Everyone's situation is different as are soil types etc... You will have to figure out what works best for your soil types and what you want to grow. My situation and soil type dictated a no till type drill. I purchased a Great Plains 10 foot drill. I have not been disappointed. Sounds like you are on the right track.
Thanks Johnny! Completely agree, which drill you require depends on your soil type. Great Plains was the brand I rented from our soil conservation office and it worked great.
Thanks for the great explanation on grain drills. Very informative. We don’t use Roundup though. Working toward more regenerative farming on our acreage.
Hey Frank! We are working toward no Roundup, too, and get closer every year. I am hoping this is the year without any, but right now I would say it is 50/50. Next year for sure! Thank you for going regenerative, it is the best for everyone. Wish you all the best!
I am at work and so I'll have to watch this again tonight when I get home. I Liked, subscribed, and hit the bell. Good info! Note: I somehow deleted your reply and attached video from about an hour ago, but thanks for trying to help.
No till grian drills/planters sound great, but you still have to keep the soil uncompacted(hello seeds don't grow in compacted soil). You will need a heavy ripper or subsoiler for that. The guy selling no till drills forgets to tell you that. Also, you will need a good boom sprayer. If you are no till planting, you are doubling everything, cost, weight and tractor HP. needed plus the ripper plus sprayer and chemical to go in sprayer. I have three grain drills and a no-till grain drill, I use no till drill about 5% of the time. No-till planting is way more advanced and aggravating than most non full time farmers need. When the government is not paying farmers to plant no till everyone I know goes back to regular tillage. That's 45 years of farming/food plot experience with no bs or parroting involved.
Thank you for the comment. I'm sure soil type has a lot to do with this, and I'm guessing you probably have heavy clay, which I can't speak to because I only have experience with sandy loam. I haven't seen the successful no-till farmers like Gabe Brown and Dave Brandt use rippers, this goes against their process. They use seed mixes that give them what they need, so compacted soil would focus on stong root based blends, like tiller radishes and such as cover crops between cash crop plantings. I am friends with a few farmers, and you are correct that they stick to the traditional methods, too risky for them to convert to no till, they stick with what they know and has been putting food on the table for decades. But for food plotters, the conversion to no till does not risk our livlihood and is much easier, and for me the pros of no-till have far far outweighed the cons you mention above, so it is worth it, for me. All the best to you.
Hey Steve, I say you try it out to see if your ground works before changing anything or buying any equipment. I tested it for 3 plantings at my place a few years ago, and just couldn't get good germination (around 25%), and the weeds took over. But some people have success with this method, so give it a try. If it works on your ground, you can save a lot of money not needing equipment! If it doesn't work out to your satisfaction, well, get out the check book and start investing in some no-till equipment. Let us know how it works out. All the best to you.
I've had bad luck on broadcasting only to find it coming up the next year. Works for an old field you're trying to help out but not in a hurry. Just saying....
Hey Josh, thanks for the comment. I certainly wish the broadcasting method worked on my ground! I have had some success overseeding clover like you mention, to give it a boost. But to go 100% broadcast just hasn't worked out. All the best to you.
Thanks for taking one for the team and making a video about this.
LOL!!! Thanks for noticing. All the best to you.
Used this video to teach my Intro to Ag class at Mid Michigan College about different pasture planting implements. Great explanation!
Hey Casey, thank you for the kind words. I'm humbled by this. All the best to you and the students.
Thank you for the information for us the ones that are picking up the trade !!!
Sure thing George. We're all figuring this thing out together. I'm looking forward to learning more this year and passing it on. All the best to you.
Everyone's situation is different as are soil types etc... You will have to figure out what works best for your soil types and what you want to grow. My situation and soil type dictated a no till type drill. I purchased a Great Plains 10 foot drill. I have not been disappointed. Sounds like you are on the right track.
Thanks Johnny! Completely agree, which drill you require depends on your soil type. Great Plains was the brand I rented from our soil conservation office and it worked great.
Thanks for the great explanation on grain drills. Very informative. We don’t use Roundup though. Working toward more regenerative farming on our acreage.
Hey Frank! We are working toward no Roundup, too, and get closer every year. I am hoping this is the year without any, but right now I would say it is 50/50. Next year for sure! Thank you for going regenerative, it is the best for everyone. Wish you all the best!
Great video!! Answered some of my questions!
Glad it was helpful!
I am at work and so I'll have to watch this again tonight when I get home. I Liked, subscribed, and hit the bell. Good info! Note: I somehow deleted your reply and attached video from about an hour ago, but thanks for trying to help.
I forgot which video I linked to you. If you need it again, let me know and I'll find it.
Thank you!
Sure thing Michel, hope it helps. All the best to you.
straight to the point, great content. subscribed. will buy dirt to soil and read it hopefully. thanks!
Thanks. It's a great read, you'll want to get a farm started, lol. All the best to you.
No till grian drills/planters sound great, but you still have to keep the soil uncompacted(hello seeds don't grow in compacted soil). You will need a heavy ripper or subsoiler for that. The guy selling no till drills forgets to tell you that. Also, you will need a good boom sprayer. If you are no till planting, you are doubling everything, cost, weight and tractor HP. needed plus the ripper plus sprayer and chemical to go in sprayer. I have three grain drills and a no-till grain drill, I use no till drill about 5% of the time. No-till planting is way more advanced and aggravating than most non full time farmers need. When the government is not paying farmers to plant no till everyone I know goes back to regular tillage. That's 45 years of farming/food plot experience with no bs or parroting involved.
Thank you for the comment. I'm sure soil type has a lot to do with this, and I'm guessing you probably have heavy clay, which I can't speak to because I only have experience with sandy loam. I haven't seen the successful no-till farmers like Gabe Brown and Dave Brandt use rippers, this goes against their process. They use seed mixes that give them what they need, so compacted soil would focus on stong root based blends, like tiller radishes and such as cover crops between cash crop plantings. I am friends with a few farmers, and you are correct that they stick to the traditional methods, too risky for them to convert to no till, they stick with what they know and has been putting food on the table for decades. But for food plotters, the conversion to no till does not risk our livlihood and is much easier, and for me the pros of no-till have far far outweighed the cons you mention above, so it is worth it, for me. All the best to you.
I’m looking forward to a 2023 update on your no-till food plots.
Hey Joe, me too! Life keeps getting in the way. I hope to get something done this week. Hope all is well with you.
Thx, I’m in the same boat you were in, so I subscribed so teach me wise one.
LOL!
Thanks.
You bet! All the best to you.
1st year at this and I was planning on the broadcasting then rolling it down , What can you tell me about this ?
Hey Steve, I say you try it out to see if your ground works before changing anything or buying any equipment. I tested it for 3 plantings at my place a few years ago, and just couldn't get good germination (around 25%), and the weeds took over. But some people have success with this method, so give it a try. If it works on your ground, you can save a lot of money not needing equipment! If it doesn't work out to your satisfaction, well, get out the check book and start investing in some no-till equipment. Let us know how it works out. All the best to you.
I've had bad luck on broadcasting only to find it coming up the next year. Works for an old field you're trying to help out but not in a hurry. Just saying....
Hey Josh, thanks for the comment. I certainly wish the broadcasting method worked on my ground! I have had some success overseeding clover like you mention, to give it a boost. But to go 100% broadcast just hasn't worked out. All the best to you.
Just bought land pride nt606
Party time
Hey Doug thanks for the update. Wow, that looks like a hell of a machine! Party time for sure, would love to see a video of it in action.