The world’s first compact disc cultivator celebrates 20 years.

The world’s first compact disc cultivator, Väderstad Carrier, was first drawn up on a French tablecloth. In 2019, the successful Väderstad Carrier celebrates its 20-year anniversary.

In the late 90s, ideas and requests started to come in from France that Väderstad should develop a new tool for shallow and intensive cultivation, creating a stale seedbed and improving field hygiene.

- On site in France, I sat down to have lunch one day with our long-time employee Joël Plançon. We started sketching out a new tool and before the meal was over, we had the first basic features of Carrier on the tablecloth and some napkins in front us, says Crister Stark, Chairman, Innovator and Co-owner of Väderstad, and continues:

- The goal of the new machine was to achieve an even and shallow cultivation at high speed with a precise mix of crop residues, followed by reconsolidation to allow for rapid germination of leftover seeds and weeds.

The working intensity that Carrier delivers, is a result of the cultivation being carried out by two disc axles – the discs in the 1st row throw the soil sideways while the 2nd row discs hurl the soil back. To maximise the performance, each disc is mounted to its own disc arm.

- The result of Carrier is a full mixture of soil and crop residues and a very good levelling of the field, Crister Stark explains.

Today, hundreds of manufacturers have followed Väderstad, and the compact disc cultivator has its given place in the farming industry. While celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the world’s first disc cultivator, Väderstad are continuously developing the Carrier concept even further.

- I have a lot of faith in our latest Carrier disc innovation, the CrossCutter Disc. This innovative disc allows for something that was not previously possible to achieve in crop production - an ultra-shallow tillage that leaves the top 2-3cm fully cultivated. Just like Carrier was back in 1999, CrossCutter Disc is a true revolution in the disc tillage industry, says Crister Stark.