seeding alfalfa

I have purchased a used Brillion sure stand seeder. It is old and the previous owner didn't have an owner's manual. Planning on planting some alfalfa early this fall. Have gotten different opinions on using a cultipacker before and after the seeder. For those of you who use a Brillion seeder, after you have a well tilled and level seed bed, what more preparation do you do before seeding? (previous owner said he seeded right after disking)
 
If the disc had a tine tooth harrow on it, it would be fine. Whether a disc or field cultivator, by itself it won"t leave a good enough seedbed.
 
Thank you. My disc has a three bar harrow [Remlinger] and does a good job of leveling. I can understand running a cultipacker before using the seeder if needed. Have had folks say to cultipack after using the Brillion. That didn't seem correct to me.
 
Everyone that has one of those around here pulls a cultimulcher in front of it with the seeder hooked on the back. Really makes a smooth field.
 
My dad taught me how to prepare hay and sod fields 50 years ago.This is old school farmin.

Plowed,disced,spiked toothed harrowed,and rolled in.


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These are different fields,but all prepared the same.There have been times we've ran a mulcher in front of the seeder.Just depends on how cloddy the ground is.The seeder usally takes care of them,but sometime it needs a little help.Good Luck.
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As a kid growing up all of Dads alfalfa was seeded with a whip seeder walked on the wheat fields in early spring. I have always except the one time it was no tilled in just used my Oliver drill after I had the ground fit up level. Most of the time I followed up with a roller or cultipacker but not always. I can't see where there was much difference in the stand one way over the other. The big difference for me was the extra cost of hiring the no till drilling to be done.
 
I used to use a Brillion and found it worked best if we ran a spiked tooth harrow to firm the ground ahead of the brillion. It sure helped firm the soil so we didnt leave as many tire tracks and a more consistent stand. Now we use a larger John Deere conventional drill and a Kewanee cultimulcher. We roll before and after the drill. Our stands have become very consistent. An alalfa breeder Dr. Sunn, who owns the patents for hybrid alfalfa, always said that a seedbed should be firm enough to bounce a basketball whatever type of seeding method.
 

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