While Cross Slot USA isn’t exactly a household name among Great Plains and Corn Belt no-tillers, over the past 25 years, the company has become a popular OEM for direct-seeding tools for growers in the Pacific Northwest, southern Canada and the northern tier of prairie states in the U.S., particularly those growing cereal grains

Gavin Porter, CEO of Cross Slot USA, the North American licensee of New Zealand’s Cross Slot No-Tillage Systems, says the company recently reorganized its manufacturing and parts logistic plan to better serve growers across a wider market area. 

“In the wake of the supply chain disruptions of the COVID pandemic and the growing uncertainties associated with global sourcing of parts and services, we’re now assembling all of our products in Iola, Kan.,” Porter says. “It was a good move to consolidate our manufacturing near the dependable casting facilities of Kansas Castings located in nearby Wichita. Also, it gives us a more centrally located parts and service presence in the geographical heart of U.S. agriculture.”

System Difference

Cross Slot makes 1-pass no-till drills, row units, toolbars, openers, retrofit kits and assorted parts for its novel low-disturbance planting system based on years of New Zealand research and development by John Baker. 

The system’s tools differ significantly from traditional planters and drills, which rely on double-disc openers for seed placement. Instead, Baker’s design uses a narrow shank with a flared opener running at planting depth to create an inverted subterranean “T” opening. The tool allows seed to be tucked…