Seed Drill Recommendations

Bill VA

Well-known Member
Might be on the lookout in 2017 for a seed drill to plant Timothy, Teff, orchard grass and maybe alfalfa or clover. No corn - only hay varieties.

What is a good drill to be on the lookout for at an auction or estate sale? No-till or non-no-till? Parts/ease of repair? Width and hp to pull a drill?

Timothy is a short lived perineal and I would use the drill with that seed and yearly with some Teff grass would be the most use.

Using broadcast spreading with a Herd spreader with good results, but perhaps a drill will give me more accurate seeding.

Happy New Year!

Bill
 
Personally if you're having good results broadcasting I'ds keep doing it that way and not get into the hassle of a drill.Plus I like the even spread of broadcasting rather than the rows with a drill.And to be more even broadcasting set the rate at 1/2 that you want and go over it twice.
 
I have an old JD, Van Buren double disc I think they called them. Jim can clarify that. It has the slider for varying the opening as a function of seed size (chart in the lid) and distribution quantity. On tiny seeds like hull-less Bermuda, I just mix it in my conical spreader with some fertilizer and come back with a light spike toothed harrowing.
 
Have you ever rented the extension agency's drill? Here in Halifax Co. they have two no-til drills. Both about eight ft. They keep them up pretty well,and are readily available.
 

In my area (NH) nobody drills grass or legumes, we use a Brillion seeder. A friend has a four footer, and the land grant university and the county farm both have eight footer that they will loan out. An important factor in stand establishment is seed to soil contact. The weight of a Brillion helps a lot to get the seed pressed in.
 
I have NOT found timothy to be short lived. Back when there were lots of cattle around on pasture most were permeant pastures and timothy was the popular grass and nothing unusual to have a pasture in for 20 years with nothing done to it. My drill was a IHC model MF. The Oliver No. 26 that is a steel wheel drill is in big demand in Amish area but any drill must have the grass seed box.
 
Best is a brillion style grass seeder...wish I had one.I use either a broadcast Spreader and cultipacker or the small seed boxes on my grain drill with drop tubes removed then go over it with cultipacker.Like you say you can be more accurate with a drill.Both those ways work good for me.Another important consideration is when to plant.Around here[Washington state]most dudes seed grass in the fall just before the rains come and our mild winters help plus there's no competition. with weeds.

Paul
 
I agree. I have an IH 10 drill that works just fine. I had an Oliver drill before that. Have never really needed many parts for either one, but i'm pretty sure some parts are still available new and if not there are used parts out there. I just pull the cultipacker over it afterwards. Would just put it behind the drill, but it isn't quite wide enough, and it gives me a reason to run the H.

Yes Brillion seeders are nice. They do a good job of packing in front of the seed and after. Makes good soil to seed contact for better germination. The only thing wrong with them is if you want to seed a small grain crop. That's when the drill comes out ahead.
 
JD and IH are good choices for drills, and easy to get parts for. I used to have a 10 foot Moline, low rubber, with grass seeder. I pulled a cast iron packer behind that- does just the same as a Brillion, but much cheaper. Few hundred bucks for a 10 footer. When I bought the 13 foot JD 8300, I built a rubber tire packer to pull behind. Twenty inch gas pipe, junk semi tires. Pipe is welded tight on the ends so I can fill it with water.
IMG_3809packer1.jpg

IMG_3808packer2.jpg
 
Brillian with a cultimulcher in front of it is about the best set up you can get. A little pricey though.
 

A few more thoughts about Brillions: I have borrowed and used three different ones, and they all were in good shape. It appears that if kept under cover they last pretty much forever. So used ones bring good money. About the only thing to go on them are the rings, and I assume that you would have to hit a rock pretty hard to break one. They are very heavy so you need to check the weight of one that you are thinking of borrowing or buying against the load capacity of your tractor. I have used the eight footer from the county the most. I had to store it in my shop for two and a half years until the one tractor and driver that would pick it off my trailer were available.
 
Hi, about 60 yrs ago my dad used to seed tilled land with a cone type spreader going from width to width then from length to length then drag harrow with chain harrow then roll with home made roller. Never had trouble as I remember. Ed Will Oliver BC wine capital
 
Guys around me that plant Teff, say that a Great Plains won't regulate the seed well enough to use them. Most are rent or hiring a John Deere. Not sure of the model, but it has planted many thousand of acres. Around us, you don't want to use a Brillion, because they pulverize the soil and allow it to blow. Probably makes a difference where you are, and how big the fields.
 
Bill, since you post frequently as such I think I know the ?rest of the story?, which is your operation, and that is an important consideration here. You have several small, irregular hay fields totaling maybe 20-30 acres or so, are in to this part time, have limited equipment, and are watching your pocketbook. I believe you would be doing limited to no tillage. Please correct me if I am wrong. The best suggestion I have would be to elaborate on TXJim?s comment. I would be on the hunt for an IH#10 or #510, a JD FB series or JD 8XXX (look them up for specific model #?s) drill with grass seed boxes. Added bonus for press wheels. Careful shopping can get you one for $1500 or less.
Investigate your extension or NRCS if they rent out drills as others suggest. . Mine does. I have done this, but it does not always work out. Its funny, other people want to seed when I want to seed. Many say use the Brillion seeder, but that would require tillage I believe, I don?t think they are designed for no till. Also, if you ever want to plant a ?crop? as someone said, you can use the drill. Your 706 or 5065 could easily pull something at 10 foot width or so. You are probably limited to that width if you can rent a no till machine depending on your hills. The agent should know if tell him what your tractor model is . Also, I might be a little leery of a buying one of these older drills at a consignment sale. Best bet is private treaty or retirement sell out.
 
Thanks everyone - most helpful info.

I planted my Timothy with a rented drill and it did OK - but there was a line for it and timing your planting with this kind of arrangement is not ideal. In addition, this rental was beat-up pretty good.

I have two broadcast spreaders, a Gerber and a Herd. I especially like the Herd spreader.

With our hay, we are growing straight varieties - no mixed grasses. As native grasses and fescues move in, we will kill off these fields, one by one - hopefully one a year in a rotation and start over, so I anticipate at some point we'll be reseeding a given field every year.

It's good to know about the IH and JD drills - I now have something on my radar to learn about and if a deal comes along, I'll pounce like an impulse buyer.

Can I assume the IH #10, 510 and the JD 8XXX series drills are no-till? If so - can I assume they can still be used with tillage? Perhaps running a cultipacker after them?

The Brillion seeders look great, but I'd like to stay away from tillage if possible. However, I do have one field we are clearing right now that I plan on plowing to see for myself just how bad the rock situation is. I'll probably plow a small spot and go from there. I think the Brillion would be the ticket for that. BTW - this new field will go into Teff for the summer and probably Timothy in the fall.

Thanks again everyone!

Bill
 
Ih 510 is not a no- til drill. We have had one for 40 years and it has sown grass seed with a cover crop every year. Does a great job in a proper seed bed. With the grass seed attachment, you can sow very small seeds at varying rates. Larger seeds like brome grass, are best sown in the main seed box, I usually hand mixed them with a cereal for better seed flow. With such a drill,as well as a similar JD model, seed bed prep is important, and good seed/soil contact after sowing is critical, thus packing or harrowing behind the drill helps. Ben
 
(quoted from post at 14:30:15 01/03/17) Thanks everyone - most helpful info.

I planted my Timothy with a rented drill and it did OK - but there was a line for it and timing your planting with this kind of arrangement is not ideal. In addition, this rental was beat-up pretty good.

I have two broadcast spreaders, a Gerber and a Herd. I especially like the Herd spreader.

With our hay, we are growing straight varieties - no mixed grasses. As native grasses and fescues move in, we will kill off these fields, one by one - hopefully one a year in a rotation and start over, so I anticipate at some point we'll be reseeding a given field every year.

It's good to know about the IH and JD drills - I now have something on my radar to learn about and if a deal comes along, I'll pounce like an impulse buyer.

Can I assume the IH #10, 510 and the JD 8XXX series drills are no-till? If so - can I assume they can still be used with tillage? Perhaps running a cultipacker after them?

The Brillion seeders look great, but I'd like to stay away from tillage if possible. However, I do have one field we are clearing right now that I plan on plowing to see for myself just how bad the rock situation is. I'll probably plow a small spot and go from there. I think the Brillion would be the ticket for that. BTW - this new field will go into Teff for the summer and probably Timothy in the fall.

Thanks again everyone!

Bill

John Deere end wheel drills are not no-till. If you want a John Deere No-till, you're looking at a 750, 1560, etc. You'll pay very good money for one of these. A 15 foot 750 in GOOD condition will bring $12,000 to $16000 here in SW WI. A 1560 or 1590 will bring double that. 10 footers are even more expensive because they're extremely rare. Saw a 10 foot 750 sell three years ago for $17,500 in Richland Center, WI. It wasn't even that nice a unit. I've been looking to buy a 15 foot 750 for several years, but every one I see is either shot and sells for $10,000, doesn't have grass seed box, or is way outta my price range.

I think Deere made some other style no-till drills (one with a PTO?), but I don't know anything about them.

One thing to consider with no-till drills - they're huge. I'm positive I couldn't pull one on my farm with a compact John Deere or gasoline narrow front IH 756...

You might want to look into a Haybuster, too. I don't know much about them, but they sell really well on sales and tend to be a lot smaller than Deere no-till drills. 6 and 7 footers require 35hp minimum, and 9 and 10 footers require 50hp minimum according to their website..
 

This thread originated about grain drills which require tillage prior to seeding as does a Brillian seeder for optimum seed germination and graduated to no-til drills which require no tillage. Generally no-til drills require more HP per ft for towing than regular seed drills. Some no-till models are built as small as 8*10 ft in width.
 
(quoted from post at 09:00:11 01/01/17) Have you ever rented the extension agency's drill? Here in Halifax Co. they have two no-til drills. Both about eight ft. They keep them up pretty well,and are readily available.

Here in central Arkansas the extension agent rents them for $50 a day .
 
You could anything on that seed bed. Look at that. I'd say it was chisel plowed, double disced, double passes spike tooth harrow, and roller packed prior to that planter getting there. Those of you who plant grasses and legumes take a lesson here.
Maybe he will tell us how he prepped that acreage. Beautiful.
 
Brilliant is the best with tillage, IH 5100 has been the best 10-12 ft with tillage (disk and rototiller) after that with a no till I like the 1590. We have a hard time as we plant weird varieties to all the dairy and beef farmers and have to find the proper rates to plant.
 

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