Frontier Food Plot Seeders - Anybody have one?

mburke121 · Sep 27, 2010

You may already know much of this, but I thought I'd share a few more thoughts.

Another 1-pass option you might consider is a used no-till drill, which you might be able to pick up for about the same money, and I think you would get a better result.

I looked at many, many options for food plots, and I've settled on a tiller and planter (with plates for corn, beans, and milo), as I mentioned in my previous post, for next year.

Since I already own a 3 point sprayer, 3-point spreader, and a Roller (would love to have a cultipacker instead), for my money the addition of a tiller and planter would give me a lot of versatility in the types of plots I can plant, and reduce the number of passes required.

In addition to the row crop type plots I can put in with the planter, I can use my hand spreader to broadcast the smaller brassica and clover seeds, and then just use the roller to firm the soil.

The last two years I've used a combination of spraying, plowing, ripping and disking to prep the soil, the spreader for lime, fertilizer and seed, a chain harrow to incorporate it all, and then the roller to firm it up. I've had very good success with this, but it requires a lot of time and effort (read: passes), to be sure. The tiller will save at least a couple of passes, and the planter gives me a precise way to plant row crops.

clemsonfor · Sep 28, 2010

No way id ever spend that on a food plot device. You still wil have to have a soft seed bed for those disks to penetrate i think. I have used the ATV plotmaster and it was a royal waste of $$. I would not plow but rip disk spread seed with planter or dril then pack. Like others said you could buy a used no till drill and be better off. That is unless your the penny loafer type hunter who has more money than sense and drives your band new 60K truck down from charlotte and hunts all around me, nothing suprises me out of those guys.

swmich42 · Sep 30, 2010

mburke121, I would also like to try this equipment, but feel a one pass implement would need a smooth clean field. Something I do not have yet. I wanted to ask you how you like the 400cx loader. I have a 2000 JD 4700, and have looked at the 400cx and liked what I read and have been told. I currently am set up for FEL install, just need to save some more penny's.

mburke121 · Sep 30, 2010

I love the 400cx. I was an absolute beginner with tractors and loaders at the beginning of the year, and would now rate myself as a novice, so I'm not the best source for technical details or comparisons to other loaders.

I have done a lot of work with the loader, and it has performed extremely well. I've moved a bunch of gravel, dug a couple of stumps, dug a hole ir two, moved trees and brush around with my grapple, and numerous other tasks, all with no complaints.

I've removed and re-attached the loader twice now, and the process is very simple. The only problem I've had is one I've read about on numerous TBN posts - my hydraulic lines built up pressure - nothing to do with the loader itself.

One thing I learned the hard way - the loader is heavy (particularly with my heavy bucket and Add-a-Grapple), and I didn't get the most out of the tractor until I filled the rear tires. This gave me about 1100# of ballast, and coupled with a 500+ pound implement behind me, the tractor is very stable, even when trying to lift beyond it's max capabilities.

If you have specific questions, I'd be happy to answer.