Kasco Versa Drill - First Try - Transferred from QDMA Forums

[Ryan H]

I have not really tested the tubes much. We used to plant soybeans for summer but because of an issue with Marestail, we have been planting a mix of buckwheat and sunn hemp. They surface broadcast so easily that I don't bother drilling them, and our fall plant has always been surface broadcast. The only use they have had is that after broadcasting sunn hemp and buckwheat last year, I tried to drill a couple rows of sunflowers. I was using the Kasco as a cultipacker for the sunn hemp and buckwheat and just threw in some sunflowers for the heck of it.

The bin dividers worked "ok". Because they are not tight to the sides of the unit, some seed does spill into the next unit if you don't fill them all. In my case, I had sunflowers in both end rows and nothing in the middle rows. I think they will be fine if I have seed in all the units. Also, if I had fit them a bit tighter, they would be fine even with seed only in one unit.

As for the tubes, they worked pretty well. The only adjustment I might make is to lower them a bit more. I noticed that some of the sunflowers landed in the trough but bounced out. Most were in the trough. The real planting feet curve at the end and get tighter which slows the speed of the seed fall. I may rig something up similar at the end of the tubes to reduce the amount of bounce. As far as clogging goes, there was zero clogging with these tubes.

I was worried so much about clogging that I did not consider seed bounce when I designed them. I'm thinking of adding a 45 degree PVC elbow at the bottom next time I use it.

I just got an 8' double cultipacker: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/cultipacker-finally.12178/. Last year, the deer ate the sunflowers as soon as they popped up so they did little good. This year I plan to add Wild Game Food sorghum to the mix. Since all of these can be surface broadcast and cultipacked, I won't be using the Kasco this year. I'm just waiting for the soil temps to warm up.

Thanks,

Jack

Jack, I have found a used 6ft Versa Drill, garage kept, looks good. The guy is asking $6,500, do you think it is worth that? Looking for some good advise, I have been on the fence but not really thrilled about dropping 15k on a drill for food plots.

Thanks, Ryan

 

[yoderjac]

Jack, I have found a used 6ft Versa Drill, garage kept, looks good. The guy is asking $6,500, do you think it is worth that? Looking for some good advise, I have been on the fence but not really thrilled about dropping 15k on a drill for food plots.

Thanks, Ryan

It really depends on your situation. Mine is only 4' and I paid either $3000 or $3500; can't recall at the moment. I'd go through this thread in detail so you have a good understanding of what you are in for. I also have a couple other threads where I talk about it. Search the form for Kasco Versadrill and you will find them. It took some getting used to but it worked for me at the time. We were planting RR soybeans with a light mix of corn for summer. We stopped that because of a Marstail infestation (naturally RR resistent). I'm now planting sunn hemp and buckwheat as our main summer crop. I don't use it for them because they surface broadcast and cultipack well in my soil unlike beans and corn which need to be planted deeper. So, I don't use it much these days. When I do need it for something, I'm glad I have it and wouldn't sell it even though it just sits most of the time.

I love to see folks going no-till for the soil health benefits. Whether this is a good buy for you at that price depends on what you are planting, what other equipment you have, how much acreage you are planting, and your budget.

I've tried to provide an honest assessment of how it has worked for me in my posts. I try to tell the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let us know if you get it and how it works for you!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Ryan H]

It really depends on your situation. Mine is only 4' and I paid either $3000 or $3500; can't recall at the moment. I'd go through this thread in detail so you have a good understanding of what you are in for. I also have a couple other threads where I talk about it. Search the form for Kasco Versadrill and you will find them. It took some getting used to but it worked for me at the time. We were planting RR soybeans with a light mix of corn for summer. We stopped that because of a Marstail infestation (naturally RR resistent). I'm now planting sunn hemp and buckwheat as our main summer crop. I don't use it for them because they surface broadcast and cultipack well in my soil unlike beans and corn which need to be planted deeper. So, I don't use it much these days. When I do need it for something, I'm glad I have it and wouldn't sell it even though it just sits most of the time.

I love to see folks going no-till for the soil health benefits. Whether this is a good buy for you at that price depends on what you are planting, what other equipment you have, how much acreage you are planting, and your budget.

I've tried to provide an honest assessment of how it has worked for me in my posts. I try to tell the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let us know if you get it and how it works for you!

Thanks,

Jack

I have recently acquired more ground to put into plots. I really like the thought of going the regenerative way. Planting green and so forth. Will this machine be able to accomplish that? Soil health and deer health is important to me.

 

[yoderjac]

I have recently acquired more ground to put into plots. I really like the thought of going the regenerative way. Planting green and so forth. Will this machine be able to accomplish that? Soil health and deer health is important to me.

Sure. It works as a no-till drill. It has a great seed metering system and you can plant about any mix of seed if you calibrate it. It is a row type drill, but for seed that can be broadcast and cultipacked, you can simply disconnect the tubes from the planting shoes and let them bounce around. This is just like broadcast and cultipack no-till planting. For larger seed like beans and corn that does not germinate well when surface broadcast and cultipacked, it does a credible job for me. Getting seed depth and covered was difficult "as is". I had to get a hydraulic top link as you can seen in some of my posts. With this, I let the drill "float" when drilling like a tow-behind. For seed depth adjustment, I added or removed weight from the frame. It worked with my soil. The drill does not like heavy trash. You are better rolling WR in the direction of travel than mowing it. I used my loader to push down the WR as I drilled.

My point was this. There are many ways to no-till plant. T&M, min-till, broadcast and roll, or a no-till drill. Some crops do better with the drill (bean and corn are examples). Others do just as well with faster methods. I don't use the Kasco for my spring planted buckwheat and sunn hemp because it is faster to broadcast the seed and then cultipack with an old farm cultipacker. Two passes with those is faster than a single pass going 4' at a time with the Kasco.

You did not mention how much acreage you are doing. When I was planting the soybean/corn mix I was doing about 7 acres. I would not want to do much more than that with the Kasco. As far as herd health goes, it is largely scale related. You need to improve food quality on about 3% of a deer's home range to begin to see measurable improvement in body weight or antler size. Figuring the average home range at 1,000 acres (somewhat habitat dependent) we are talking about converting 30 acres from poor to quality food.

Food plots are only one way to improve food quality, but folks planting 30 acres of food plots probably have the resources to buy a big-boy drill. They are often $20-$30K but they are a dream to use. Depending on your location, you may be able to rent/borrow a drill from the soil conservation service in your area. If you have that option, I'd do that first to get some experience with a drill.

The Kasco Versa-drill is one tool that can be used to help achieve soil health, but soil heath has many aspects to it and there are multiple tools that can be used.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Ryan H]

Sure. It works as a no-till drill. It has a great seed metering system and you can plant about any mix of seed if you calibrate it. It is a row type drill, but for seed that can be broadcast and cultipacked, you can simply disconnect the tubes from the planting shoes and let them bounce around. This is just like broadcast and cultipack no-till planting. For larger seed like beans and corn that does not germinate well when surface broadcast and cultipacked, it does a credible job for me. Getting seed depth and covered was difficult "as is". I had to get a hydraulic top link as you can seen in some of my posts. With this, I let the drill "float" when drilling like a tow-behind. For seed depth adjustment, I added or removed weight from the frame. It worked with my soil. The drill does not like heavy trash. You are better rolling WR in the direction of travel than mowing it. I used my loader to push down the WR as I drilled.

My point was this. There are many ways to no-till plant. T&M, min-till, broadcast and roll, or a no-till drill. Some crops do better with the drill (bean and corn are examples). Others do just as well with faster methods. I don't use the Kasco for my spring planted buckwheat and sunn hemp because it is faster to broadcast the seed and then cultipack with an old farm cultipacker. Two passes with those is faster than a single pass going 4' at a time with the Kasco.

You did not mention how much acreage you are doing. When I was planting the soybean/corn mix I was doing about 7 acres. I would not want to do much more than that with the Kasco. As far as herd health goes, it is largely scale related. You need to improve food quality on about 3% of a deer's home range to begin to see measurable improvement in body weight or antler size. Figuring the average home range at 1,000 acres (somewhat habitat dependent) we are talking about converting 30 acres from poor to quality food.

Food plots are only one way to improve food quality, but folks planting 30 acres of food plots probably have the resources to buy a big-boy drill. They are often $20-$30K but they are a dream to use. Depending on your location, you may be able to rent/borrow a drill from the soil conservation service in your area. If you have that option, I'd do that first to get some experience with a drill.

The Kasco Versa-drill is one tool that can be used to help achieve soil health, but soil heath has many aspects to it and there are multiple tools that can be used.

Thanks,

Jack

Jack, thanks so much for the info. I picked up the versa drill 72”. a couple of the cutting discs are a little sloppy have you had any issues and had to switch bearings? Also, a couple of the seed tubes were cracked or kinked to a point where I can’t imagine seed getting past. Any advise on these issues? I have been a great help to me, I appreciate it!

Ryan

 

[yoderjac]

Jack, thanks so much for the info. I picked up the versa drill 72”. a couple of the cutting discs are a little sloppy have you had any issues and had to switch bearings? Also, a couple of the seed tubes were cracked or kinked to a point where I can’t imagine seed getting past. Any advise on these issues? I have been a great help to me, I appreciate it!

Ryan

I have not had either of those issues with mine....yet... My biggest issue was debris clogging the seed tubes. One of my previous posts shows how I created drop tubes behind the planting shoes. I haven't used it much since I made that mod.