Four Operations in One Pass: How the KUHN PERFORMER SELECT Performs in the Fields of OBLAPSKE LLC

In modern agriculture, machinery versatility is increasingly becoming not just an advantage, but a necessity. This is especially true when a farm needs to cultivate large areas within a short period of time while also preserving soil moisture. These were exactly the requirements for tillage equipment at OBLAPSKE LLC, where the farm operates a KUHN PERFORMER 4000 SELECT combination disc-and-tine cultivator purchased from Titan Machinery Ukraine.

Petro Chumak, Chief Agronomist at OBLAPSKE LLC, explains:

“We grow corn, wheat, barley, as well as soybeans and sunflowers. We cultivate around 3,000 hectares, and our fields are quite uneven. We mainly use non-mouldboard tillage to return crop residues to the soil. Therefore, we needed a versatile machine that could be adapted to different conditions.”

The KUHN PERFORMER combines disc and tine sections, allowing it to perform a variety of tasks — from shallow stubble cultivation to deeper soil loosening. The tines provide intensive mixing of soil and plant residues, while the working depth can be adjusted according to the task at hand.

The ability to adapt the machine to different conditions was one of the key reasons why OBLAPSKE chose the PERFORMER.

“We considered different machines and compared them with one another and eventually chose the PERFORMER. We have not regretted our decision. It mixes the soil well, and we are satisfied with the quality of cultivation. For our purposes and our capabilities, this machine is a very good fit.”

The KUHN PERFORMER is designed to perform several operations in sequence. Two rows of discs chop plant residues and help incorporate them into the soil. They are followed by four rows of tines, which provide deeper soil loosening and mixing. The process is completed by the roller, which levels the soil surface and reconsolidates the soil.

For a farm cultivating around 3,000 hectares, such productivity has a direct practical benefit. Combining several operations in a single pass reduces the number of machinery passes across the field and helps optimize the use of time and fuel.

The machine’s productivity and the reliability of its working elements are also highlighted by Vasyl Mariusyk, Chief Engineer at OBLAPSKE LLC:

“The machine has performed very well. We were particularly pleased with the quality of the working elements — they are strong and feature carbide inserts, so we have had no complaints about their performance.”

For OBLAPSKE, the ability to work at a considerable depth has also become an important characteristic of the PERFORMER.

“We worked with the machine at a depth of 35 centimetres. For our tillage system, this is a good option — we achieve high-quality loosening while working without turning over the soil.”

This approach is particularly relevant for a farm with a diverse crop rotation. After cereals, straw needs to be properly chopped and incorporated into the soil; after corn, the machine needs to handle large amounts of crop residues, while in other fields, deeper loosening may be the priority.

For Petro Chumak, the quality of the machine’s performance is assessed not only by the appearance of the field immediately after the machine has passed. The subsequent condition of the soil is also important.

The combination of disc and tine sections is complemented by soil levelling and reconsolidation. This sequence of operations helps create a uniform seedbed while retaining moisture in the soil.

For OBLAPSKE LLC, an important characteristic of the PERFORMER is not only its performance in the field, but also its ease of transport between fields. The farm operates fields of different sizes, so the ability to quickly fold the machine for transport is an important advantage in everyday operations.

“It was a priority for us that the machine could be folded. We move between fields a lot, and the fields are not always large,” says Vasyl Mariusyk, Chief Engineer at OBLAPSKE LLC.

For the farm, this is not simply a matter of convenience, but also an important part of organizing the production process. When machinery needs to be regularly moved between fields, ease of transport becomes one of the practical criteria when selecting equipment.

OBLAPSKE LLC purchased the PERFORMER 4000 SELECT from Titan Machinery Ukraine. This is not the farm’s first cooperation with the company.

“We have known Titan Machinery Ukraine for a long time. Previously, we purchased a CASE IH tractor from them. The company has already established itself as a reliable partner for us, so when it came time to choose a new machine, we also turned to them,” says Petro Chumak.

The experience of OBLAPSKE LLC shows that choosing tillage equipment does not start with the number of features listed in a catalogue, but with the specific conditions of the farm. An area of around 3,000 hectares, varying field topography, the cultivation of cereals, legumes and oilseeds, a non-mouldboard tillage system, and the need to efficiently manage crop residues — all of these factors determine the requirements for the machine.

That is why the farm compared different machinery options before making its purchase.

Ultimately, the choice of machinery is determined not only by its technical potential, but also by how well that potential matches the actual needs of the farm. The experience of OBLAPSKE LLC with the KUHN PERFORMER 4000 SELECT is an example of precisely this approach.