I purchased a Tar River Saya 505 last August. I spent allot of time to set it up. The front coulters were not well aligned with the rear double disk openers.....and the row settings were all askew. A few hours of wrench time got them into sync. Then I spent a few more hours to get the seed cups set correctly. These two things are fundamental to decent operation....along with calibrating the seed drop.
Ar first I was determined to get the 507 (7' model) but I'm glad I have the 5 footer as it is entirely within my tractor wheels and protected from the many trees along the edges of my plots. The little extra time to plant is not worth the extra price to me.
We had an all-summer drought last year. Most of my plots had burned up during the drought....and I made a decision to start anew and get into the no-till drill mode by fall....which I did . In late August I planted 10 acres with 135 lbs of a combination of 10 seeds / acre.....with 100 lbs being rye.....and using clovers, peas, brassicas, radish and such. The drill was mostly used over previously tilled land....tho none was tilled prior to using the drill at this time. Rather everything was nuked with glyphosate and then the seeds drilled via both boxes. I did drill some virgin sod and the drill worked fairly well in all situations and penetrated my sandy loam soils without any issues. All went along better than I anticipated.
About the time I finished drilling these seeds, it started raining.....and nice rains continued throughout the fall. I got a super stand of rye and all the other seeds seemed to germinate nicely as well. Quite pleased with the drills performance in my soils and with my (Kubota L3560 HSTC tractor). I am awaiting a roller crimper to be delivered at any time.....and the drill and crimper combo should enable me to change my practices going forward. Kinda stoked about going the NoTill route.
In sandy soils the seed trenches close easily with the rolling rear basket and the spring loaded plate system found on the Saya. Better than anticipated. Not sure how this set up would work in heavier soils tho? Maybe fine?....dunno.
The Tar River Saya is a good value for a small time user. Uncertain of it's longevity....but with care..... I think it could last most food plotters a long time. I am concerned about that rear basket wrapping in the heavy Cereal Rye when it comes time to green plant into the rye in June. Anybody have some experience in this?