Velin Mechkarov shares his experience with Vaderstad Tempo

Velin Mechkarov is the manager of ZLAT-VAL-AGROTECH - MECHKAROV, KANEV SD, which cultivates land on the territory of Veliko Tarnovo municipality. 

We are talking to Velin about the reasons why he chose the Vaderstad Tempo for the spring planting and the way it has been operating on his farm for a second year.

Can you tell us more about the Vaderstad Tempo we see behind you?

This is the best planter on the Bulgarian market. It can help your dreams come true. It follows all the parameters you set. I compare it with other brands where you set some parameters, but the results are different. It is the same with the seeds you are planning to plant. It places them accurately and the planting is excellent.

What would you share in terms of precision and speed – is there compromise or both are excellent?

Tempo delivers really great precision and works at very high speed. You can even reach speeds of about 20 km / h and there are no problems for the planting.

What crops do you use it for? And if they are different, is it easy to change the crops and the operation with the planter itself?

With the Vaderstad Tempo we plant mainly sunflower and corn. Operation is very, very easy, and the change from one crop to another is very fast. In about 15-20 minutes you can change the crops. Finally, all you have to do is adjust the seeds you need to place. In general, anyone can work with this planter, it's not a complicated machine at all. It does a great job!

Can you tell us about the precision in terms of seed placement in depth? 

This is the best planter on the market. You can set the depth of planting, and it places the seed to the specified depth. There is no such thing like, let's say you place on 5 cm and it seeds at 15 cm or you set it at 5 cm and it works at 2 cm. With Vaderstad Tempo this cannot happen because the precision of seed placement is very high.

When comparing it to the planter you have used before, do you generally see other benefits in addition to speed and precision?

I have used many planters, but with Tempo, as many seeds we plan to plant, this is how many we plant. With the previous planters, we plan a certain amount to plant, and then we need to add more seeds. There is no such thing with Vaderstad Tempo. As much as we said we would plant, so we do.

In terms of yield - how do you see the change?

In terms of yield, Vaderstad Tempo makes things much better, the seeds are placed at such a distance from each other, that there is no overlap. In the case of the previous planters, one seed falls closer to the other, and after that the plants that have fallen closer, begin to compete and make the yield weaker. With Tempo the seeds are placed at the distance that you want, and the yield is much higher. Therefore, the return on investment is quickly achieved.

Would you recommend Vaderstad Tempo to other farmers?

Yes, we are constantly receiving questions from our colleagues about the operation of the planter and whether we would recommend it. We even make demonstrations to colleagues who want to work with such planters and I guess when they see the benefits, they will buy Tempo next year.