What is a Subsoiler?

A subsoiler is an agricultural tool that performs deep tillage, which breaks up compacted soil layers beneath the surface without overturning topsoil. This method improves drainage, aeration, and root penetration, supporting better crop growth under both dry and wet conditions.

What is a Mole Drainer?

A mole drainer is an agricultural device that creates unlined underground channels, known as mole drains, in heavy clay soils. It uses a chisel-shaped leg with a cylindrical mole, often with an expander, to form stable tunnels. This process improves drainage, prevents waterlogging, and provides a cost-effective way to connect surface water to existing pipe drains or ditches, thereby improving crop yields. The tool is pulled through the soil to create passages for water to flow away.

Subsoilers for Sale in Suffolk, Norfolk and East Anglia 

As a trusted, local supplier of agricultural machinery across Norfolk and Suffolk, we can help you work more efficiently and reduce physical strain in your land and management tasks. If you’re looking for a dependable subsoiler for larger fields or a slimmer, more flexible subsoiler, our team is ready to provide expert advice, competitive pricing, and high-quality equipment that delivers smooth, visible results for lasting performance. 

Contact PJM Agri for more information or add one of our Subsoilers to your basket today for a simple, straightforward purchase. 

Types of Subsoilers at PJM Agri

PJM Agri offers a range of subsoilers and mole drainers designed to address soil compaction and improve drainage across various conditions. Their range includes the heavy-duty Consort, the more compact Viceroy models for narrower or grassland applications, and the powerful Regent Twin Leg for more demanding ground conditions. These machines can also be paired with a pipe-laying attachment on selected models, allowing for simultaneous mole draining and pipe installation. Together, these options provide practical solutions to improve soil structure, drainage, and overall field performance across farmland, grassland, and orchard settings.

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Here is an overview of the products we provide:

Consort Heavy Duty

The Consort Heavy Duty Subsoiler is the perfect piece of machinery, designed to tackle the common problem of compacted soil in the UK. This is ideal for areas where clay subsoils prevent natural drainage. This dual-purpose machine provides effective subsoil drainage, reducing surface water accumulation. 

Manufactured for increased durability and performance, the machine features a Cat 2 three-point linkage, an adjustable 410mm swivel coulter, and high-grade carbon steel blades. Interchangeable subsoiler feet are also included, along with a supplied parking stand, to enhance practicality. With maximum weight being transferred to the tractor’s rear wheels and standard-fit wing kits, the Consort delivers efficient soil management for improved field conditions year-round. 

Pipe Layer for Viscount & Consort Mole Drainers 

This purpose-built attachment transforms any standard Viscount or Consort mole drainer into an efficient pipe-laying system. This enables seamless installation of pipes up to 650mm deep. Its unique break-back design accounts for safe operation. This product offers quick fitting and removal from the frame, as well as shear-bolt protection. 

A heavy-duty reel or thrust bearing carries up to 300m of 03-32mm of pipe. This allows the pipe to feed smoothly along the pipe leg, enabling one-man operation. Once the pipe is secured at the start point, the system can be fed into the ground with no additional manual handling required. 

Regent – Twin Leg 

The twin-leg subsoiler is meticulously designed to address the UK’s most challenging agricultural conditions, including wet, compacted soils. This subsoiler system delivers exceptional performance in improving pasture and crop longevity. Surface drainage addresses only excess water on the surface. In contrast, this machine targets the soil and clay layers beneath, relieving compaction and improving water movement. 

This machine type is ideal for surfaces and soils with clay underneath. The mole drainer function creates a durable channel at depths of 400-600mm. This provides a highly effective route for excess surface water to escape and seep into the ground more efficiently. 

Viceroy – Orchard 

The Viceroy Orchard is purpose-built to meet the demands of orchards and vineyards. These are places where narrow rows are spaced closely and require a compact yet powerful soil solution. Its slim design allows effortless operation through tight rows of orchards and vineyards whilst ensuring deep drainage to relieve soil compaction and promote healthy root development for crops. 

The Viceroy is engineered to tackle wet, poorly drained soils in vineyards and orchards. This piece of machinery is designed to improve the soil profile rather than simply removing the surface water. By breaking into the hardpan layers to depths of around 560mm, it improves water movement and reduces the risk of waterlogging. 

Viceroy – Triple Leg with Roller 

The viceroy triple leg with roller is a powerful, deep-reaching solution designed to revolve compacted soils and maximise grassland productivity for farmers and their livestock. By breaking through hardpan layers to a depth of 560mm, it can restore soil structure, encourage grassland roots to thrive, and improve nutrient and water uptake within the grazing system.

Soil compaction can pose significant challenges for farmers and livestock in both wet and dry seasons. Poorly aerated soil can lead to nutrient loss and reduced water movement, whilst in dry seasons, soil compaction can cause roots to be shorter, reducing the longevity of the land and crops. The Viceroy subsoiler can help address these common issues by aerating harder subsoil layers, improving drainage, and creating more resilient soil. 

Viceroy – Twin Leg 

The Viceroy Twin Leg subsoiler is an efficient piece of machinery that effectively addresses wet and compacted soils. Surface drainage removes water that rests on the ground surface, but improving the soil profile is required for lasting results. This Twin Leg machine is designed to break down compacted layers to a depth of 400-600mm. This improves aeration beneath the surface and enhances water movement, aiding nutrient absorption and helping crops and other land areas thrive. 

In heavy clay soils, the Viceroy can support effective mole drainage, alleviate waterlogging and promote soil longevity. When used as a deep tillage tool, it disrupts hardpan layers, improving root growth and nutrient absorption. This eliminated the risk of land becoming unusable due to waterlogging and poor drainage. 

Benefits of Using a Subsoiler or Mole Drainer 

Using a subsoiler on your land can offer significant advantages in improving soil profiles, crop performance and growth, and field longevity for livestock. One of the most important benefits of using subsoilers is their ability to break up deep soil compaction and hardpan layers that a standard cultivator unit cannot reach. These zones of compacted soil can restrict crop and grass roots from penetrating deeper, limit water movement beneath the soil, and cause severe waterlogging during wet seasons. Using our subsoilers, you can reach depths of 400-600mm, which is ideal for relieving compaction. Our Subsoilers lift and fracture the soil, creating space beneath the surface to improve water movement and nutrient availability for crops. 

Improving drainage is another key benefit of using a Subsoiler. Compacted soils typically retain excess water above the surface, leading to severe waterlogging and delays in field operations. Subsoiling can enhance vertical water movement by creating underground channels that allow water to drain freely. This is especially beneficial when wetter seasons arrive or on heavy soils with high footfall. Improving the drainage system can also improve soil aeration, support healthier-looking grass and root systems and encouraging more beneficial nutrient activity. 

In dry seasons, subsoiling helps crops better withstand stress. By loosening the soil profile and allowing roots to reach deeper, where moisture reserves are stored, plants become more resilient during drought and better able to sustain growth with deeper nutrients. Simultaneously, improved root development in crops and grasslands can lead to more efficient fertiliser uptake, reducing losses of key nutrients needed for the land to thrive.