Grain Drills

[wingbone]

Me and some friends of mine are planning on planting a dove field this year and have discussed buying a grain drill for the millet and whatever other small seeds we might plant. I've seen several used for sale but don't really know what to look for or what to avoid. Also, what is involved in preparing the soil for using the drill. I've read on here that it needs to be loosened but do I also need to pack it before using the drill? We might plant a fairly large field or else we'd just broadcast it. Any and all suggestions appreciated.
Forgot to mention, I have a 45hp Kioti.

 

[Specop_007]

As I understand it you have 2 options, effectively 1 if your on a budget.

The first is a good no till drill which will run as much or more than your tractor.

The second is a used drill. But you have to work the soil both to kill the weeds so they dont take over and also to get a good seedbed. Think garden only on the scale of acres rather than feet. Which means throw in a tiller or disc at a minimum to go along with the drill.

If its a one time deal you might be better served simply finding someone to custom seed it once over and be done with it.

 

[flusher]

Me and some friends of mine are planning on planting a dove field this year and have discussed buying a grain drill for the millet and whatever other small seeds we might plant. I've seen several used for sale but don't really know what to look for or what to avoid. Also, what is involved in preparing the soil for using the drill. I've read on here that it needs to be loosened but do I also need to pack it before using the drill? We might plant a fairly large field or else we'd just broadcast it. Any and all suggestions appreciated.
Forgot to mention, I have a 45hp Kioti.

Don't know what your budget is, but if you're looking for a conventional drill, be sure to get one with grass seeder boxes to handle small seeds. Here's my restored Minneapolis Moline P3-6 drill (10-ft wide, 20 drops, single disk openers). I'm pulling it with the 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto) which is overkill and am planting Kanota oats using the big fertilizer box to feed these large size seeds.





I use drag chains to cover the seed.



This photo shows the two grass seed boxes attached to the front of the fertilizer/large seed box. The drill is being calibrated for oats and fertilizer in the equipment shed in the photo (yes, you need to calibrate a grain drill to be sure you're applying the correct pounds per acre).




I bought two of these drills from a neighbor for $275 and spent about 2 months getting one of them in working condition.

People doing food plots generally use smaller half-width drills so they can pull them with ATVs or a small tractor. Some folks even hitch the drill to their pickup or SUV. Here's one of these small drills now being auctioned on eBay

International grain drill food plot planter seeder - eBay (item 120546833238 end time Mar-28-10 17:29:38 PDT)

If you have several $K to spend, you can consider an upscale seeder like Landpride or Brillion. This LP is now being auctioned on eBay

Land Pride APS1586 - All Purpose Seeder - - eBay (item 120546072463 end time Mar-25-10 12:52:23 PDT)

There are two types of these seeders--landscape seeders for grass seed and other small seeds and field seeders for hay crops.

Good luck and post some photos of whatever drill/seeder you end up with.