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Lets talk about SMALL drills

foggy

foggy

5 year old buck +
OK .....I am fully a broadcaster kind of guy. But I saw Freeborns post on seeding.....and my curiosity gets to me. I like 'chinery.....and if I could automate my seeding to stay in the seat more....I'd perhaps spend a few bucks to do so.

I'm hoping we can keep this discussion to a size of about 6' wide or less....that are pulled by a small tractor or perhaps a 4 wheeler.

Questions:

1. When doing small plots and just a few lbs of seeds. Can a drill really be effective without filling the hoppers?? Seems like it would take allot of seed in order to keep the hoppers "charged". No?

2. What is a good brand and price range on a small drill? Will a wheeler pull a drill?

3. In short, is there any "practical" drill for the small-time operator?
 
I've thought about the same thing and have been keeping my eye out or an old one. I figured to section it to 6' wide just like I did with the drop spreader. I think small seeds like clover would be tough to do. But should work great for rye, peas, oats or any larger seed.
 
tooln said:
I've thought about the same thing and have been keeping my eye out or an old one. I figured to section it to 6' wide just like I did with the drop spreader. I think small seeds like clover would be tough to do. But should work great for rye, peas, oats or any larger seed.
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Maybe we ought "invent" one Tooln? Or perhaps we could find a 12er and each take 1/2? ;) I get the wheels. :D
 
Are you looking for a no-till or just regular drill? A guy in Wisconsin sells cut down reconditioned grain drills that look pretty sweet. Do some searching on craigslist for his adds. A buddy of mine has one on order.
 
MN Slick said:
Are you looking for a no-till or just regular drill? A guy in Wisconsin sells cut down reconditioned grain drills that look pretty sweet. Do some searching on craigslist for his adds. A buddy of mine has one on order.
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I don't know that I am really "looking" at all. I get along pretty well by broadcasting. Mostly I'm trying to understand how these drills can benefit a small-time operator. If I could see enough benefits......I could get interested. How much do those Wiconsin-made, cut-down drill's sell for?
 
Add from last year I pulled from my notes. I was going to pick one up but decided to hire out my plots instead.

1. Grain Drill, Food Plot Seeder-multiple sizes - $1100 (Pulaski)

Works great for all food plot seeds.
Sizes, type, price:
5' pull type-$1100
4' 3pt-$1300
6' 3pt-$1400
8' 3pt-$1500
If interested call Dan at 920-639-9804 or Ron at 920-639-6097. Thanks
 
My dad may have an old grain drill or two sitting around, I am pretty sure a really old one (it had steel wheels) just got scrapped. I will look around a bit next time I am at the farm and see if there is one he is willing to part with for cheap if you want to do some experimenting on one foggy. I am thinking it would be 10-12 foot or something like that.

I planted 3/4 acre of rye last year with a drill after disking and all that fun stuff. I think it is a 12' John Deere that is pretty old. It worked pretty slick and the rye came in great. I think the drill helps with small grains that need a bit more depth, maybe you wouldn't need as much seed? But when rye is $15 a bushel throwing down extra seed doesn't cost you much. This year I plan on trying to do more broadcasting after spraying with gly, just so I don't have to do much disking.
 
Just scored on a grain drill w/ grass seeder for 175 bucks!
 
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West Branch said:
My dad may have an old grain drill or two sitting around, I am pretty sure a really old one (it had steel wheels) just got scrapped. I will look around a bit next time I am at the farm and see if there is one he is willing to part with for cheap if you want to do some experimenting on one foggy. I am thinking it would be 10-12 foot or something like that.

I planted 3/4 acre of rye last year with a drill after disking and all that fun stuff. I think it is a 12' John Deere that is pretty old. It worked pretty slick and the rye came in great. I think the drill helps with small grains that need a bit more depth, maybe you wouldn't need as much seed? But when rye is $15 a bushel throwing down extra seed doesn't cost you much. This year I plan on trying to do more broadcasting after spraying with gly, just so I don't have to do much disking.
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Thanks for the thoughts West Branch. With my property I really doubt a drill would serve me very well I have too small of areas and too tight to turn around with a drawn implement. As you say....most of the seeds I could apply with a drill are not THAT expensive. Broadcaasting and dragging and/or cultipacking has worked quite well for me. Maybe somebody else could use a drill? Whip? Mostly I'm just curious what's out there these days.
 
foggy said:
Thanks for the thoughts West Branch. With my property I really doubt a drill would serve me very well I have too small of areas and too tight to turn around with a drawn implement. As you say....most of the seeds I could apply with a drill are not THAT expensive. Broadcaasting and dragging and/or cultipacking has worked quite well for me. Maybe somebody else could use a drill? Whip? Mostly I'm just curious what's out there these days.
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We are converting some field edges to plots so we will probably continue to use a drill in those areas. We have one 3/4 narrow woods plot and it sucks using large equipment on that. It takes more time to turn around at the ends than to drive the length of it. I used a 14' disc and 18' harrow to drag it and almost got stuck between trees trying to turn around at one end of the plot. A small no till drill would be awesome but not something I am interested in paying for!

If I get a chance I will post some things this summer that didn't get scrapped. There are always some surprises on the old rock piles and field edges. This past weekend we found an old spike tooth harrow drag, that my brother remember was on the edge of a small field on the property I now own. I think that makes it my drag ;). I think it has 3 4-5' foot sections, so there may be a deal for someone in a couple months once I split it up.
 
foggy said:
Maybe we ought "invent" one Tooln? Or perhaps we could find a 12er and each take 1/2? ;) I get the wheels. :D
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Ok but I get to keep the tires. :p
 
1)....yes...read about 'bulking canola seed'...think about the concept with pelleted limes, pelleted gypsums, oats, and buckwheat as the 'bulking agents'....or just go with seed mixes

2) JD and Case....under $1000....yes, 500 cc or larger AWD/4WD ATV

3) the 'cut-downs' of the above...if available....priced right

From another site:
You don't need a 'bank roll' to do these types of plantings (drilling into covers or drilling into pasture sod)...if one needs a bunch of weight on the drill to do such, then the correct thing to do is take a hard critical look at your soil tilth! This drill has seen almost 100 ac here now....single openers, large and small box, and a press wheel gang...half of the small seed tubes deliver seed to just in front of press wheel...the other half of small tubes (shorter) dribble seed between rows. Vintage 1970s...all metal critical parts...~8 ft planting width (14 drops x 7 ")....<$750 invested....minimal HP pull needed! Time for a rain water bath and a lube job before going back in the barn until late summer!
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Today behind the tractor:


A few years ago behind a 400cc AWD wheeler.


When we picked it up
 
I should add that the press wheels add a lot of weight to the drill itself....no, this is not down pressure weight....you can't back up the drill unless the press wheel gang is lifted.....to back the drill in the barn....we lift the tongue high which allow the gang frame to touch the rear of the drill frame....chain each end in place and put a ratchet strap in middle of gang, over seed box to front of frame...tighten strap....it will take you and another man monkey to push the tongue back down and attach to tractor draw bar....don't try this on a wheeler or it will lift ATV off the ground. For the sake of just storage it isn't worth investing in hydro lifts for the gang.....if your field require a lot of reverse, then consider a hydro lift. For ATV use, I would just pull the drill and as a second step follow with a cultipacker/roller to close the slots. I am not a fan of drag chains either.....each will need to make that decision himself.

Keep it simple...make it work!
 
foggy said:
Thanks for the thoughts West Branch. With my property I really doubt a drill would serve me very well I have too small of areas and too tight to turn around with a drawn implement. As you say....most of the seeds I could apply with a drill are not THAT expensive. Broadcaasting and dragging and/or cultipacking has worked quite well for me. Maybe somebody else could use a drill? Whip? Mostly I'm just curious what's out there these days.
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No need for a drill for the foreseeable future without a place to use it Foggy, but thanks for thinking of me. I would like to get my hands on one to dissect it for ideas on how to make a homemade one or convert a standard grain drill into a minimum/no-till type of rig. The few times I've gotten a decent look at one of them(regular or no-till), the hardest part seems like it always comes back to the metering system and the seed drops. The other major obstacle I see with the smaller equipment and subsequent lack of weight for no-tilling is trash in the wheel path. The extreme weight of the no-till units is what makes it easy for them to deal with in-row trash on the surface of the field. I would think that the way to overcome that on smaller units would be to add some type of row cleaners to the drill in front of the openers. Sorry, rambling?!?:confused:o_O
 
I don't know anything about it but have heard of the brand. I believe the East Ottertail Soil and Water district has one of these you can rent by the day. I wonder if you can drill NWSG with it?

With a little negotiating a person could probably get a pretty good deal on this unit.
 
I almost pulled the trigger on a Dew Drop Drill. I researched them pretty thoroughly but ultimately decided to hire out our plots due to distance.
 
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