessation classes, anti-violence training,

various sporting facilities, experiential

education. The residential community

provides pedagogical and therapeutical

lessons as well as the corresponding

follow-up care and support. They help

the people to prepare for a clean and

independent life. Moreover they offer

the possibility to pass the exam for the

Certificate of Secondary Education or to

attend a vocational preparatory class.

The HORSCH Foundation supports the

association with permanent donations.

An additional project-related donation

was currently made to allow for pur-

chasing a second-hand small car.

Schwandorf:

HORSCH attaches great importance

to not only offering an interesting job

to the individual employee, but also to

the fact that the employer himself as

well as his partner and family find an

attractive living environment. At the

site of the company headquarters in

Schwandorf the HORSCH Foundation,

thus, is involved in the cultural sector

and supports the Konrad Max Kunz

Sponsor’s Association e.V. The Sponsor’s

Association includes the “Oratorio Choir

Schwandorf“, the drama group “SAD-

Theater“, the “Orchestra without bor-

ders“ as well as the Konrad Max Kunz

Music Academy. The latter is a music

school based on the “Bavarian sing and

music school regulation“. It attaches

great importance to quality and pays at-

tention to the fact that everyone is en-

joying the lessons and has fun. The

teachers are graduated musicians and

benefit from a longtime experience as a

practicing musician as well as in the

teaching sector. The range of the Music

Academy includes early musical educa-

tion, ear training, ensemble music and

choral singing. The Academy teaches

numerous classical and modern iinstru-

ments as well as percussion and singing.

Non-binding and free-of-charge taster

lessons go without saying. The Music

Academy first and foremost wants peo-

ple to enjoy the expedition through the

world of music. It especially wants to

encourage young people and provides

children and adolescents from socially

disadvantaged families who normally

could not afford music lessons with a

free-of-charge access to music and a

qualified basic musical training.

The HORSCH Foundation also sup-

ports the Förderverein Oberpfälzer

Künstlerhaus e.V. (Sponsor’s Association

supporting the Upper-Palatinate House

of Arts based in Schwandorf) as a pre-

mium partner. The Upper-Palatinate

House of Arts provides ideal premises

for exhibitions, concerts, poetry read-

ings and theatre performances. The

considerable collection called Bezirk

Oberpfalz (District Upper-Palatinate)

shows temporary regional visual arts.

The focus of the collection is on the sec-

tors painting, graphic arts and sculp-

ture. The print-graphic studio for lithog-

raphy and etching can be used by

regional artists on prior notice. Moreo-

ver about 20 exchange artists per year

spend a work scholarship in the Upper-

Palatinate House of Arts.

You are looking for employees who…… in their – mainly Eastern European – home countries can work as executives in your

company?

… think critically and act democratically?

… put the principles of a free market economy into practice?

… impart a Christian view of the world?

Contact us - LCC International University in Klaipeda (Lithuania) - www.lcc.lt

Our students come from about 25 countries, but mainly from Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine,

Poland and Romania. Apart from their mother tongue they are fluent in English.

In addition to their major subject the students get to know history,

politics and economics from a Western point of view.

They are taught that is important to think

independently and critically, to act according

to their own moral and ethical believes.

Thus, an important aspect are the Christian

moral concepts.

We will be happy to put you in contact

with our students.

terra Farm report

A storm tipped the scales

Two original small farms – the

parental farm in Föhrste near

Alfeld and the farm of his wife

whom he married in 1990 – over

the years have become a farm with 400

hectare arable land and 100 hectare

grassland. In addition, there is a con-

tracting business with two permanent

employees. For almost 30 years they

have been working without a plough

and today completely rely on HORSCH

technology with regard to cultivation

and sowing.

It all started with a storm. “That was

in 1985, after the barley harvest“, senior

boss Siegfried Bünger-Lang remembers.

Above Föhrste they were just cultivating

barley stubble with a skim plough when

suddenly a summer thunderstorm

started that brought 120 litres of rain.

“On our farm and other farms, too, the

soil was swept off down to the plough

pan. Then it all flowed down into the

village.“ Only a railway embankment

that runs across Föhrste prevented the

lower village from being overrun by the

mud like the upper village. Back then he

decided: “We have to do something. In

the future we will only use a cultivator“.

To work completely or partly without

a plough – today a standard on a lot of

farms – was absolutely unthinkable at

that time. This was the reason why at

first professional colleagues scoffed at

the “messy“ non-ploughed fields and

jeered: “Next year you surely will use

the plough again anyway.“ But Mr

Bünger-Lang really had abandoned the

plough for good. “In 1986 we ploughed

for the last time. Later we sold the

plough and today we are working 100

per cent ploughless.“, Hendrik Bünger-

Lang explains.

But it was quite a long way to get

there. “We searched for a long time and

we tested a lot. We were some sort of

pioneers“, the senior says. Today the 73

year old still works fulltime on the farm

and is responsible for sowing, fertilisa-

tion, plant protection as well as the har-

vest while his daughter-in-law Iris

Bünger-Lang (44) takes care of cultiva-

tion and accounting. Hendrik Bünger-

Lang (46) is responsible for the contract-

ing business as well as for the

development of the farm as a whole.

But they also had to pay dearly. Some

sites are clay, some are loamy and often

they are full of stones. Quite a lot of

stone protections were sacrificed. “Cul-

tivators that work well on light or ho-

mogenuous soils won’t necessarily work

well on our soils“, Hendrik Bünger-Lang

comments. But always keeping the ad-

vantages of ploughless cultivation in

mind – soil preservation, water conser-

vation, soil fertility and the saving of

one pass – made the Bünger-Langs stick

to their guns.

It was in 2002 – at that time HORSCH

was not as well-established as today and

rather a hardly known Bavarian manu-

The Leinebergland region between Hildesheim and Einbeck. Fertile valley floodplains, difficult agricultural conditions

on the slopes and a lot of grassland in the transition regions to the numerous forests – this is what characterises the

conditions in which Hendrik Bünger-Lang and his family from Brunkensen near Alfeld run the family farm.

Hendrik Bünger-Lang swears by the HORSCH Pronto as the tyre packer, on which the whole weight of the machine rests, does not run behind but in front of the seed coulters.

The Bünger-Lang family appreciates the exact seed placement of the HORSCH Pronto.

Constant exchange: Hendrik Bünger-Lang (left) benefits from his father Siegfried’s

decades of experience.

31

facturer of agricultural equipment – the

first HORSCH Tiger arrived at the farm:

“It was so well laid out, so clearly ar-

ranged and I already liked it simply for

those two reasons. Instead of grease

nipples at the moveable parts there

were greaseless mounted bushings.

That was really convenient“, Siegfried

Bünger-Lang remembers. Even if the

stone protection system was brought to

its limits time and again on the difficult

sites, the cultivator stood the test. The

Tiger (3 m) later was joined by a Terrano

(4 m), a Joker disc harrow (4 m) and a

Pronto seed drill (3 m). Siegfried Bünger-

Lang particularly appreciates that the

machines are sturdy, clearly arranged

and uncomplicated and that the Pronto

in addition is equipped with a large

seed hopper.

On the steep fields tractor power

rather than cultivation technology was

the limiting factor for the desired crum-

bling effect after cultivation. And thus

one investment often entails another.

Last year new tractors were purchased

(John Deere, up to 350 hp) and the

HORSCH range was changed to a Pronto

(4 m), Joker (5 m), Tiger (3 m) and Ter-

rano (4 m). While the Tiger is used on all

fields mainly for deep loosening before-

hand, Joker or Terrano is used subse-

quently depending on soil and weather

conditions.

“The investments we make over the

years are only possible as we generate

further earnings with the contracting

business“, manager Hendrik Bünger-

Lang tells us. With among others two

On the difficult, steep sites of the Bünger-Lang farm HORSCH technology proved its worth.

The following press rollers of the Pronto presses the seed only as much as necessary.

sprayers and nine tractors the farm and

contracting business is quite well

equipped for its size. “But thus we do

not have to spend much time on chang-

ing equipment. And tasks that require

the right, but sometimes only short

point of time simply can be carried out

much faster. Due to our technical equip-

ment our satisfaction increases, too“,

Hendrik Bünger-Lang says (see box).

Last year the 60 dairy cows were sold

with a quota of 500,000 kilogramme. In

addition to the two new machinery

halls a hall for straw and hay was built.

The contracting business has specialised

on green forage harvest, straw baling,

spreading of digestates and solid matter

as well as on forage maize harvest (two

chopping gangs, 12,000 hectare maize

harvest in 2012). The farm cultivates

sugar beet, rape, wheat, maize and bar-

ley.

“For us HORSCH was and still is the

right decision. HORSCH has developed

the machines on difficult sites like we

have them here“, father and son agree.

The yields of the farms in total have be-

come more stable, especially on the

more difficult soils, due to the water-

conserving, ploughless farming system

combined with the production of hu-

mus with livestock manure. And with

regard to heavy rainfall the Bünger-

Lang family today is much more relaxed

than they were in the past: “At least we

can say that we did everything in our

power to prevent the soil from the

fields from flowing onto the street“,

Siegfried Bünger-Lang says.

Due to the special design HORSCH seed drills are particularly suitable for ploughless farming.

The heavy cultivator Tiger 3 AS is used for the first cultivation pass on all sites. The horse power requirement is rather high.

Satisfaction as a success factor

Siegfried Bünger-Lang says: “I am a farmer through and through and I enjoy doing my bit of work“. Aged 73, he still works fulltime on the farm. “Because he enjoys the work, his health allows for it and because we need him”, Iris and Hen-drik Bünger-Lang comment. ”As a general rule an external employee never is as produc-tive as a family member. Formerly my father ploughed with horses and this is why he has a very good feel for the soil. We do not want to do without this know-how. As my mother as well as my mother-in-law do the cooking at the time of har-vest, my wife is free to help in the field“, says Hendrik

Bünger-Lang. On the basis of these mainstays the family built a house which is very stable today. And with the adult children who both are interested in agriculture respectively make an agricultural ap-prenticeship the next generation is already waiting in the wings.What they all have together is a certain basically relaxed attitude. “Farming is nice and fulfilling, it is fun and sometimes also stressful. Thus, it is all the more important to sit back sometimes, to treat one-self to something, to go on holiday and to occupy oneself with something completely different. This quality of life is important and this is what we convey to our children“, Iris Bünger-Lang emphasis. And her husband adds: “I do not think much of attitudes like: “You have to work all the time and get dirty, otherwise you are not working hard enough.“ Why not relax at the pool in the morning and recharge your batteries before the harvest bustle starts at lunch time? Only if there is a certain quality of life, productivity will increase and this is where new growth results from.“ Iris and Hendrik Bünger-Lang were able to deepen this approach in many entrepreneurial training courses at the Andreas-Hermes-Academy organised by the Chamber of Agriculture of Lower Saxony. And they consequently live it.

terra

32

Farm report

Farmer and contractorThe Po valley in the north of Italy is

one of the most fertile regions in

Europe. This is where farmer and

contractor Paolo Montana lives and

works.

With a continental climate

and best soils which

mostly developed from

sedimentation, the Po

valley is Italy’s breadbasket. Medium-

structured sandy loam prevails in the

north, whereas in the south the soil is

rather clayey and silty. “The climate is

changing at the moment“, Paolo Mon-

tana explains. “During the past years we

often had to struggle with extremely

dry summers. Our irrigation possibilities

are excellent and with the seas and riv-

ers of the Alps we have an almost un-

limited reservoir, but irrigation always

means high costs for the farmer.“

In this respect, 2013 was an abso-

lutely exceptional year: Because of an

extremely wet spring they partly could

not work in the fields before July. Sow-

ing maize what normally is carried out

in April/May was delayed till that time.

The result: crop failure of about 30 per

cent.

Maize

“In our region there are a lot of dairy

farms, but also biogas plants“, Montana

says. “Therefore, maize is the main crop

alternating with wheat, soya and bar-

ley. In 2013 we were able to harvest

about 3.5 to 4.5 tons of silage maize per

hectare with a dry matter content of 30

per cent, for grain maize it ranged be-

tween 8 and 11 tons.“ Harvest moisture

content here also was 30 per cent. Over

the years the yields were as follows: 12

tons of grain maize, 4 tons of soybeans,

7.5 tons of winter wheat, 6 tons of bar-

ley and 3 tons of rape (moisture content

15 per cent respectively).

Owing to the competitive situations

between farmers/ livestock farmers and

the biogas plants Montana notices that

a lot of farmers try to keep the costs

low. However, in some cases this partly

leads to agricultural mistakes as they

Paolo Montana

33

top: On some plots Montana tests the StripTill system.bottom: Paolo Montana particularly appreciates the flexibility of the HORSCH machines.

often economise at the wrong end. But

still: When a biogas plant owner can pay

a rent of 1,500 Euro per hectare and a

dairy farmer already has to give in at

550 Euro, their line of action becomes

comprehensible.

Contracting

Although Paolo Montana talks about

his yields, he keeps a low profile on his

farm size. However, he does not mind

talking about his contracting business:

“On the whole I notice the trend that in

economically difficult times farmers

tend to cut back on farm-owned ma-

chinery. Instead they use service provid-

ers not only to carry out the work but

also to supply the corresponding know-

how.“

Among others Montana also has a

Fendt 936 Vario and an older Xylon. The

latter is equipped with a built-on Rau

sprayer and is used for plant protection

on a total of 2,300 hectare. Apart from

that not the tractors are his favourites,

but rather the attachments. Here he

likes to test a lot and he often choses

unusal combinations: „In this season I

carried out two tests: on one part of the

fields I immediately sowed with the

Pronto resp. Maistro after one single

pass with a one-bar subsoiler, on other

plots I tested the StripTill system with

RTK. Sowing was carried out with a

Kinze 3500.“ By choosing this special

technology Montana did not only want

to create agricultural effects, but also to

test a more extensive cultivation system.

As his tests are always laid out for sev-

eral years, results have not yet been

available.

Universal

Paolo Montana really appreciates the

enormous flexibility of his HORSCH ma-

chines and especially of his Pronto 6 AS.

This is particularly important for his con-

tracting work. Thus, the Pronto works

from May to November. “Fewer passes

on the one hand bring about a reduc-

tion of costs, but in this case it also has

an agricultural advantage. Mulch seed

improves the permeability of the soil,

the creation of humus, the cation ex-

change capacity and the capacity to

take up water. In my opinion, one of the

most important topics of the future will

be the targeted placement of fertiliser

– namely of mineral and organic ferti-

liser. StripTill will become more interest-

ing as the horsepower and thus the fuel

requirement will decrease what in turn

will result in fewer emissions. And all

that in addition to the positive agricul-

tural effects. According to my experi-

ence those who want to sow directly

need perfect conditions. I do not recom-

mend it for maize.“

terra

34

Farm report

No matter which country in the

world you look at: Everywhere

you will surely find a Dutchman

who runs a farm. There are

quite a lot of them in the Ukraine. We

are in Mankivka in the Cherkaska dis-

trict, about 200 kilometers south of Ki-

ev. After his agricultural studies in Wa-

geningen and after having worked on

farms in Poland as well as in Russia, Kees

ended up in this former Soviet Republic.

He is partner and farm manager of TOV

Kischentzi: “Beside me the farm has

three more associates: two more Dutch-

men – both have already been in the

country for more than 20 years – and a

native Ukrainian. The farm was founded

in its present form in 2001, I joined in

January 2003.“

Kischentzi is a farm with several sec-

tors of activity. At the moment they are

farming 15,000 hectare. In addition to

farming the other core sectors are pig

farming in a closed system, dairy farm-

ing and vegetable production.

“In the Ukraine it is not possible for

a foreigner to purchase land“, the 38-

year old farmer explains. “Thus, 100 per

cent of our fields are leased from a total

of 4,5000 owners. Our average plot size

is 140 hectare and the boundaries have

been completely realigned. This has not

always been the case. Over the years

Kischentzi developed from nine parts.

At the beginning the farm size

amounted to only 1,000 hectare.“

Black soil

Most of the fields are located in the

black soil area with a depth of up to 1.5

m. But partly the soils also are extremely

clayey. The climate in the region is ex-

treme as Kees knows: “In summer we

often have 35 degree Celsius and in win-

ter minus 20 to 25 degree. The annual

amount of rainfall is between 400 and

500 millimeter. In summer it is rather

dry. This year was an exception as there

was a little bit of rain at the end of June/

beginning of July and in September.

This did not delay winter barley harvest,

but the sowing of rape.“

Refining

Huizinga has big plans with regard to

livestock breeding. Pigs and cattle still

are mainly kept in old buildings. Dairy

equipment still comes from DeLaval so

far, but the plan is to invest in an

80-place rotary milking parlour from the

company GEA. In the cowshed there are

currently 550 dairy cows, in short there

will be about 700, in the medium term

there will be 3,500. “I am not yet com-

pletely satisfied with the output“, the

farm manager states. “We started with

a very modest quantity of 4 liter per cow

and day and in the meantime achieve an

annual quantity of 8,000 kilogramme.

But we clearly want to head for 10,000

kilogramme! The Holstein-Friesian cattle

are imported from Germany, the Czech

Republic and Estonia.

With regard to pig farming we rear

about 20 to 22 piglets per sow per year

Kees Huizinga

On a large scaleUntil very recently the Ukraine was still considered to be the promised land:

masses of available land, large structures, steady prices. But this has changed by

now. However, Kees Huizinga told us that it still is interesting to work in the

Ukraine.

35

Precision sowing with the HORSCH Pronto 12 SW

and there still is potential.”

The vegetable sector is developing

quite satisfactorily. Kees Huizinga adds:

„This year we produced carrots, onions,

white cabbage and cucumbers on 50

hectare. In 2014 we want to increase the

area to 150 hectare. In addition we

want to start growing strawberries and

asparagus.“ The vegetables are mar-

keted directly via a supermarket chain.

Social importance

The Kischentzi farm is one of the

most important employers in the re-

gion. Except for five foreigners (includ-

ing Kees) the farm exclusively employs

locals – a total of about 400 people. 40

agronomists, driver and mechanics are

responsible for farming, in the cowshed

there are 30 people employed and 40

people take care of the pigs, 60 employ-

ees alone guarantee safety. In the veg-

etable sector there are about 60 em-

ployees during the season, just under 40

people work in administration.

Machines

With regard to tractors Kees com-

pletely relies on John Deere. In Kis-

chentzi there work two articulated trac-

tors of the 9000 series, seven 8R and two

6930. For combining they use eight John

Deere S690 with 12 m MacDon cutting

units from Canada.

They are planning to purchase a

large tractor soon. In any case it will be

one with a caterpillar system and Kees

is seriously thinking about a Quadrac: “I

myself have not yet gathered any expe-

riences with this machine, but col-

leagues told me that at present it is the

best tractor with regard to tractive out-

put. But instead of a nominal output of

600 hp I would go for 100 hp more. I am

very interested in Controlled Traffic

Farming and it would be great to culti-

vate with a working width of 12 m.“

With regard to plant protection the

farm manager works with a homemade

solution: a 12,500-liter-barrel with tan-

dem chassis from Dubex was combined

with a 36-meter Goldacres boom from

Australia.

In the matter of mineral fertilisation

distribution accuracy is a problem when

it is windy because of the bad granula-

tion qualities. Therefore, Kees does no

longer use his 10-ton Bredal fertiliser

spreader that much, but mostly relies on

a Rauch AGT. Manure is distributed with

Tebbe spreaders.

Six-fold rotation

With little exception the rotation is

six-fold. The area per crop in general

remains the same. Leaf crops and cere-

als always alternate, i.e. maize after

beet, rape after winter barley or rape

after winter wheat. Only in some excep-

tional cases the rotation is maize after

maize.

In 2013 the yields were as follows:

winter wheat 6 tons/hectare, winter

barley 7 tons, rape 3 tons, soya 2.5 tons,

grain maize 11 tons and sugarbeet 57

tons. “All in all it was an average year,

but for maize, soya and wheat it could

have been a little bit more“, Kees esti-

mates.

Cultivators and seed drills come from

HORSCH. “With our Pronto and an Air-

seeder we are quite sufficiently

equipped“, Kees says and smiles. “In ad-

dition we have a 12m Terrano and two

7.5-metre Tiger. I appreciate the possi-

bility to also place fertiliser. Behind the

Tigers there is a heavy Simba roller resp.

a RollFlex packer. I am very satisfied

with our Joker – although we could use

a working width of 18 metre instead of

our 12 metre.“

What tipped the scales for HORSCH

was the excellent service of the dealer

who if necessary is supported by

HORSCH technicians.

In the future

Kees Huizinga remembers: “In the

beginning we worked a lot with direct

seed. After ten years of experience and

especially due to better prices it pays off

to work more intensively. The risk is get-

ting bigger, but I can accept it. I have

already tried StripTill, too, and it did

work quite well. But I want to use large

working widths and in my opinion the

GPS accuracy still is very poor. With the

single grain seed drill with 12 or 24 me-

tre it still ist not always perfect.“

There is no doubt that dairy produc-

tion will be extended. This pays off eco-

nomically, internally for grain maize

the market price is passed to account.

Moreover they get the liquid manure

back. “And it also is quite advanta-

geous to have lucerne in rotation“, the

farmer says. “If it is possible to increase

our farm size, we will do that. Ten years

ago the rent was 15 EUR per hectare,

today the rent amounts to 100 to 150.

The long terms, however, are positive.

90 per cent of our land is leased for

more than ten years, 65 per cent for

more than 20. We grow, but not at all

costs. My opinion is: Those who are in

the red on 10,000 hectare, will not au-

tomatically go into the black with

20,000.00. But luckily, that’s not our

problem...“

HORSCH Tiger 8 MT – cultivation and fertiliser placement at the same time

terra

36

Inside HORSCH

New structure

Gerhard Springs

Head of human resources

management

Born in 1974, married to Sonja,

one son

Has been working for HORSCH since:

2012

Professional background:

Apprenticeship as a truck mechanic,

via continuation education studies in

religious pedagogy, after graduation

studies in pedagogy with focus on job

& business, subsidiary subject: business

economics, after that employment in

the human resources sector of an au-

tomotive supplier, move back home,

new employment in the sector of in-

ternational human resources develop-

ment in a seat manufacturing com-

pany, then employment at the

HORSCH company.

My division:

On a long-term basis I see human re-

sources management as a kind of ser-

vice provider within the company. It is

based on four parts: 1.) basic issues of

human resources like uniform wage

policy, compliance with guidelines and

labour protection law as well their ef-

fects on the company 2.) Human re-

sources administration: wage and sal-

ary administration, certification,

insurances 3.) Operational human re-

sources management: currently the fo-

cus is on recruiting, contracts and in

the future it will be on supporting the

individual departments with regard to

the operational human resources is-

sues. 4.) The sector of human resources

development is the objective for the

future.

Employees:

In human resources 4 directly at Sitzen-

hof, supported by 2 employees at HIT

in Ronneburg, 3 employees in the ap-

prenticeship sector. Facility manage-

ment, catering with 3 employees and

house service with 1 employee are af-

filiated.

What I like about my job:

In general working in the human re-

sources sector is very varied. One often

deals with extremes and has to align

Growth is positive, but it has to be

managed. This is why the HORSCH

management board decided to create

a new organisational structure.

There also were further reasons

for this measure: create long-

term provisions for business suc-

cession and especially relieve

the members of the management board

them from day-to-day business. The lat-

ter provides more time for strategical

plannings.

The management board of the HORSCH

group consists of the family members

who already have been part of the

management so far - Michael Horsch,

Philipp Horsch, Traugott Horsch, Cor-

nelia Horsch – as well as of the manag-

ing directors Horst Keller (HORSCH

Maschinen GmbH) and Theodor Leeb

(HORSCH LEEB Application Systems

GmbH).

The individual divisions within the com-

pany are directly subject to individual

members of the management. In addi-

tion, in certain companies of the

HORSCH group managing directors also

are operationally responsible for individ-

ual divisions. Moreover a new level has

been established: the level of the divi-

sion managers. They are assigned with a

high degree of personal responsibility

and authority to decide. They take over

all tasks the previous responsibility from

the management board have carried out

within their department and in the day-

to-day business so far. They report di-

rectly to the management board.

Management board of

Philipp Horsch / Theodor Leeb

Production ManagementRoland Schönleber

Horst Keller

Human Resources Management

Gerhard Springs

Administration Procurement & Supplier ManagementJohann Neidl

And these are the new division managers:

Michael Horsch / Philipp Horsch / Horst Keller / Cornelia Horsch / Traugott Horsch / Theodor Leeb

37

basic rules like the Works Council Con-

stitution Act with operational require-

ments. The other extreme is dealing

with people and social topics.

What I like about HORSCH:

I have the freedom to further extend a

division in a self-dependent way and

as a next step to develop it continu-

ously with regard to the company’s re-

quirements. For me it is an important

development, too – professionally as

well personally.

Despite the current enormous growth

in the context of which company cul-

ture, too, develops further, HORSCH

does not lose sight of the individual

employees and tries to find common

answers to the respective questions.

Objectives:

The current projects are aiming at sta-

bilising the operational human re-

sources tasks in line with the structural

development. Due to the constant

need for employees it is important to

develop a clear employer’s brand

which is unmistakable inside as well as

outside the company. HORSCH has to

be perceived as an attractive employer

beyond the agricultural sector. This

gets even more important with regard

to the demographic trends. Another

important step is to build up a sound,

professional and continuous human

resources development. This has to be

carried out in close cooperation with

the new divisions.

Special experiences at work:

My first experience, of course, was the

change from a M-DAX listed employer

to an open and employee-oriented

family business. Exactly the right thing

for someone from human resources:

not only driven by business ration, but

also by the motivation to work with all

employees on solutions for our cus-

tomers. A second important experi-

ence is the topic agriculture itself. Be-

fore I started working for HORSCH I

thought that due to my personal envi-

ronment I am quite familiar with agri-

culture. But I have to admit that when

I got my first sightseeing tour at our

Russian site I was able to broaden my

familiar impression considerably.

Dr. Johann Neidl

Head of procurement and supplier

management

Born in 1966, married to Heidi,

two children

Has been working for HORSCH as a

freelancer since spring 2012, has been

employed on a full-time basis since

September 2013

Professional background:

Apprenticeship as a motor mechanic,

via continuation education studies in

automotive engineering, postgraduate

studies in Great Britain and the US

(combination economy/engineering),

for about 10 years employment in a

company in the automotive engineer-

ing sector in the departments R&D,

product management and strategical

planning, parallel to that doctorate (in

GB). For about ten years employment

in a company that supplies interior

components for the automotive sector

in the departments technical, strategi-

cal purchasing and supplier manage-

ment. Professorship at the university in

Landshut for the subjects technical

purchasing, international procurement

and quality management. Execution of

specific projects for HORSCH in the fol-

lowing sectors: cost/quality optimisa-

tion, annual price negotiations, place-

ment of orders in the marketing

sector, human resources and transport

services.

My division:

At the moment there is a purchasing

department at HORSCH which is re-

sponsible for requirement planning,

parts supply, pricing etc. Due to the

growth and the national and interna-

tional requirements it is necessary to

adapt the structures and processes.

Some key issues are (always with re-

gard to the whole HORSCH group): or-

ganisation of strategical purchasing,

implementation of bundling and syn-

ergy effects, optimisation of the co-op-

eration with R&D with regard to pro-

ject-related purchasing, development

of a purchasing system for non-pro-

duction material.

Other important projects are the intro-

duction of necessary methods and

tools as well as supplier management

and development.

Employees:

Currently ten in Schwandorf, employ-

ees in Landau at HORSCH LEEB, at HIT

and in the US are affiliated. The de-

partment is being set up at the mo-

ment, integration activities are in full

swing.

d of the HORSCH group

Cornelia Horsch

Service & Spare partsGünter Weinmann

SalesTraugott Horsch

MarketingKurt Glück

Philipp Horsch / Theodor Leeb

Research & DevelopmentHubertus Bultmann

Michael Horsch / Philipp Horsch / Horst Keller / Cornelia Horsch / Traugott Horsch / Theodor Leeb

terra

38

Inside HORSCH

What I like about my job:

I am an automotive engineer – I am

fascinated by machines and technology

in general! I very much like working at

an interface where I can combine tech-

nical and economic know-how to make

sure that the result is the optimum so-

lution for our company.

What I like about HORSCH:

Company culture, co-operation, how

people are treated, focusing on the

subject and not on personal interests

or career – everyone works together.

The employees are granted a lot of

freedom and responsibility and they

use it carefully – the basic prerequisite

for success. The owners also live these

values!

Objectives:

Action instead of reaction. Be involved

in all processes at an early stage from

the purchasing side, especially in the

product development stage to be able

to influence costs, quality and delivery

performance in a targeted way; devel-

opment of a strategical purchasing/

supplier management as well as of a

purchasing system for non-production

material.

Special experiences at work:

Constructive and collective coopera-

tion to become better together.

Roland Schönleber

Head of production management

Born in 1967, married to Caro,

two children

Has been working for HORSCH since:

1999

Professional background:

Studies in mechanical engineering,

then in industrial engineering and

management, for one year lecturer in

adult education, then sales of con-

struction equipment, later employ-

ment in the parental metal-working

company. Employment at HORSCH as

head of production.

My division:

The production of agricultural machin-

ery at the different HORSCH sites, i.e.

Schwandorf and Ronneburg. I also sup-

port the production at HORSC LEEB, at

our subsidiary in Russia and the estab-

lishment of our production in the US. I

am authorised representative of our

supplying company HORSCH Industri-

etechnik (HIT) in Ronneburg. I am also

responsible for the logistic sector.

Employees:

about 500 (including temporary em-

ployees)

What I like about my job:

I have a lot of contact with people, I

need a basic understanding of business

economics, but I still am in close touch

with technology. My work is very var-

ied. Our enormous growth is a special

challenge. I like to develop respectively

support restructuring processes and

new sites.

What I like about HORSCH:

HORSCH places a lot of confidence in

the employees and grants freedom to

perform. For me, these are basic pre-

requisites that motivate me.

Objectives:

It is my objective to make use of the

freedom I am granted by HORSCH also

to generate free resources for myself

to be able to go along with the

growth in the future, too. It is my task

not to get lost in the trivia of day-to-

day-business, but to train good em-

ployees who can take over the day-to-

day business in a self-dependent way.

And although the growth makes it

more and more difficult: For me it is

very important that my employees

identify with HORSCH and that they

enjoy working for HORSCH. By no

means do I want to lose the basic idea

of valuing my employees – on the con-

trary: I want to intensify it.

Special experiences at work:

When I started working as head of

production with at that time about 40

employees, people first were very criti-

cal with regard to restructuring pro-

cesses, which was what we desired, but

they nevertheless supported me right

from the start. This experience re-

peated itself with all sites I built up

and worked with. When in addition to

my actual tasks I also became responsi-

ble for building up the production of

HORSCH Ronneburg and HIT, it was

important for me to learn to let go

and to assign responsibility to other

people. Without this insight I would

not have been able to keep up with

the company’s development.

Hubertus Bultmann

Head of research & development

Born in: 1982

Has been working for HORSCH since:

2010

Professional background:

Raised on a farm in Westphalia, studies

in agriculture at the university in Göt-

tingen as well as studies in mechanical

engineering with focus on agricultural

engineering at the technical college in

Cologne. During this time various ac-

tivities like internships and holiday

jobs in the sectors agriculture, con-

tracting and agricultural engineering.

In the agricultural engineering sector

product management and later techni-

cal field tests at home and abroad. Af-

ter the studies first employment in a

company that produces tractors and

harvesters. 2010 employment at

HORSCH as a product manager with

the task to develop a technical product

management department.

My division:

Our team from R & D is responsible for

product development There are design

teams for the different product lines.

The teams consist of 3 to 10 people in-

cluding a team leader. In addition,

there are teams like the product man-

39

agement and the test team that work

on all products.

Employees:

approx. 60

What I like about my job:

In R & D I can be creative. I can design

practical products that offer agro-

nomic benefits to our customers. What

I enjoy most is the constant contact to

practical farming – directly at the ma-

chine, in the field.

What I like about HORSCH:

The focus of the whole company is on

the practical use of the machines. And

product development is consistently

aimed at this objective. A lot of em-

ployees are not only engineers, but en-

thusiastic farmers themselves. We

know what we are talking about!

Objectives:

The three basic principles of our design

teams are: safe, simple, fast – and this

is what our machines have to be like.

Special experiences at work:

My first contact with HORSCH. I had

been expecting a formal interview, but

we talked in a rather informal and cas-

ual way. At first it was about the re-

spective farms and agricultural engi-

neering in general. It was only later,

shortly before the end of the inter-

view, that we talked about the job. It

quickly was clear that we were on the

same wavelength.

Günter Weinmann

Head of service & spare parts

Born in 1967, married to Monica,

one son

Has been working for HORSCH since:

March 2013

Professional background:

Apprenticeship as a technician in me-

chanical engineering, studies via con-

tinuation education, graduation as a

MSc (technical college) in automotive

engineering with focus on expertise,

then employment as a project and

sales engineer in the construction ma-

chinery sector. During this activity a lot

of stays abroad, e.g. in India and

China. Employment at a large manu-

facturer of construction machinery,

various tasks, again working abroad.

In the end COO (= Chief Operating Of-

ficer) of four divisions in China. When

the company was sold, employment at

HORSCH.

My division:

Service and spare parts sector as well

as technical documentation and tech-

nical training.

Employees: approx.

50

What I like about my job:

You either love or hate service. I love

it!

What I like about HORSCH:

I was very well received. It was my ad-

vantage that I was not employed to

take away someone’s job, but to facili-

tate the workload by creating new

structures. And the support for my

work is considerable. What is striking

is the enormous loyalty of the employ-

ees towards the company.

Objectives:

My activities are to increase compe-

tences and skills among employees and

dealers, especially in mechatronics. The

main objective is to align the structure

of my division with the growth of the

company.

Special experiences at work:

During my professional career I trav-

elled to a lot of countries – also to

those that were not easy from a cul-

tural point of view. My wife always ac-

companied me and, thus, gave me the

necessary backing. And I sincerely

thank her for that.

Traugott Horsch

Interim head of sales, head of export

Born in: 1958, married to Martha Lor-

ena, three children

Has been working for HORSCH since:

1998

Professional background:

Agricultural apprenticeship, studies in

sociology and economics, graduation

as a qualified sociologist, development

aid worker in Nicaragua, mainly works

on promoting small farmers (basic and

further training, project management),

foundation and management of a

farm, after 10 years return home and

employment at HORSCH as an assistant

of the management board, various

tasks mainly in developing and sup-

porting new markets together with

Martin Kramer (also head of export).

My division:

As head of sales I am the sales respon-

sible on the divisional level. In addition

to continuously developing the

HORSCH sales strategy it is also about

coordinating the sales sector and the

other sectors of the company: align

the products with R&D, development

marketing measures with the market-

ing department, align the sales plan

with the production, human resources

issues etc…

As head of export I intensify the co-op-

eration with the sales partners in the

existing markets and I keep contact

with practical agriculture. I also have

to develop a feeling for the market

and, if necessary, initiate product de-

velopments. In new markets we have

to establish structures. Aligning the

sales figures with the assembly depart-

ment is an extremely important issue.

Employees:

125

What I like about my job:

I really enjoy to get things moving to-

gether with my employees. Moreover, I

like travelling and I enjoy the privilege

to work at eye level with entrepre-

neurs in foreign countries.

terra

40

Inside HORSCH

What I like about HORSCH:

Being a family member I might be a

little bit biased, but my impression is

that the relations of the employees

among each other are very good.

There is no negative competition and

no reckless striving for higher things.

Objectives:

With regard to sales it is my objective

to sustainably implement the HORSCH

brand. And, of course, to increase

sales. Moreover I want to gain ground

in markets where we have not yet

been present. These are for example

South Africa, northern Africa, the Mid-

dle East and South America.

Special experiences at work:

If you want to find the right partner

for a new market, intuition plays a ma-

jor role. I still remember the meeting

with a Danish contractor at an Agr-

itechnica quite some time ago who

wanted to sell our products. You al-

ways assume that someone like that is

only interested in buying machines at

a low price, but not in developing a

market. We took the risk and started a

partnership: previously Denmark was

entirely in the hands of a competitor,

today HORSCH is the market leader.

Kurt Glück

Head of marketing

Born in 1961, married to Ilona,

five children

Has been working for HORSCH since:

1984

Professional background:

Apprenticeship as a mechanic for agri-

cultural machinery, employment in the

HORSCH service department, then

head of service, for some time project

manager for Trac technology, changes

into marketing, head of marketing for

seven years.

My division:

Due to the new structure the market-

ing sector has been divided into four

teams: 1.) Sales promotion: this team

deals with shows, demonstrations,

practical work in the field. These em-

ployees always are in close contact

with the customer. 2.) Product market-

ing: They analyse markets and technol-

ogies, introduce new technology and

develop argumentations. Moreover,

they are responsible for the sales-re-

lated product management – the tech-

nical product management is part of

R&D. 3.) Communication: They are re-

sponsible for any communication

about HORSCH to the outside: adverts

in magazines, videos, press relations,

internet and of course social media

like facebook. 4.) Organisation: This is

the back-up team for the others. For

example they see to it that there are

machines for the shows, that hotel

rooms are booked and they organise

demonstrations and field days. This

team is also responsible for promo-

tional articles and the fan shop. The

two ladies at the reception desk of the

FIT training centre are also part of the

marketing.

Employees:

approx. 30

What I like about my job:

My job definitely is the best job in the

whole company. I really enjoy inspiring

people and this is exactly what I can do

in my job.

What I like about HORSCH:

I have a lot of freedom with regard to

my work. I can develop ideas, can be

creative, but I do not have to make my

name. The same is true for the rela-

tionship to Cornelia Horsch, my direct

superior, as well as to every single mar-

keting employee.

Objectives:

There is a quick pace at HORSCH.

Therefore, today’s objectives might al-

ready be outdated tomorrow… No, se-

riously: I want to take an active part in

the positive development of the com-

pany. For me that means to notice, ac-

tively create and implement necessary

changes at an early stage. Being a divi-

sion manager I am not only responsi-

ble for a department, but for the

whole company. This is a quite differ-

ent dimension.

Special experiences at work:

My personal highlight was that I was

allowed to present the celebration of

our 25th company anniversary. The

about 700 guests were the who’s who

of agricultural engineering.

Here are the comments of the mem-

bers of the management board who

are responsible for a division:

Philipp Horsch

“For me the most important main ob-

jective we pursue with the new divi-

sional structure is to put all sectors of

our company on solid ground for the

future in the long run. The divisional

managers are the operational manage-

ment team of the whole company –

thus, the tasks are clearly defined.

The transfer of the operational respon-

sibility in the technical sectors (R&D

and production) that so far myself and

also Theodor Leeb have been responsi-

ble for has already started quite some

time ago and thus we both are able to

concentrate even more on strategical

issues in the future.“

Horst Keller

“Due to the creation of the division

manager level and the new assign-

ment of the divisions I am able to con-

centrate more intensively on strategi-

cal commercial issues – for all

companies of the HORSCH group.

It is my objective to organise and struc-

ture the commercial and financial

frame conditions in such a way that

even if we continue to grow we can

41

protect our profit, maintain or even

improve the equity ratio and thus to

remain mostly independent from the

banks. However, I do not only focus on

costs, as beside optimised procurement

costs in all sectors of the company it

especially is a profitable sales depart-

ment that guarantees a sound, long-

term growth as well as a solid com-

pany and the corresponding jobs.

Improving our sales controlling and or-

ganising the sales department with re-

gard to commercial and financial issues

is my central task for the future.

In the human resources sector we want

to increase HORSCH’s image as an at-

tractive employer in the long run.

Guidelines and frame conditions which

are indispensable for a growing com-

pany must not lead to regulatory over-

kill, must not replace common sense

and have to be drafted in such a way

that they provide clarity for every em-

ployee, but also are guidelines that

provide each employee - within in the

scope of his job - with enough space

for entrepreneurial decisions and for

the creation of processes.“

Cornelia Horsch

“The objective for my divisions sales,

marketing and service is to align the

communication and to establish to-

gether internal structures, dealer net-

work structures and a uniform and

concerted HORSCH sales, marketing

and service image – inside the com-

pany and outside. My task is to encour-

age and support communication be-

tween the three sectors as well as to

align the tasks and to have more time

for strategical issues.“

Germany’s best production mechanic

works for HORSCHFlorian Reil excelled with an outstand-

ing mark of 1.1 and was honoured in

Berlin by the German Chamber of In-

dustry and Commerce (DIHK).

The best production mechanic

does not work for a car manu-

facturer (in this sector produc-

tion mechanic is one of the

standard apprenticed professions), but

for HORSCH, manufacturer of agricul-

tural engineering. But that he even is

the best one in Germany is something

that Florian Reil could not believe at

first. “I simply was overjoyed that I had

achieved such a good mark. When they

told me in Regensburg that I am not

only the best one in the district of Low-

er Bavaria/Upper Palatinate, but also in

the whole of Bavaria and perhaps even

in Germany, I was speechless”, Reil says.

After his apprenticeship he has, of

course, been employed by HORSCH and

is now working in the service depart-

ment. As an acknowledgement of his

excellent performance he and his par-

ents received two overnight stays in Ber-

lin as a gift from HORSCH so that they

all could participate in the celebration

of the DIHK and also do some sightsee-

ing in Berlin. Why did Florian opt for an

apprenticeship at the HORSCH compa-

ny? “At home we have a farm with

about 150 hectare – what is quite a lot

for our region. But I absolutely wanted

to train as a production mechanic. And

I did not want to work at an assembly

line later, but work individually and self-

dependently - with HORSCH this was

and still is possible”, Reil continues. An-

ton Grauvogl, head of training for all

German sites, is happy, too. “This shows

that the considerable sums which in the

past years were invested in the appren-

ticeship sector are paying off! At all sites

we bought state-of-the-art machines

and PCs/iPads, not only to guarantee a

high-quality apprenticeship, but also to

make sure that apprenticeship is fun,

too”, Grauvogl says.

In total HORSCH currently trains 47 ap-

prentices.

terra

42

Siegfried Mayer, BayWa, head of the technology sector

Service & Sales

Successful togetherThe BayWa is one of HORSCH’s big-

gest sales partners in Germany. In the

beginning there was a small family

business with unusual ideas and a big

concern. terraHORSCH talked to the

BayWa responsibles Siegfried Mayer,

head of the technology sector, and

Markus Leinfelder, head of product

management, as well as with the

HORSCH sales “veteran” Gerhard Sut-

tor and his successor Michael Meier

about yesterday’s and today’s co-op-

eration.

Munich, Arabellastreet. This is

where the BayWa head-

quarters is located. Their

business is varied. The tech-

nology sector consists of 149 sites in Ba-

varia – each of it sells a different prod-

uct range. The BayWa is the sole

distributor in Bavaria for HORSCH ma-

chines and tools of the cultivator and

seed drill sector.

terraHORSCH: Mr Mayer, do you still

remember the beginnings of the co-

operation?

Siegfried Mayer: The actual impetus

came from our customers. Due to

Michael Horsch’s speeches they learned

about no-till farming and then they

approached us and wanted to buy such

products. HORSCH became interesting

for us as a dealer when they extended

their product range for the smaller

structures in Bavaria.

terraHORSCH: How does the BayWa

place the HORSCH products on the mar-

ket?

Markus Leinfelder: The HORSCH pre-

mium products – especially the cultiva-

tors – complete our sales range perfect-

ly. In our customers’ opinion HORSCH

particularly stands for no-till farming.

terraHORSCH: At which sites does the

BayWa sell HORSCH machines?

Markus Leinfelder: The BayWa is very

present in the individual regions and

very close to the customer. In Bavaria we

have 149 technology sites and they all

sell HORSCH. In addition, there are core

sites that have a larger spare part stock

and are a sort of headquarters for the

other sites with regard to sales and ser-

vice.

terraHORSCH: Which products are

your customers most interested in?

Markus Leinfelder: This can be

answered with the top-selling working

width: 3 metre. This is surely due to the

structures in Bavaria.

terraHORSCH: What is the ratio

between cultivators and seed drills with

regard to sales?

Markus Leinfelder: Cultivators

amount to almost 90 per cent. In this

sector HORSCH offers a complete range.

With regard to seed drills our customers

still think that HORSCH’s focus is on

larger working widths.

terraHORSCH: Only well-trained

salesmen and service technicians can do

a good job for the customers. Are you

co-operating with HORSCH in the train-

ing sector?

Markus Leinfelder: Of course. We

plan the trainings together. It is a con-

structive co-operation where sugges-

tions from both sides are discussed and

implemented. All in all the HORSCH

training concepts are very sound and

sophisticated.

The newly established service sites for HORSCH machines

43

terraHORSCH: Field days and demon-

strations still are a popular marketing

tool. Do you also work together in this

sector?

Markus Leinfelder: We get a lot of

support from the HORSCH marketing

team. The customer is informed in a

competent way and you can always

sense the team‘s genuine enthusiasm

for farming. Trainings for customers are

always planned and carried out by

HORSCH, we are responsible for the

support of the customer on site. This co-

operation also works perfectly at shows.

By the way, our customers regularly

compliment us on the HORSCH events.

terraHORSCH: HORSCH does not only

sell technology made of steel and iron,

but also represents a certain philosophy

and a direct relation to farming. How

does the BayWa reflect this?

Siegfried Mayer: This is also true for

us: 90 years of BayWa speak for them-

selves. We, too, stand for a very close

and co-operative partnership with our

customers. Thus, HORSCH and BayWa

complement each other perfectly.

„Technology that inspires. Service that

hits home.“ that is the BayWa’s credo.

And the HORSCH products help us to be

true to our word. Due to our regional

network we are able to provide full ser-

vice.

terraHORSCH: Which perspectives do

you see for the future cooperation?

Siegfried Mayer: We want to grow

together in all product sectors. The

advantage is that the machines are

made by practical experts for practical

experts. They work extremely efficiently

and are very innovative. You can always

sense that experiences from all over the

world influence the development of the

machines. What we ask from HORSCH

is: Go on developing innovative prod-

ucts and live our partnership. For the

BayWa enjoys this cooperation very

much. Markus Leinfelder, BayWa, head of product management

Schwandorf,

Gut Sitzenhof, HORSCH headquarters:

Gerhard Suttor has been working for

HORSCH for 25 years.

He looks back on the beginnings of the

cooperation with the BayWa:

To tell the truth I don’t remem-

ber when exactly we started

the partnership with the Bay-

Wa. But it surely was almost

25 years ago. At that time HORSCH

actually only sold the machines direct-

ly. A few machines, however, were

sold via the BayWa even at that time,

primarily our self-propelled machines.

It was the BayWa that initiated the

sales partnership, we only excluded

some regions where HORSCH ma-

chines were already sold by another

dealer. The BayWa soon employed

their own salesmen, Mr Bauernfeind,

especially for the self-propelled liquid

manure tractors – a fact that put a spe-

cial emphasis on the business relation.

There were, of course, some initial dif-

ficulties. It was a clash of big and

small. Moreover it was completely

unusual for the BayWa salesmen that

HORSCH did not grant any discounts!

But nevertheless we both benefitted

from the partnership: For the BayWa

we were a reliable partner who did

not co-operate with another sales

partner and we had a region-wide

sales network. Our mutual confidence

grew, so did the sales figures.”

With regard to sales there was a

change on the HORSCH side about one

year ago: As Gerhard Suttor mean-

while has retired from the sales area

Bavaria, Michael Meier took over his

tasks. And as about 50 per cent of the

turnover is generated in Frankonia,

HORSCH has employed Florian Ermer

as an additional HORSCH sales con-

tact.

Michael Meier describes today’s

sales situation: “Whereas previously

the branch managers were allowed to

decide whether they want to sell

HORSCH – or not – the structures to-

day are more stable. With regard to

the sites the BayWa concentrates more

and more tasks under one roof. This is

not necessarily a disadvantage as due

to electronics and ISOBUS the repair

shops have to dispose of a much wider

know-how than before. At the mo-

ment we are establishing seven large

service sites pus 17 service repair shops

that will be provided with the neces-

sary training and the corresponding

tools. They are supported by two

HORSCH service technicians in the

field service and one HORSCH techni-

cian in the office at Sitzenhof.“

Gerhard Suttor (left) and his successor Michael Meier (right)

44

terra

Agritechnica silver medal:

FITZ Training centre

III. 1: Drift depending on wind speed and target area spacingSource: A. Seiler, AUS Triesdorf; diploma thesis 2009 supervised by Prof. Groß and Leeb Maschinen GmbH

The novel boom

control system offers

new possibilities to guide the boom

closer than 40 centimetres to the

target area.

During the first tests the reduc-

tion of the target area spacing

resulted in a significant drift

reduction as the results in ill. 1

clearly show. To guarantee comparabil-

ity constant pressure was kept up dur-

ing the whole test. First the flat jet noz-

zles LU 04 with a target area spacing of

50 centimetre were compared with LU

02 nozzles (considerably smaller drop-

lets) with a target area spacing of only

25 centimetre. Wind speed was in-

creased from 0 to 5 m/s in steps of 0.5.

In the wind channel test the version

with the small-droplet LU 02 nozzle, the

lower spacing of 25 centimetre and an

increasing wind speed resulted in less

drift losses. The same tests were carried

out with injection nozzles. For a target

spacing of 25 centimetre an only half as

large Airmix 015 nozzle was used com-

pared to a spacing of 50 centimetre

with Airmix 03. In this case, too, the re-

sult showed considerable advantages of

the lower target area spacing with in-

creasing wind.

Previous test results from the Eighties

also showed an important reduction of

drift losses when reducing the spacing

between boom and target area. At that

time, however, there were hardly any

technical possibilities to control the full

width of the boom – which today is 36

metre – with a target area spacing of

below 40 centimetres.

In the test they always used half-as-

large nozzles for the lower target area

spacing. The reason for this decision is

that when reducing the target area

spacing the nozzle spacing on the noz-

zle bar has to be reduced, too. This is

Absorbed water quantity “Flat jet nozzle” Absorbed water quantity “Injection nozzle”

Wind force m/s Wind force m/s

–b– Airmix 015; 25 cm spacing –W– Airmix 03; 50 cm spacing–b– LU 02; 25 cm spacing –W– LU 04; 50 cm spacing

45

the only way to guarantee sufficient

overlapping and thus lateral distribu-

tion (see ill. 2). For practical use a nozzle

spacing of 25 centimetre was chosen

that has already been used in practice

for the application of liquid fertiliser.

Thus, we do not use two nozzles per

metre working width as usual, but four.

To be able to apply the same water

quantity with the same pressure with

four nozzles as with 2 nozzles per me-

tre, we have to use half-as-large noz-

zles. The advantage of the lower nozzle

calibre is an important component

when optimising plant protection. A lot

of agents benefit from smaller nozzles.

An application with smaller droplets is

particularly advantageous for contact-

ing agents like for example contacting

fungicides or leaf-active herbicides. A

nozzle spacing of 25 centimetre com-

bined with a lower target area spacing

and adapted nozzles allows for optimis-

ing not only the attachment but also

the depth effect. Nozzles with lower

spraying range angles, e.g. 80-90° in-

stead of 110-120°, allow for optimising

the depth effect. The topic attachment

and wetting may also be reconsidered

from the loss point of view. Optimising

wetting and attachment is the prereq-

uisite for a safe agent and resistance

management.

To be as flexible as possible when

choosing the nozzles, multiselect nozzle

control offers a lot of possibilities to

control the nozzles manually or even

automatically according to the opti-

mum pressure range and advancement

speed. The arrangement of the nozzles

at the nozzle bodies is crucial. Up to 6

nozzles per 0.5 metre working width

are possible (see ill. 3). In the picture a

4-piece nozzle fitting has been mounted

every 50 centimetre and in between

there is a double nozzle fitting with a

spacing of 25 cm. Therefore, this system

is called a 4-2 system. The previously

usual arrange with 1 nozzle every 50

centimetre was called 1-0. Due to the

various possibilities it is possible to react

very quickly and efficiently to the re-

spective environmental conditions and

the requirements of the plant protec-

tive agents with regard to distribution

and wetting.

Summary:

The new boom control system

HORSCH Leeb BoomControl Pro opens

up a lot of new potential with regard to

optimising efficient plant protection

management!

Agritechnica silver medal: HORSCH Leeb BoomControl Pro

Ill. 4: Multiselect with 4-2 nozzle system

Combining a small-droplet applica-

tion with a low target area spacing

and reduced drift losses is our

approach to optimise efficient plant

protection management!

Ill. 2: When reducing the target area spacing, the nozzle spacing has to be reduced, too, to keep up the same overlapping.

Ill. 3: Possible nozzle positions for a 2-1 system with a nozzle spacing of 25 cm

5 25 cm 4

46

terra

Agritechnica silver medal – Singling technology for rape and cereals and its agricultural background

In times of high corn prices and heavi-

ly increased production and acreage

costs it is more important than ever to

max out the yield potential of the site.

Beside tillage sowing technology is

the fundament of high yields. A lot of

farmers are working on optimum seed

size and placement depth. The seed

drills that are available in the market

may contribute significantly with re-

gard to exact placement depth.

During the past years the focus

has more and more been on

the longitudinal distribution of

seed in the seed row. With a

variation coefficient (VC) of 90 to 120

per cent longitudinal distribution is the

weak point of mechanic or also pneu-

matic seed drills. In practical use this

results in double or missing spots of the

seed in the row. If several grains are

placed in one spot, there may be plant

losses because of the increased competi-

tion. The plants compete for root area,

light and water. The plants often do not

tiller and only form a thin, unstable

stem.

Especially for wheat there is a grow-

ing demand in crop farming for an indi-

vidual plant which consists of 3 strong

sprouts plus 2 to 3 lateral sprouts and

which has a strong root system to be

able to take up sufficient water and nu-

trients.

Thus, from a crop farming point of

view an optimum longitudinal distribu-

tion of the seed in the row allowing for

an appropriate and safe management

of wheat or barley hybrid population

with a low number of plants and a re-

sulting low seed size of 80 to 180 grains/

m² is the fundament of profitable farm-

ing. The progress in hybrid develop-

ment can already been seen in barley,

for some years there have been consid-

erable investments in the development

of wheat hybrids. But longitudinal dis-

tribution in a row also plays a major role

with regard to line respectively popula-

tion varieties. Regularly tillered popula-

tions can be managed quite easily with

regard to fertilising, the use of growth

regulators and fungicides.

FITZ Training centre

III. 1: Yields on loess soil with 92 points, variety: Cubus, previous crop: rape, date of sowing 12.09.2007. Source: TopAgrar 10/2008

Method Seed size Yield [t/ha]

Single grain seed(test)

90110

11.911.1

Average 11.5

Row seeding(HORSCH Pronto DC)

120140

11.710.2

Average 10.9

Higher wheat yield due to single grain seed

Winter wheat single grain seed with 100 seed/m²Winter wheat single grain seed with 25 seed/m²

47

First tests show that significant yield

increases can be achieved due to the

single grain placement of cereals (cf. ill.

1 and 2).

Illustration 1 shows a practical test

that was carried out in Saxonia-Anhalt.

Winter wheat was sown with two differ-

ent seed methods with in two seed sizes

respectively. The test was laid out as a

strip test. The test period was three

years. The result of the test not only was

a yield increase, but also a significant

reduction of diseases of the stem base.

This can be attributed to a better aera-

tion of the population and the consider-

ably more robust and vital plants. In

total, the experiences in the sector sin-

gle grain seed for cereals are extremely

positive: potential savings with regard

to seed, fertilising, fungicides and

growth regulators with at the same

time increasing yields. For winter wheat

there was a yield advantage of 0.6 to 0.8

t/ha.

Illustration 2 shows first results from

the Humboldt University in Berlin. They

tested winter rye with single grain seed

and row seeding. Here, too, there is a

tendency that shows the advantages of

single grain seed.

Single grain seed of cereals and rape

is the key to achieve maximum yields for

the respective site.

Again and again, farmers emphati-

cally call for a significant improvement

of placement accuracy.

Agritechnica silver medal – Singling technology for rape and cereals and its agricultural background

III. 2: Source: Michael Baumecker (MSc in agriculture), Humboldt University in Berlin, Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture

Comparison: grain yield of single grain placement and row seeding

0,83

0,54

1,00

0,68 0,68

1,10 1,08

0,72

1,12

0,74

50 100 150 200 250

1,50

1,00

0,50

0,00

Gra

in y

ield

kg

/m2

Seed density grains/m2

Average grain yield from 2010 to 2012 depending on the seed density

W Single grain placement W Row seeding

Winter wheat single grain seed with 150 seed/m²

48

terra

HORSCH France Field Days

Every two years HORSCH France or-

ganises the traditional field days in

La Lucine. This year, too, they were an

enormous success – despite the unset-

tled weather.

On 11th and 12th of September

2013 HORSCH France received

about 700 farmers, entrepre-

neurs and dealers in La Lucine

(Haute-Marne). As usual the 2 day pro-

gramme was divided in two parts: a

seminar about current agricultural top-

ics and the presentation of technical in-

novations.

Robert Dorsemagen, the sales man-

ager of HORSCH France, summarised:

“The Field Days are a perfect opportu-

nity to exchange experiences and ideas

with our customers and dealers. It is a

very important event for HORSCH

France. The first day is more about

macro-economic topics, the second day

rather deals with more specific topics

like population management.“

The programme, thus, was very com-

plex with speeches of different experts:

Philippe Chalmin, founder of the Cy-

clOpe Institute (the most important Eu-

ropean research centre for commodity

markets), Dominique Dutartre, vice

president of Vivescia (agricultural con-

sortium for the production and process-

ing of plant material), Michael Horsch,

founder and managing director of the

HORSCH Maschinen GmbH. Moreover

there were further speakers from Ger-

many: Dr. Hansgeorg Schönberger, crop

farming expert and agricultural consult-

ant, and Prof. Dr. Dr. Franz-Josef Rader-

macher, professor at the university in

Ulm.

Producing and preparing efficiently

The first day started with a speech

from Franz Josef Radermacher, profes-

sor and computer science expert at the

university in Ulm. He particularly works

on the concept of an „eco-social“ mar-

ket economy. Being a specialist in glo-

balisation, he supports the worldwide

introduction of a “Global Marshall

Plan“ to reduce the tensions and the

imbalance in the world. He is inspired by

what happened after World War II.

“North and South have to learn to co-

operate in a much better way“, he ex-

plains. “We have to use science, technol-

ogy and money to offer new chances to

the nations at risk. Hunger leads to

revolution“, Radermacher adds. „France

is one of the most productive countries

of the world and, thus, has to contrib-

ute. For to feed more than nine million

FITZ Training centre

Philippe Chalmin, founder of the CyclOpe Institute

49

people all over the world, we need all

productive efficiency of the French and

the European agricultural sector.“

Then Dominique Dutartre, assisstant

managing director of the Vivescia group

and responsible for innovations, chair-

man of Agroindustry Research & Devel-

opment in Reims and of the competence

centre Industry and Agro Resources,

talked about phytochemistry. „Green

chemistry is a real alternative to fossil

energies. First of all the biggest chal-

lenge is communication. The world has

not yet understood that green chemis-

try can complement food production.

The second challenge is the competi-

tiveness of the procedures, as a bio-

based procedure is expensive and will

only develop if the price is the same as

for traditional chemical procedures.“

The development of this green chemis-

try has to find markets and become re-

ally more important, in contrast to the

bio-fuels of the first generation which

so far have only opened up an addi-

tional market with extremely low im-

portance.

While this first day was about eco-

nomic prospects, the next day dealt

with the agricultural aspects. Reduce

yield losses during the production pro-

cess (adapted cultivation methods, tar-

geted placement of fertiliser, exact dis-

tribution of the seed in the furrow, …)

and avoid waste by using the whole

plant – this is what Hansgeorg Schön-

berger talked about. The crop farming

expert concentrates on the mainte-

nance and improvement of soil fertility.

In his opinion rotation and fertiliser

strategies have to be adjusted, always

taking the most important climatic and

economic tendencies into account.

Moreover, it is important to guarantee

an optimum farm management. He

used the example of the HORSCH Focus

to make his position clear: „One of the

agronomic advantages of the machine

is the possibility to open the area below

the seed row for plants with tap-roots

so that the lateral roots can grow freely

in the soil. The second advantage is the

precise placement of fertiliser – espe-

cially for soils that have not been culti-

vated and ploughed for a long time.

They are low in nutrients and this is

where the Focus starts. Depending on

the setting it can work at depths of 20,

25, 30 centimetre to apply fertiliser to-

gether with nutrients like phosphor.“

According to Schönberger „Catch crops

are a temporary fashion. Of course, the

soil gradually loses degradable organic

matter. In this case, catch crops are quite

advantageous for soil fertility, in case

the population concerned is able to

generate nitrogen in winter. So all de-

pends on the condition of the soil.“

Philippe Chalmin, graduate of the

HEC (university of economics) Paris, lec-

turer in History, doctor of arts, is the

founder of the CyclOpe Institute that

deals with the international commodity

markets. “The fluctuations on the world

market affect the agricultural structures

in France. One will have to get accus-

tomed to the fact that instead of an in-

tervention price which every year anew

guarantees a price there will be prices

that vary between 120 and 280 Euro per

tons!“ He referred to China’s develop-

ment to one of the leading importers of

wheat, maize and also soya – a fact that

guarantees Europe a permanent place

Prof. Dr. Dr. Franz-Josef Radermacher (left) supports the worldwide in-troduction of a „Global Marshall Plan“.

A total of about 700 guests took part in the HORSCH France Field Days.

Michael Horsch (left) talked about Controlled Traffic Farming and single grain seed.

terra FITZ Training centre

50

among the producers on the world

market. „The biggest challenge, how-

ever, is Africa. An essential part of the

worldwide population development

will take place there. The African coun-

tries have to build up what we built up

in the Sixties: a common market organ-

isation.“

Innovative technology for future culti-

vation methods...

After the speeches the presentation

of the machines was a preview of the

Agritechnica 2013.

In his speech Michael Horsch had al-

ready given a taste of the innovations

of the HORSCH group. He gave his views

about the big trends with regard to pro-

duction systems worldwide and he drew

the audience’s attention to Controlled

Traffic Farming and single grain seed.

He talked in detail about single grain

seed for wheat. “We have already been

working on this for six years and we

have been testing our solutions at high-

yielding sites.“ A single grain meterer

that is positioned between the normal

distribution head and the seed element

TurboDisc was mounted on a standard

HORSCH seed drill. „This system will be

a huge success as it allows for variation

coefficients between 35 and 40 per cent

at an operational speed of ten km/h.“

Of course, he also talked about test ma-

chines which are not yet available on

the French market – like the self-pro-

pelled HORSCH Leeb sprayer. „The op-

erational speed in the field is 35 km/h

and on the road it is 60 km/h. The im-

portant innovation is the boom control.

I am convinced that this will revolution-

ise the sprayer market.“

After that the following novelties

were presented:

Joker 6 HD with six and 7.5 metre

working width: the compact rotary har-

row with a disc diameter of 62 centime-

tre can work at a depth of up to 15 cen-

timetre and is ideal for high amounts of

organic matter.

The Terrano FM, the big brother of

the Terrano FX, with five, six and seven

metre working width, with a four-row

tine system and a tine spacing of 28 cen-

timetre is extremely versatile and can be

used to work at depths between 5 to 35

centimetre, consolidation included. The

roller can be disassembled to work with-

out consolidation.

Pronto DC: The universal seed drill

for operational speeds between 12 and

15 km/h is ideal after plough, after a

disc or tine cultivator or, if the condi-

tions allow for it, to sow directly into

the stubble.

Joker 12 RT – new version: The com-

pact rotary harrow with a working

width of 12 metre has a disc diametre of

52 centimetre. Its characteristic: the ma-

chine folds easily and quickly to a trans-

port width of three metre.

The important innovation of the

Field Days was the Focus 4 TD. This Strip-

Till seed drill allows for exactly defining

the area for the root development of a

plant with tap-roots by means of two

tine bars (tine spacing 30 centimetre).

The distinctive feature of this tine sys-

tem is that a fertiliser depot can be

placed at a depth of 30 to 35 centimetre

to re-enrich depleted soil with nutri-

ents.

The successful event was finished

with a short outlook on the Agritech-

nica and on the next Field Days in two

years.

PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE

www.horsch.com

• The top-selling mulch seed drill in Europe

• Cultivation, consolidation, sowing and pressing

in one pass

• PPF fertiliser system is optional

• Precise seed placement with the TurboDisc seed

coulters that have proven themselves

a thousand times

Contact your dealer to arrange a demonstration!

Buy a Pronto now and retrofi t it with the medalled grain singling system later. DLG Silver Medal Agritechnica 2013

www.horsch.com

More information in the new HORSCH spare parts catalogue from your dealer or in the internet.

Ask your dealer for current offers for original

HORSCH parts of uncompromising quality.

Wearing parts

Prepare yourself for

the season NOW and think

about wearing parts in time.

003101012324560023240001

23247400

00310954

23246300

00311174 24145600

23010201

23010200

Scheiben-

sätechnik

Disc drilling

technologyTechnique de

semis à disque

Дисковая посев-

ная техника

Terrano

Tiger

Joker

Cruiser

Focus

Pronto

Sprinter

Airseeder

Express

Maestro

Verwendung

Use

Utilisation

Применение

10

Terrano

Tiger

Joker

Cruiser

Focus

Pronto

Sprinter

Airseeder

Express

Maestro

DoubleDisc

00310081 00430507

Striegelzinken doppelt d 12 mm)

row tine double d 12 mm)

Double dent de herse d 12 mm)

Зубья сетчатой бороны (стандарт 12 мм)

34217503

23487405

Striegelzinken Dammstriegel rechts

row tines dam harrow right

Dent de herse pour billon droite

Зубья сетчатой бороны, гребне-вая борона, справа

23487402

23250303

Striegelzinken TurboDisc

row tines TurboDisc

Double dent de herse TurboDisc

Зубья сетчатой бороны TurboDisc

23487404

34217502

Striegel Harrow Herse Бороны

Verwendung

Use

Utilisation

Применение

11

Hier "nden Sie schnell

die meistverwendeten

Verschleißteile.

Umgehend wieder einsatzbereit:

Bestellung 24 Stunden, 7 Tage über

www.horsch.com oder Ihren Händler.

Here you will quickly

"nd the most used

wearing parts.

Immediately back in operation:

Order 24 hours, 7 days through

www.horsch.com or your dealer.

Ici, vous trouverez

rapidement les pièces

d’usure les plus utilisées.

Remise en marche dans les plus

brefs délais :

commande 24 heures sur 24 et 7 jours

sur 7 via www.horsch.com ou votre

concessionnaire.

Здесь можно быстро

найти наиболее

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Быстрое восстановление

готовности к работе:

круглосуточный заказ, 7 дней в

неделю через сайт www.horsch.com

или через Вашего дилера.

Scheiben .............

........ 8

Discs

Disques

Диски

Packer .............

............ 9

Packer

Packers

Почвоуплотнители

Striegel ............

......... 11

Harrow

Herse

Бороны

Übersicht

Overview

Aperçu

Краткое

описание

Schare / Zinken .......... 5

Points / tines

Socs / dents

Сошники / лапы

Scheibensätechnik ... 10

Disc drilling

technology

Technique de semis à

disques

Дисковая посевная

техника

4

00350084

Bundmutter M12

Collar nut M12

Ecrou à embase M12

Гайка с буртиком M12

34182600 (li/l/g/прав.)

34182700 (re/r/d/лев.)

34060862 (li/l/g/прав.)

34060863 (re/r/d/лев.)

34060852 (li/l/g/прав.)

34060853 (re/r/d/лев.)

34060858 (li/l/g/прав.)

34060859 (re/r/d/лев.)

34060854 (li/l/g/прав.)

34060855 (re/r/d/лев.)

00310985 (li/l/g/прав.)

00310986 (re/r/d/лев.)

34060856 (li/l/g/прав.)

34060857 (re/r/d/лев.)

MulchMix Flügel breit Standard 172,5 mm

MulchMix wing wide standard 172.5 mm

Aileron MulchMix large standard 172,5 mm

Боковые крылышки лапы MulchMix

широкие стандарт 172,5 мм

34060850

00311069

MulchMix Spitze HM PLUS

MulchMix point carbide PLUS

Pointe MulchMix carbure PLUS

Литой наконечник лапы MulchMix

с твёрдоспл. наконечн. PLUS

34060851

MulchMix Spitze 120 mm

MulchMix point 120 mm

Pointe MulchMix 120 mm

Наконечник лапы MulchMix 120 мм

00310915

MulchMix Spitze schmal HM 80 mm

MulchMix carbide point narrow 80 mm

Pointe MulchMix étroite carbure 80 mm

Наконечник лапы MulchMix с

твёрдоспл. наконечн. узкий 80 мм

00310808

Scharschraube M12 x 85

Coulter screw M12 x 85

Vis de soc M12 x 85

Болт сошника M12 x 85

00360037

MulchMix

Schare

MulchMix

Socs

MulchMix

Сошники

Terrano

Tiger

Joker

Cruiser

Focus

Pronto

Sprinter

Airseeder

Express

Maestro

Verwendung

Use

Utilisation

Применение MulchMix

Points

5

Original Verschleißteile

, auf

die Sie sich verlassen können.

Genuine Wear Parts you can

rely on.

Willkommen beim

HORSCH Verschleißteilkatalog!

Die maximale Leistung Ihrer HORSCH Maschi-

ne gewährleisten nur o

riginale Verschleiß- u

nd

Ersatzteile, die Sie über

Ihren HORSCH Ver-

triebspartn

er beziehen.

Gerne beraten wir S

ie bei der A

uswahl der ri

chti-

gen Teile, g

enauso wie w

ir Sie auch beim

stand-

ortspezi%schen Einsatz Ih

rer Maschine beraten.

Wir haben garantie

rt genau das Ersatzteil

für

Ihre Anforderungen bei einem optim

alen Preis-

Leistungs-Verhältnis.

Gehen Sie keine Kompromisse ein - auch nicht

bei Verschleiß- u

nd Ersatzteilen. D

enn diese tra-

gen maßgeblich zur L

anglebigkeit Ihrer H

ORSCH

Maschine bei.

Welcome to th

e HORSCH Wear P

arts Catalogue!

Only genuine wear a

nd spare parts you can pur-

chase from your HORSCH sales partn

er ensure

maximum perfo

rmance of your H

ORSCH machine.

We will also be glad to

advise you when choosing

the right p

arts, ju

st as w

e advise you in th

e loca-

tion speci%c applicatio

n of your machine. W

e de%-

nitely have th

e right spare part a

vailable to exactly

match your require

ments, and th

is at an optim

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price-perfo

rmance ra

tio.

Do not make any compromises - a

lso not when

wear and spare parts are concerned. Because

these essentially

contribute to

the lo

ngevity of

your HORSCH m

achine.

2

Les pièces d’usure d’origine,

la meille

ure preuve de #abilité.

Оригинальные запасные

части, на которые Вы

можете рассчитывать.

Bienvenue dans le catalogue de pièces d’usure

HORSCH !

Un débit maxim

al de votre machine HORSCH

n’est garanti q

u’avec des pièces d’usure et de re

-

change d’origine fo

urnies par votre

concession-

naire HORSCH.

Nous sommes à votre entiè

re disposition pour

vous conseiller dans la sélectio

n des bonnes

pièces et quant à

l’utili

sation de votre

machine

en fonctio

n des conditions sur s

ite. N

ous avons

à coup sûr la pièce de re

change qu’il vous fa

ut,

dans un rapport q

ualité-prix

optimal.

N’acceptez aucun compromis - même quand il

s’agit de pièces d’usure et d

e rechange. C

ar elle

s

contribuent g

randement à la

longévité

de votre

machine HORSCH.

Добро пожаловать на страницы каталога зап-

частей для машин фирмы HORSCH!

Максимальную отдачу от машины фирмы

HORSCH можно получить только при использо-

вании оригинальных быстроизнашивающихся

и запасных частей, которые можно приобрести

у торгового партнёра фирмы HORSCH.

Мы охотно проконсультируем Вас по выбо-

ру надлежащих деталей и узлов, а также по

использованию Вашей машины с учётом спе-

цифики места её работы. Мы гарантирован-

но имеем запасные детали и узлы точно под

Ваши требования при оптимальном соотно-

шении цена-результат.

При приобретении быстроизнашивающихся и

запасных частей не позволяйте себе идти на

компромиссы. Только оригинальные детали и

узлы от HORSCH способны существенно уве-

личить срок службы Вашей машины.

3

Original Verschleißteile Original Wear Parts Pièces d‘usure d‘origine Оригинальные запчасти

Farming with passion