Nontypical No Till Drills

You've got to love going to the Sunbelt Ag Expo. You get your mind set on a Haybuster 107, but decide to go to the expo to look at other options. Should have never gone.

Does anyone have any experience with either of the following no-till drills: The Plant-o-Vator (www.sodbasedfarming.com) or the Aitchison GrassFarmer? I've seen Plant-o-vator ads in the Stockman Grass Farmer newspaper, but I've never heard of Aitchison until today.

They simply seem to have a better seed application method via shanks than the standard v-disk. I really liked the Plant-o-vator, but I don't think my IH574 (67hp) is going to have enough traction to pull it. The crazy part is I'm trying to talk myself into expanding my small collection and hunting down a bigger International tractor (1086 maybe) to pull it. If money only...

Ideas?

Don't know about either but sure hard to beat a Haybuster. Keep us informed.

Have had very variable results with no till drilling into sod. I would find someone with the same drill, and the same types of sod grass(es), to minimize confusion.

So Steve were your bad results drilling into sod due to the machine or the soil conditions?

Yes
Need ideal conditions due to low down pressure capability.

i've used ESCH drills before w/ some weights on the front and rear for downpressure. It would go through rock hard ground to any depth you set it. It's a very heavy drill.
https://www.machinerypete.com/planting/drills/esch

A ripper with seeding and fertilizer capabilities. Horsepower requirements are high per foot of implement and seed and fertilizer capacity appears to be low. I don't know how many acres or how much you plan to use it but I think it would get old quick using it.

The advantage I can see is your strip tilling the area your planting in temporarily eliminating the competition allowing what you plant a slight advantage.

Strip till is very trendy. :banana: Some arguments over whether it is REAL no till. Who cares.

Problem with all this new & improved technology is how many acres do you need to cover to make it pay...

Farm Business Management data shows producers who recently invested in technology have below average returns (with the current commodity prices). :shock:

I have about 200 acres to cover, and at 10' a pass that would get a little dull. But not too bad. I don't see how the cost of any of this stuff adds up in a downward market, but the goal would be to minimize/eliminate feed and hay cost. Possibly rent out the service to other ranchers. It would hopefully increase stock density too. In my area we can grow green forage year round with the right tools.

When you compare the prices to comparable sized drills, these are actually cheaper. I would assume maintenance cost would be lower due to fewer bearings, etc.

I didn't post a link to the other one before. It looks like it's a New Zealand company with dealers in the US.
Aitchison Grassfarmer link: http://www.reesegroup.co.nz/Aitchison/c ... rmer.html#

I have Haybuster 107 and it's pretty much bullet proof. It's not best planting no- till drill, but it's the most heavy duty, no maintenance, and simplest no -till made. IMO

Stocker Steve":334jj455 said:

Strip till is very trendy. :banana: Some arguments over whether it is REAL no till. Who cares.

Problem with all this new & improved technology is how many acres do you need to cover to make it pay...

Farm Business Management data shows producers who recently invested in technology have below average returns (with the current commodity prices). :shock:

Click to expand...

If I could get a few of you guys in the great white north to send me your cattle during the winter we could send them back come spring all fat and happy. We'll call it the snowbird weight gain program. Not to mention the per pound $ would help me fund this stuff! :idea:

I might need to take this to a new thread, but out of curiosity what does it cost on average to carry a steer from Nov-March in an area where it snows?

Single disc JD drills come in 15' widths with any row spacing you could want, plus a small seed box. Buy one, or rent one, you'll be happier with a 75 year old design.

Why single disk?

They do better in dry, or hard packed ground, like pasture. Clouters and double disk do better on wetter ground.

An article in Farm Show vol 44 No 4 on "best buy" section from Paul Weins say the Aitchison seeder in one of his best buys. Mr. Weins said he has planted 3000 acres without problems. He over seeds pastures for some of his customers annually. He has planted a number of times for me. The only problem is that it would occasionally plug from the ground cover.