Tar River seeder/drill

[Garrett2006]

With the tar river drill. If you planted a wildlife mix in the front box and wanted to add some clover, would you have to add sand to the clover seed and put in the back seed box or maybe mix the clover seed with some fertilizer and add to the back box? I have been looking at them as well and without it having a small seed box I’m curious as to how I could do it with the tar river drill.

 

[MaximizerMatt]

Haven't looked at one in person, but did speak with a sales person (very friendly and helpful fellow) at Belco because I had mild interest in becoming a dealer for them. It is a Chinese-made product. You can look up seed drill on Alibaba and find virtually identical drills. Tar River just brands them with their logo here in North Carolina. I don't think it's a bad unit, just not heavy duty. Even the salesman said so. Would work OK for the homeowner or light landscaper use, but not for everyday commercial use. They make a conventional drill which retails in the $3000 range and also a no till version (adds coulters to the front bar) which pushes close to $5K. When I asked about parts availability a few years down the road, he didn't have much to say. At least he was honest, and I'm not trying to bash Tar River or their product. You just have to understand what it is and what it's designed for. They also have a seeder line call Greenscape Conservation Seeder which is a real commercial-use tool, with much higher pricing to match. Sometimes you can find a used one under $5K.

Greenscape Conservation Seeder | Belco Resources Equipment

For the price, Tar River is hard to beat for a real no-till drill. In a past career, I sold farm equipment and once sold a Remlinger 5" no till drill. High quality unit made in Ohio, with roots going back to the Marliss/Sukup grain drills. We sold that unit (3pt hitch style) for $13500 and the owner then wanted to add a native seed box which was roughly another $5K with installation. Great Plains pricing was even higher. So yes, you will have to pay for high quality. Renting a drill from your local NRCS Soil/Water office is probably the cheapest alternative, or hiring/borrowing a farmer buddy's drill to do it.

 

[skipperbrown]

Renting a $25,000 Great Plains or equivalent for $10/ac is going to be your best bet for occasional use. Our farm center will let you reserve a date with an upfront payment. We have rented a 12' GP unit several times and it is a beast. You will need some HP (and remotes) to pull it.

 

[arkvet]

Going to bump this thread. Looking hard at a 5ish no till drill for my food plots. In the past I致e planted 3-4 acres of soybeans max using a two row jd planter behind my JD 4300. It痴 worked ok but on 22 centers and only getting 3-4 acres planted (after disking / tilling / dragging) I can稚 get a bean to grow over 3 without getting mowed down.

I want a drill so that I can plant lots more seed on more acres and into some freshly sprayed grass / weeds / wheat to hide it for a bit.

Can稚 hardly stomach the thought of 15k for a 5 genesis and really cringe at the thought of a 3 genesis drill being able to plant what I want (and still 10k)

I know this Tar River no till drill isn稚 as beefy and well built as the genesis but at half the cost It seems very worthy of the gamble.

 

[skipperbrown]

Going to bump this thread. Looking hard at a 5ish no till drill for my food plots. In the past I致e planted 3-4 acres of soybeans max using a two row jd planter behind my JD 4300. It痴 worked ok but on 22 centers and only getting 3-4 acres planted (after disking / tilling / dragging) I can稚 get a bean to grow over 3 without getting mowed down.]

If you have a heavy deer population, you may need to put a temporary electric fence around your plots. 3-4 acres can get decimated no matter how much seed you get down if you have a lot of deer.

 

[arkvet]

If you have a heavy deer population, you may need to put a temporary electric fence around your plots. 3-4 acres can get decimated no matter how much seed you get down if you have a lot of deer.

My 3-4 acres of Eagle Seed Beans have grown into a 6-7' lush tropical jungle that is worthy of a post card... but I have been aggressive at fencing and not letting them touch the beans until they were thigh high.

I have the land to plant 20+ acres of beans which if done with a drill on 7" rows I think can handle the pressure of the deer, esp if I get them in the ground early before it gets hot and dry, and other browse is still available.

 

[arkvet]

I'd rather spend some money on a drill and exponentially increase the size of my bean crop rather than plant limited size plots and rely purely on fencing.

 

[foggy1111]

I just pulled the trigger on the Tar River Saya 505 drill and will get it in a few days. I would likely have bought the 507 if one had been available......but I am saving some money on the 5 footer and it's small enough to use on my son-in-laws tractor too. I don't think the 5 wide unit will amount to too much more seat time. I can plant up to about 10 acres total on my property.....with the balance being wooded (100 acres woods).

I've been fighting some pig weed issues due to too much open ground between rows of my corn and beans. The "good" chemicals that can combat the pigweed are expensive and have limited benefits. I plan to keep 100% of my ground covered in a green cover crop (clovers, rye, etc.) and then drill some warm season crops: sorghum, beans or corn etc into the weak areas or use a dose of roundup to set the clover back......and drill candy seeds into the mix.

I'm going to stop with the amount of tillage I am doing.....to the greatest extent I can.

 

[foggy1111]

From all I have read and watched videos etc....these Tar River Saya NT drills are good for small-time operators....like me. I hope to prove it to be a good choice. They are not super heavy....but its easy to add some weight to the platforms provided on the Drill (front and rear). I have some suitcase weights that should fill the bill. Also I have quite sandy soil.....so I am certain I can penetrate the ground and deliver some seeds. Not sure how this would work in heavy clay soils??....but I feel quite certain it will work well for me. Hope this becomes the game-changer I expect it to be.

Letting go of tillage is a big event!

CHECK THE VIDEO BELOW FOR YOUR FUTURE OF DEER PLOTS:

 

[foggy1111]

Got my Saya 505 on Wed and spent a few hours setting it up yesterday. Plan to drill some seeds next week. Quite satisfied with this product at this point.....now will know more after it sees some dirt.