July 1, 2024 Making It Last

Väderstad is a leading manufacturer of tillage, seeding and planting farm equipment designed to ensure perfect emergence and maximize yields

As you might imagine from the name, Väderstad is a Swedish family-owned company. While based in the town of Väderstad, the tillage, seeding, and planting farm machines it makes are used throughout the world, known for their ability to carry out multiple tasks at a high rate in a single pass.

Väderstad is represented in 40 countries and on all continents. In 2023, Väderstad had 2,200 employees. It recently announced the completion of a 12,600 square meter (135,625 square feet) factor expansion to meet growing global demand and enhance operational effi­ciency. The expansion is expected to be fully operational by the second half of 2024 with state-of-the-art assembly lines for its Proceed and Tempo product lines, and a new paint­work station, capable of annual production capacity of 10,000 machines. Total production area in Sweden with the expansion is approx­imately 70,000 square meters (about 753,474 square feet).

The company works closely with farmers to develop tillage methods and seed drills, cultiva­tors, harrows, and rollers suitable for different climate zones around the world. All Väderstad machines are backed by two-year warranties in the tradition of company founder Rune Stark’s guiding motto to “make it last.”

Started in 1962, between 2020 and 2023 Väderstad more than doubled its sales, and in 2021 entered the U.S. market with the acqui­sition of North Dakota-based AGCO-Amity JV, a joint venture between AGCO Corp. and Amity Technology that manufactured seeding and tillage products under the Concord, WilRich, and Wishek brand names. It had earlier entered the Canadian market in 2006 by buy­ing a stake in Saskatchewan-based Seed Hawk, a manufacturer of seeding and fertilization drill systems, that it fully took over in 2013. North American production is maintained in facilities in Langback, Canada and Wahpeton, North Dakota. Machines are built both for dealer inventories, as well as to custom orders.

The Seed Hawk Air Drill + Precision Delivery Air Carts combine precision, capacity, and flexibility to deliver exceptional seed and fertil­izer placement in one pass. The result is quick, uniform crop emergence, better quality and higher yields for a better return on investment.

Väderstad tillage products encompass a range of tine cultivators, a combination cultivator, disc cultivators, tine harrows, and rollers. The Tempo series of planters is a new generation of high-speed planter, with unmatched precision with double the speed of traditional planters. The front-mounted fertilizer hopper FH 2200 enables high precision combi-drilling; the 2200- liter hopper is equipped with the electric Fenix III metering system and is suitable for large capacity and high working speeds on the field to take full advantage of Tempo planter capacity.

In addition to it Seed Hawk line of seeders, Väderstad makes and distributes various seed drills under the Rapid, Spirit, and Inspire nameplates. BioDrill is a mountable small seeder that can be fitted on Väderstad cultiva­tors and seed drills; BioDrill is equipped with a precise radar-controlled metering system that provides an even distribution over the entire working width. For 2024, the capacity of the BioDrill for Rapid 300-400C/S seed drill is increased by 40 percent.

Ground-breaking (Literally!) Innovation

Väderstad prides itself on constantly push­ing the limits and continuously presenting ground-breaking innovations. Given that the greatest potential to improve the final emer­gence is found in the soil, where it actually happens, many of Väderstad’s most revolu­tionary innovations are wear parts. The com­pany’s CrossCutter disc, for example, works ultra-shallow and intensively at high speed, creating the perfect seedbed for the residues to decompose and the seedbank to germinate. For the 2025 season, Väderstad introduces a new version of the disc cultivator Carrier 925, able to hold three disc axles fitted with the unique CrossCutter Disc. This machine will be an important step for mechanical weed control of resistant weeds.

As another example, the shape of the new Marathon Edge increases soil searching ability while at the same time reducing draw force in heavy soils. And the BreakMix point combines the advantages of breaking compactions with highly intensive mixing.

For model year 2024, the new Following harrow Marathon tine is available as an after­market upgrade to new and existing Väderstad machines. By strengthening the following har­row tine with hard metal at the critical point of wear, the working lifetime of the tool is drasti­cally increased.

Väderstad E-Services makes it easy to con­trol and monitor any farming machine. These include a modern iPad-based control sys­tem that wirelessly connects to the Väderstad machine, enabling full access to its functions and data. The ISOBUS virtual terminal pro­vides control access over such tasks as machine control, troubleshooting, and headland auto­mation. The iCon Wireless Control System is a tablet-based control system for simple, complete control of a Seed Hawk air cart and toolbar.

A commitment to innovate agriculture is at the core of Väderstad. After 62 years, it con­tinues to support farmers in efforts optimize their farmlands to secure a sustainable food production for generations to come.

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