Working at the Agro-Soyuz farm in the Sinelnikovo region, Dniepropetrovsk, Ukraine a 500hp (ISO) AGCO Challenger MT865 powering a 18.35m wide Horsch min-till drill planted 571.9ha of spring barley and fertiliser in 24 hours.

Operating at speeds up to 20km/hr the drilling combination achieved an average workrate of 24.3ha/hr, with the Challenger providing this performance at a fuel consumption rate of just 3.8 litre/ha.

What sets this record apart is that it was completed under entirely commercial conditions. The Challenger tractor was unmodified, and the Horsch drill, built by Agro-Soyuz in Ukraine, was also completely standard, straight out of the company’s factory, again without any major changes.

“While the record is an extraordinary achievement, it was actually a typical ‘day’ for a Challenger. These tractors are designed and built specifically for this type of high-output operation. The MT 800 consistently delivers workrates similar to those achieved in the record, providing unrivalled performance and economy,” says Andrew Rabett, Challenger, General Product Marketing Manager.

Agro-Soyuz, Ukraine’s leading farming company, grows 7,500ha of arable crops. The farm carried out the seeding record with its usual efficiency and precision but, again, using its normal procedures. The crop of ‘Prairie’ spring barley was sown at the seedrate of 130kg/ha with 370kg/ha of 16/16/16 prilled NPK fertiliser.

Predominate soil type is chernozem, a black, peaty clay loam typical of the Steppe region. Here enormous fields are the norm. The record took place on two fields providing dead straight runs ranging from 2.75km to up to 4.00km long. Yields in the record-breaking fields are expected to be about 3.5t to 4t/ha – with average rainfall of about 321mm available, moisture is the main limiting factor. The average yield in the Ukraine would be 2.3t/ha for the same crop.

Not surprisingly, precision farming played an important role in achieving the record. Overall gains in output up to 20% are normally achieved using the optional DGPS Auto Guide system. Developed in conjunction with Australian-based Beeline Technologies, Auto Guide automatically steers the tractor in precisely straight lines to an accuracy of down to 2cm.

At the headland the operator disengages the auto guidance by simply touching the steering wheel. The Auto Guide display on the screen then navigates the operator to the next pass using a virtual ‘lightbar’ on the tractor’s main TCM (Tractor Control Module). With the tractor back on track, Auto Guide resumes steering.

This automatic steering system allows operators to maintain consistent forward speeds of 17km/hr. It also climinates any over-or underlapping, meaning that every cm of the drill’s working width is effectively used.
Since 1996 Agro-Soyuz has been using no-till and minimum techniques to help raise yields by conserving the sparse moisture, reduce the risk on soil erosion and improve soil fertility and humus levels. To do this, the company uses Horsch band sowing technology, and now builds the 18.35m wide drill in a factory at its headquarters in Dniepropetrovsk.

As well as the environmental and agronomic benefits, the Horsch system greatly improves outputs. While achieving average performance of about 24.3ha/hr in the record run, the drill regularly works at about 16ha/hr in normal use. To put this in context, equipment more usually found on Ukrainian farms would struggle to achieve outputs of 20ha a day!

Adjudicator’s reports and evidence has been lodged with the Guinness Book of Records for official acknowledgement. The event was monitored by Dmytro Woytjuk, Dean, Professor of the National Agricultural University of Ukraine, and Leonid Pogorilyy Director of Ukrainian State Centre of Testing of Agricultural Machinery. Staff from both institutes observed the entire event, checking the machine operation, seeding quality and eventual area covered.

The official time was recorded using precise information supplied by the GPS satellites.

Word record facts box


Total area sown: 571.9ha
Workrate: 24.3ha/hr
Fuel consumption: 3.84 litre/ha (94 litre/hr)
Total fuel: 2,203 litres
Tractor load: 92% (efficiency)
Kilometers travelled: 331.39
Seed rate: 130kg/ha (total 74,347kg)
Seed: Prerea spring barley
Fertiliser rate: 370kg/ha (total applied 21,1603kg)
Fertiliser type: NPK 16/16/16