In Świniokierz Dworski, where Piotr Zieliński is responsible for production, field tomatoes intended for processing are grown. All production at this location is carried out using organic farming methods. Świniokierz Dworski is one of two tomato growing areas used by the producer. A total of 24 hectares are dedicated to tomatoes in this area. The total area of tomato cultivation on the farm is 65 hectares. Industrial tomato cultivation is a commercial production and must be mechanized in order to achieve long-term profitability, especially in the face of low labor availability. A key stage that can be mechanized is planting. Last year, the farm used a four-row Ferrari carousel planter purchased from a local distributor, Agrobard in Grójec. Although this planter was satisfactory in terms of performance, its main drawback was the need to involve a large number of people to operate it. When operated correctly, this rotary planter could plant a maximum of 2.5 to 3 hectares per day, working 11-12 hours. How does the new equipment perform?
This season, the farm purchased a new planter, also from Ferrari, model Futura. This machine, also purchased from Agrobard, is a fully automatic planter. All that is required to operate it is a tractor driver and one person to place the trays with seedlings in the appropriate places on the machine. The planter empties the trays automatically. It is a six-row planter. Thanks to this new machine, it is possible to plant 7-8 hectares per day.
