The patented tine design used on the John Dale Zero Till was developed by 'Seed Hawk' of Canada in 1991. These tines have been used on drills with working widths from 3 metres to 8 metres, some of which have sown more than 1000 hectares per year. John Dale is widely accepted by farmers and machinery dealers as the best drill for zero, minimum and conventional till conditions.

A hydraulic ram pulls each opener arm against the soil. The wheel at the the back of each opener arm uses this constant force to provide soil packing. The hydraulic cylinder continually moves slightly to adjust to ground contours. The narrow seed knives are mounted directly on the same arm, so the packer wheel is continually maintaining a uniform seed depth. This depth is always measured down from the packed surface of the furrow. The two knives are at a fixed relationship on the arm and open seperate seed furrows for ideal, safe placement. The 4" wide packer wheel packs the complete distributed area to ensure a good seed bed and to prevent the soil from drying out around the seed. The hydraulic force is easily adjustable with the control so that penetrating and packing forces can be quickly altered to meet field requirements.

The individual depth gauging openers ensure exceptional ground contour following capabilities. Precise seed placement is maintained, regardless of field level or ground hardness.