Help me compare a Land Pride LP500 drill with a Genesis 5 Light drill

[Foggy47]

Contemplating which would be a better drill for use in light soils on my place. I have sandy loam soils.....so from my experience both will penetrate the ground. I have not seen a decent review of the LP 3 Point drills (or the Great Plains 3 points either for that matter). The Genesis and LP are both similarly priced. The LP is a bit lighter than the Genesis.....but similar in size and weight. I like what I have seen on the Genesis.....except I would rather have two seed boxes as found on the Land Pride. The calibration appears easier with the Genesis. Anyone have any direct experience or point me to a product review on the Land Pride? I think I can get either for spring.....what say you? Nice to have choices in these small drills these days.

 

[Foggy47]

FWIW....Land Pride markets this as a Minimum Till Drill. I plan to use either drill above for No Till situations in light soil. There is little I can find in the way of a review on the Land Pride product. I feel confident the Genesis 5 will perform no till work in my soils. It's hard to be an early adopter.....grin.

 

[Foggy47]

Crickets. Does no one own a LP or GP 3 Point drill?? Nobody seen one?? No video's on line or reviews either. Hard to make a comparison with no intel on said product. Seems to me the Genesis 5 light will get the nod.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Was looking forward to the feedback on the GP. Seems all of the feedback i've seen is only on the no-till versions vs the Min till.

 

[swat1018]

I have a GP but it's a no-till. If you want my opinion about the brands, I would say GP, hands-down. GP row unit have millions and millions of acres under their belts. They are the same row units used on the big-boy drills. Genesis has some great features, but for the money, I don't think they compare to the GP.

 

[Foggy47]

I have a GP but it's a no-till. If you want my opinion about the brands, I would say GP, hands-down. GP row unit have millions and millions of acres under their belts. They are the same row units used on the big-boy drills. Genesis has some great features, but for the money, I don't think they compare to the GP.

Actually I was looking for anyone with a GP or LP 3 Point drill to report on their experience with one of those. I have seen great reviews on their pull type products and their heavy duty models....but the newer 3 point drills (5 and 6 footers) have no reviews by owners....that I can find. Seems strange. Hard to buy a product that has no reviews. I think I will stay on track to buy the Genesis 5 light.

 

[Jonathan]

I have a 606NT Great Plains, it works well in soil that has been worked or soil with minimal debris. I just purchased a 10' Genesis and will be using that this year, other than looking good and being real heavy I do not have a report yet.

 

[swat1018]

Actually I was looking for anyone with a GP or LP 3 Point drill to report on their experience with one of those. I have seen great reviews on their pull type products and their heavy duty models....but the newer 3 point drills (5 and 6 footers) have no reviews by owners....that I can find. Seems strange. Hard to buy a product that has no reviews. I think I will stay on track to buy the Genesis 5 light.

Mine is 3pt, but it's NT. The 3 pt requires a little more balls than the pull type, it can throw a tractor around. A heavy tractor is a plus. Again, no experience with anything but the no-till GP.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I have a 606NT Great Plains, it works well in soil that has been worked or soil with minimal debris. I just purchased a 10' Genesis and will be using that this year, other than looking good and being real heavy I do not have a report yet.

Have you had issues in soil that has not been worked or with a lot of debris?

 

[Wild Thing]

I have a LP606NT pull behind which I have owned and used for 6 years now. If I recall the specs correctly, you only need 40 HP to pull the pull behind but they recommended 60 HP for the 3 Pt. I have a 68 HP tractor so I wasn't concerned about the HP but I did not want to have the added weight of the drill on my tractor as we have somewhat hilly terrain and I thought it may become tippy. I have been backing up trailers for decades so ease of backing up the pull behind vs the 3 Pt is not an issue for me but it may be for others.

I have clay-loam soils and I haven't turned the dirt since I purchased the NT drill in 2016. I plant into heavy thatch and have never had any issues planting. I did buy the weight brackets which you can hang suitcase weights on if you need additional weight, but I never needed any additional weight.

I saw a prototype Genesis drill up close and personal when I toured Dr Grant Woods "Proving Grounds" in 2015. It was a nice drill but really can not compare with the Land Pride or Great Plains drills (which, BTW are the same drills but just painted different colors). Yes, the LP or GP drills are more expensive but as we all know - you usually get what you pay for. Not saying that the Genesis won't do the job for you - just that the LP/GP are a much higher quality product and probably hold their value better as well.

As far as calibration is concerned...yes, there is a little learning curve to it but once you have done it a couple times, it is very easy IMO. I have planted corn, soybeans, sugar beets, brassicas, clovers, cereal grains, switchgrass, 12 variety cover crops using both the large box and the small box and probably other crops that I can't recall. Some of the seed sizes have varied from year to year so many of these I have calibrated more than once, or maybe wanted to changed the planting rate per acre the next year, so I have calibrated my drill many, many times. It is a piece of cake once you learn how to do it.

I have successfully planted into a wide variety of cover crops...such as terminated rye...



rolled cover crops...



standing beans which the deer had hit pretty hard...



a fairly short cover crop...



heavy sod...



a standing cover crop...



another standing cover crop...



I have drilled tiny switchgrass seed with it very successfully. I don't need the NWSG box as I don't plan on planting fluffy seeds like that...



I calibrated my drill to accurately plant only 2#/acre of RR sugar beet seed. Yes - this entire 1 acre plot was drilled with only 2# of seed.



I am not interested in having a drill that only has 1 box. There is a reason the better drills have a large box for large seed and a small box for small seed. It works - very well.



My drill is well cared for and still looks almost new. I am quite confident that if I died tomorrow my estate could sell it for very near what I paid for it over 6 years ago.

 

[Wild Thing]

One other reason that I preferred the pull behind over the 3 Pt is that I have an I-Match Quick hitch on my 3 PT arms which I didn't want to have to remove and reinstall when using a 3 Pt drill. I can leave the Quick Hitch on and just hook up to the drill, remove its jack stand, hook up 2 hydraulic hoses to go plant. The lift arms and quick hitch are up out of the way and don't interfere with planting. It is very easy IMO.



Forgot to mention....I don't plant corn any more because it is too expensive to fertilize it - and this year it is going to be even more expensive to fertilize. The drill doesn't plant corn as precisely as a planter but it does do a pretty decent job for deer corn.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I know they offer multiple seed boxes for genesis drills but is the difference that you can’t get seeds from different boxes at different depths?

 

[Wild Thing]

I know they offer multiple seed boxes for genesis drills but is the difference that you can’t get seeds from different boxes at different depths?

I think maybe the more influential issue is the accuracy enabled in metering the seed. The volume of seed in the large box can be changed by 1) The Drive Gear setting, 2) the Seed Rate handle setting, and 3) the Seed Cup setting. The small box meter can only be adjusted with a Seed Rate Handle setting.

This is where the seed drops into the tube for the large box:



Small box...

 

[Bassattackr]

I know they offer multiple seed boxes for genesis drills but is the difference that you can’t get seeds from different boxes at different depths?

The main issue with using the large seed box on a Genisis (or any other drill) is that you can't get the rates low enough. If you wanted to plant brassicas, clover or switchgrass - You'll need a small seed box. Unless you're mixing with some sort of cereal grain.

FYI - RTP now makes small seed box attachments for their Genesis line of drills.

 

[Bassattackr]

FWIW....Land Pride markets this as a Minimum Till Drill. I plan to use either drill above for No Till situations in light soil. There is little I can find in the way of a review on the Land Pride product. I feel confident the Genesis 5 will perform no till work in my soils. It's hard to be an early adopter.....grin.

I assume you're referring to the Land Pride 3P500 drill? I've looked at these as well. No doubt you could no till with these under the right conditions..

 

[Nightvision]

The main issue with using the large seed box on a Genisis (or any other drill) is that you can't get the rates low enough. If you wanted to plant brassicas, clover or switchgrass - You'll need a small seed box. Unless you're mixing with some sort of cereal grain.

FYI - RTP now makes small seed box attachments for their Genesis line of drills.

View attachment 41044

The only thing that this has over the GP and LP is the ability to lift it with a smaller tractor and that’s not necessarily a good thing as weight is what makes a no till shine.

If you compare the price of a Genesis with 2 seed boxes to a GP or LP with two seed boxes, the cost difference is not that substantial.

 

[Bassattackr]

The only thing that this has over the GP and LP is the ability to lift it with a smaller tractor and that’s not necessarily a good thing as weight is what makes a no till shine.

I assume you're referring to the LP 3P500? Yes.. On no til drills they need the weight because you have no til coulters as well as the openers. Unless you're planting into concrete, they really aren't needed. Even Bill Winke (Sponsored by RTP for a while) took them off his Genesis and sent them back because he claimed they were useless for him. Upside - This gave his drill even more weight on the openers.

Most farmers now that use planters in no til situations, will ditch the front (no til) coulters, so they can get more down pressure on the single set of openers. Even with HD downpressure springs, pneumatics, etc. If you spread out the weight between two points (coulters + openers), more weight is needed.

The advantage IMO of a true no til drill like the LP-NT Series or an RTP Genesis is you can always plant regardless of the surface or condition (compacted/never broken ground, corn/milo trash, etc). Where something like a 3P500, you just have to be more selective.. FWIW - Weight is around 200lbs / set of openers on a 3P500. Compare to a SAYA 505 "no til drill" which has even less weight. Then add the coulters on top of that to spread that weight even further.. I'd take the LP every time

 

[Bassattackr]

Edit: @Nightvision - I see you're referring to the lighter RTP Genesis over a GP/LP. I agree, but I still think weight is still more than adequate. Grant Woods plants into some pretty rocky ground with his.

But I'd much rather have a GP/LP drill over a Genesis. More robust, better parts and dealer support, better long term resale, etc.. Ag market vs. Food Plot market.. What's insane to me is a Genesis 5 is now more expensive than a LP 3P606NT.

On a side note - According to Land Pride, you get much better stands with a pull behind over a 3 point. Especially on hills or contoured ground due to the weight shifting to one side on a 3 point hitch. But if you're dealing with smaller plots, the pull behind would be a PITA..

 

[Wild Thing]

Edit: @Nightvision - I see you're referring to the lighter RTP Genesis over a GP/LP. I agree, but I still think weight is still more than adequate. Grant Woods plants into some pretty rocky ground with his.

But I'd much rather have a GP/LP drill over a Genesis. More robust, better parts and dealer support, better long term resale, etc.. Ag market vs. Food Plot market.. What's insane to me is a Genesis 5 is now more expensive than a LP 3P606NT.

On a side note - According to Land Pride, you get much better stands with a pull behind over a 3 point. Especially on hills or contoured ground due to the weight shifting to one side on a 3 point hitch. But if you're dealing with smaller plots, the pull behind would be a PITA..

I would agree that a 3 Pt planter would be more convenient in the small plot situations, but you would be surprised at the small spots where I have planted with my LP606NT. Takes a little longer to maneuver into the tight spots but - Hey - you need a little challenge once in a while just to keep you on your toes.

 

[Nightvision]

Edit: @Nightvision - I see you're referring to the lighter RTP Genesis over a GP/LP. I agree, but I still think weight is still more than adequate. Grant Woods plants into some pretty rocky ground with his.

But I'd much rather have a GP/LP drill over a Genesis. More robust, better parts and dealer support, better long term resale, etc.. Ag market vs. Food Plot market.. What's insane to me is a Genesis 5 is now more expensive than a LP 3P606NT.

On a side note - According to Land Pride, you get much better stands with a pull behind over a 3 point. Especially on hills or contoured ground due to the weight shifting to one side on a 3 point hitch. But if you're dealing with smaller plots, the pull behind would be a PITA..

My main point is the Genesis is now as expensive or more so than the GP. The only advantage is it can be lifted with a smaller tractor. That’s it. If you have a big enough tractor, GP or LP all the way. No brainer imo.