Educate me on what I’m looking at with drills

[Wind Gypsy]

I’m not going to purposely not get a small seed box but it’s not a deal breaker. I don’t really do brassicas and I don’t envision doing switch. But I can never say never.
I had a buddy drill clovers this past week without a small seed box so I suppose it’s doable

Planting clover/chicory/brassicas at the same time as cereals, peas, beans is the draw of a small box. I'd also hate to be without one and that is the primary reason the PH drills are less enticing to me - yes it's an option but its a very expensive one.

I really like the Esch drills. The risk there is they aren't a big name so who knows if they'll be around forever like great plains. They used to be on par price wise but the great plains/land pride prices have shot to the moon. The Esch seem to be quite a bit more heavily built to me.

Great plains / Land pride naming convention - all of the no-till models end with a -06. 606 means 6 foot wide. 706 is 7' wide. 3p606 is the 3 point model of the 606 rather than pull type. The models ending with -00 are min-till models that are lighter and dont have coulters ex 3p500 and 3p600 are the 5' and 6' wide 3 point models.

 

[Foggy47]

I’m not going to purposely not get a small seed box but it’s not a deal breaker. I don’t really do brassicas and I don’t envision doing switch. But I can never say never.
I had a buddy drill clovers this past week without a small seed box so I suppose it’s doable

This was why I went with the GP 3P500 over a Genesis lite. (Plus the price is better) But, each fall I plat 112 lbs of rye and maybe some peas and radish in the large seed box for a total of large seeds at 125 lbs or so. Now I could try to blend 10 lbs of clover and brassica into the big box (and I have done things like this - it’s a royal PITA to mix this correctly) and then I’m going to get some of that clover and rye a bit too deep and make some germination issues. Yeah I know I can get GCC to mix this....but I get a better price on seeds elsewhere and I keep some variety of seeds available which can be subject to change. Also I think the GP/LP products are a bit cheaper and of better quality (which can be debated one way or the other). If I had heavier soils I may swing toward the Genesis product......but I’m sold on the small seed box on any drill.

Edit: Shipping large quantities of a commodity seed like rye mixed with a little clover and brassica is going to cost ALLOT. BT/DT

 

[bigboreblr]

Whays your needs? Acres? Tractor your using? Soil type? How well manicured your plots? Leveled" stumps, rocks.

Could even get by with done mofifications to a disc or cultipacker setup.

What are you lookingbyo gain vs ehat you do now. Any chsllenges tovyour plots, muddy mess, frequent droughts, etc.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

mostly would be drilling into perennial clover plots and alfalfa. I’m sure I would do some annual plots if I had a drill but I try to keep things simple and base everything on clovers. I’d get a new tractor. My biggest now is 55 hp. I’m wanting to get 90-100 hp.
My gain is time. I’m a one man operation planting is hard to get accomplished. My ambition is greater than my ability!
But I guess without asking, but now asking, are you guys really paying between 20-35,000 for a piece of food plotting equipment? Trust me I’ve bought some things for the farm that most people can’t understand so I get it, I just didn’t know if I was missing something.

 

[SwampCat]

mostly would be drilling into perennial clover plots and alfalfa. I’m sure I would do some annual plots if I had a drill but I try to keep things simple and base everything on clovers. I’d get a new tractor. My biggest now is 55 hp. I’m wanting to get 90-100 hp.
My gain is time. I’m a one man operation planting is hard to get accomplished. My ambition is greater than my ability!
But I guess without asking, but now asking, are you guys really paying between 20-35,000 for a piece of food plotting equipment? Trust me I’ve bought some things for the farm that most people can’t understand so I get it, I just didn’t know if I was missing something.

I plant a lot of acres - more than most - and have a good bit of equipment. I just couldnt do that for a single piece of equipment that has no other purpose. I still plant with a hand crank seeder, an electric sxs mounted seeder, a 500 lb capacity pto spreader, even been using a drone some this year. When conditions are right - a woods seeder. Still do a fair bit of throw n mow and throw n no mow. My planting is too varied to sink that kind of money in one piece of equipment that has a singular dedicated usage.

That said - if you really have a need - you plant a fair many acres and a drill will do almost all of it - I get it. Or - if you just have money to burn. I think a lot of folks have bought used, saving quite a bit of money.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

But I guess without asking, but now asking, are you guys really paying between 20-35,000 for a piece of food plotting equipment? Trust me I’ve bought some things for the farm that most people can’t understand so I get it, I just didn’t know if I was missing something.

I’m pretty sure 606NTs were like $17k when biden got elected..

I did pay around $14k shipped for a 3’ esch and $12k for a 3p600 though

 

[Foggy47]

I am a small time operator compared to many. I put in about 10 acres of plots......and operate a GP 3P500 drill. I bought mine used for around $11,000. I kinda wish I had just bought new.....which would have run about $14,000 with a small seed box. <----That is about my limit for price......OTOH it's made life lots more simple and my land is better.

 

[SwampCat]

i know it is purely aesthetics and a personal preference. I have planted with everything from a hand crank seeder on mudflats to a five ft GP drill and most everything in between. In my opinion, the best LOOKING food plots are those tilled with a rotary tiller, seed spread with some type of spin spreader, and then drug with a cedar top. The surface is smooth and even. The vegetation is a carpet - no rows seven inches apart. BUT, putting a tiller on my sun baked ground can take a long time for prep - and I cant do it when it is wet

 

[Diesel5610]

But I guess without asking, but now asking, are you guys really paying between 20-35,000 for a piece of food plotting equipment? Trust me I’ve bought some things for the farm that most people can’t understand so I get it, I just didn’t know if I was missing something.

Great Plains 606NT was $20k but my buddy and I split it. About the same as a new 4 wheeler for each of us these days. We do 15-30 acres every year between a few properties and it has saved a ton of hours. We can justify it and we are at a point where we each have some disposable income but it isn’t a smart choice for everyone. We rented one for over a decade while I had kids at home and all those expenses. Looked for a used one all those years and only saw one anywhere close and it was sold by the time I saw it listed. We bought it instead of a new tractor and it is just as valuable for what we do. Hope to get a new tractor at some point but like everything else in this economy they are getting ridiculous.

 

[swat1018]

I bought mine new in 2012 for $12K. I think I could sell it for a profit, not all expenses are "bad".

 

[Foggy47]

I bought mine new in 2012 for $12K. I think I could sell it for a profit, not all expenses are "bad".

^That is the thing with good implements (especially in these inflationary times). All my implements are worth as much or more than I paid for them. Even some that are pretty beat up. Buy good stuff and keep it in decent condition.....and you get to use it for "free" (or better). Tho you do lose the "opportunity cost" of those dollars tied up in 'chinery. Worth it to me.

 

[Miike]

I plant 6-10 acres of plots every year. I use a John Deere FB grain drill that was built sometime in the 1960’s. 13 discs on 7 inch spacing, with a small seed box on the front. It’s not no till so I disc and plant the first round which usually consists of wheat or oats at about 100 pounds per acre and then put clover ( usually a mix of about 10 pounds crimson and 4-5 pounds of ladino or durana clovers per acre. The wheat goes in the large box and gets planted about 1.5 inches deep and the clover blend goes in the small box and in just gets dropped on the surface This method works real good for me. I’ll use just the big seed box to plant back into an existing clover plot and it does a good enough job at getting my small grain close enough to the soil that it germinates just fine. The main thing I’m trying to get at is that an old 400 dollar grain drill gives me more than acceptable results for food plots and I’ve never had a deer complain or avoid my plots because they aren’t perfectly planted. I always had fine results just broadcasting seed and dragging it in but my old grain drill is so much faster and easier. A no till drill would be great but I don’t have nor can justify the money.

 

[Foggy47]

Not sure how many have followed the developments of drills over the past few years......but lots of people are getting along with a conventional drill used in a no-till capacity - especially on light soils. You Tube has a channel called "The Back 40" and Mark uses a three point conventional drill made by Tar River to plant his plots in Michigan soils.

These drills sell NEW for about $3500 currently (see adds at Tractor House). He had an old drill that he used previous to the Tar River conventional drill he uses now. Good example of relatively low cost drill in use for food plots in Marks video presentations. He is a straight shooter with no axes to grind or products to sell.

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[RGrizzzz]

PH Outdoors has a new drill coming out in the spring. Guessing it will be cheaper than the G series.

PH Outdoors | Eureka MO

PH Outdoors, Eureka (Missouri). Gefällt 296 Mal · 66 Personen sprechen darüber. Our mission is to inspire people to connect with nature and promote environmental stewardship!

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[SwampCat]

With my Woods Seeder, I probably use the small seed box MORE than the large seed box. Most of the time if I am planing grain, I am also planting clover. I also plant a variety of millet for doves and ducks when I dont use the large seed box

 

[Wind Gypsy]

PH Outdoors has a new drill coming out in the spring. Guessing it will be cheaper than the G series.

PH Outdoors | Eureka MO

PH Outdoors, Eureka (Missouri). Gefällt 296 Mal · 66 Personen sprechen darüber. Our mission is to inspire people to connect with nature and promote environmental stewardship!

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Interesting. Having the cultipacker vs independent closers on the row units seems like a setup that would be less forgiving of uneven ground because a high spot would lift the whole unit up more BUT i could see those to pointed rollers on either side of the row possibly doing a good job closing up trenches. I bet it's far from cheap still. Probably more than I paid for a 3p600 for the M5? In August i saw the G5s going for north of $17k!

 

[SwampCat]

Interesting. Having the cultipacker vs independent closers on the row units seems like a setup that would be less forgiving of uneven ground because a high spot would lift the whole unit up more BUT i could see those to pointed rollers on either side of the row possibly doing a good job closing up trenches. I bet it's far from cheap still. Probably more than I paid for a 3p600 for the M5? In August i saw the G5s going for north of $17k!

I have a roller and cultipacker integral to my woods seeder. Not saying it plants better than a drill, but it leaves a lot more consistent mulch layer when finished - than a drill and the individual closing wheels or rollers on a drill. Before and after

 

[Foggy47]

PH Outdoors has a new drill coming out in the spring. Guessing it will be cheaper than the G series.

PH Outdoors | Eureka MO

PH Outdoors, Eureka (Missouri). Gefällt 296 Mal · 66 Personen sprechen darüber. Our mission is to inspire people to connect with nature and promote environmental stewardship!

www.facebook.com

Not much detail given on this unit. They did offer a "seeder" in the past.....but I don't think they sold many. I only see one seed box on this unit....which is the main 'put off" to me in PH product. I'm still holding a grudge on the company....as I had a Genesis 5 purchased for fall delivery during COVID days. Every month the delivery got pushed out another month....until in Spring they told me they would not honor the price I purchased for. I also had a potential Land Pride deal in January 2021.....but the price suddenly went up several thousand by the time I saw the product in April 2021. I walked away from that one too.

Times were strange during Covid days and the "buying panic" at that time. It was a sellers market on such stuff for a while. Much different now.

 

[RGrizzzz]

Not much detail given on this unit. They did offer a "seeder" in the past.....but I don't think they sold many. I only see one seed box on this unit....which is the main 'put off" to me in PH product. I'm still holding a grudge on the company....as I had a Genesis 5 purchased for fall delivery during COVID days. Every month the delivery got pushed out another month....until in Spring they told me they would not honor the price I purchased for. I also had a potential Land Pride deal in January 2021.....but the price suddenly went up several thousand by the time I saw the product in April 2021. I walked away from that one too.

Times were strange during Covid days and the "buying panic" at that time. It was a sellers market on such stuff for a while. Much different now.

Paul commented the drill will be under $10,000. I believe there is only a 60" model. There aren't many details, but I suspect this model weighs less. Let the cultipacker do the closing vs the weight needed for row press wheels

COVID was a weird time. Shipping prices went nuts. The RTP drills were built in Holland, so I could see cost changes being problematic. Was it the dealer or the parent company insisting on the price increase?

 

[Foggy47]

Paul commented the drill will be under $10,000. I believe there is only a 60" model. There aren't many details, but I suspect this model weighs less. Let the cultipacker do the closing vs the weight needed for row press wheels

COVID was a weird time. Shipping prices went nuts. The RTP drills were built in Holland, so I could see cost changes being problematic. Was it the dealer or the parent company insisting on the price increase?

My Dealer was good......but RTP wanted an increased price. You'r right on the shipping and logistic issues. When I bought the drill......I tihink it was late August or early September. ......and it was supposed to ship by October, then November, then December etc through Feb (?) when the deal was no longer available. I'm not upset with the dealer......but RTP. As it turns out.....I am more satisfied with the product I bought.....as I really need that small seed box.....to suit my situations. The small seed box option by RTP drives that price over the top....IMO.

....and this ^ is how the thread "help me compare a GP/LP 3P500 / 600 with a RTP Genesis Drill" came about.