Tar River seeder/drill

[Overtaxed]

Anyone have any info on the DRL-072 seeder from Tar River? I've never heard of them, it looks decent from the pictures and the price is great for a drill (under 4K). It's not no-till but I absolutely need no-till for my application, min till would be fine. Anyone have any other Tar River implements? Good/bad/ugly? And if someone has the seeder, I'd love to hear from them!

Tar River Crop Seeders | Belco Resources Equipment

 

[Overtaxed]

Just bumping this back up, no info at all from anyone on this thing? Let me ask another question, seems like seed drills have a lot of places where things could go wrong. Lots of fittings, bearing, rubber parts.. Are they generally a lot of work to upkeep? I'd like to have one, but not if I'm going to be wrenching on the thing 10 hours to get it rolling, this would be a few times a year use for me, and maybe roll it over a few acres a year, so not something that's going to see a ton of use. Just wondering if I'm setting myself up for more work buying one than it's worth.

 

[The Bog Man]

I have never heard of them, but I am also looking in to a seeder/drill of some sort. Their models look intriguing. Where did you see their pricing?

 

[Overtaxed]

I have someone nearby trying to sell the 72in model for about 3200 bucks. I think they are around 4K new. Wish someone had one on here to get a report, I know squat about drills, so I don't even know what to look for if I go up to see it to know if it's going to work well or not.

 

[The Bog Man]

Well I sent an email to "Sales" at Tar River MFG yesterday that bounced back today. That's not a good sign. All in all, I thought the unit looked pretty good and I would compare them to some of the Kasco models at MUCH better prices!

 

[DawgDr]

I bought this one last year from Northern Tool and have been happy with it for a cheaper option.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200642014_200642014

 

[Overtaxed]

I bought this one last year from Northern Tool and have been happy with it for a cheaper option.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200642014_200642014

Well, that's good to know. I've looked at that one a few times, just can't get myself to pull the trigger on it. Seems "too cheap" if you know what I mean? But great to hear you're having good luck with it, I'm going to have to think on it a little more. My local ag office rents their no-till for 10/acre, so, that's an option too, I just hate not having the flexibility to plant whenever I want too.

 

[kneedeep]

That drill looks like a Northern Tool Drill that I got a chance to see one shipped to local store. I got a good look at it as it was offered to me for $1200. Lots of thin plastic, seed cups were junk and cheap bearings with few greaseable ones. I passed on it.
$10/acre will never buy a good drill but is limited to availability.

That looks like a seeder rather than a drill and is not notill. A Notill drill has to have some type of opener, seed drop mechanism and way to cover seed trench up.

For 4K, a usable notill drill may be hard to find but they are out there. A new 8' Great Plains NT will run about 25K, used 10-15K. I have a Taylor Pasture dream that is NT, bought for $350. I did find new opener tips for it but have yet to install them.

Here are some pix of used Taylor and Midland drills. Good tools if there are not worn out. Check under the hopper for fertilizer damage on those type drills.
No-Till Pasture Dream Drill - Bing images


No till is tough on equipment require penetration into unworked sod and enough weight to keep it in the ground and enough HP to pull it.
I also have a 5100 IH endwheel drill. It will plant into thin or dead sod if openers can get in the ground about 1in. I use it to plant wheat cover mix in once disked corn stubble, does good job in any kind of worked soil but marginal in unworked ground. Again, openers need more down pressure to penetrate through any existing ground cover.

A good used drill with part availability will make planting enjoyable rather than sorry for trying to save a little money. Resale on drills in working order with new parts is very good, might even make a few dollars trading up to the last one you will buy. I am almost there myself!

All the above is JMHO!

 

[DawgDr]

The northern tool model is not technically a no-till drill, but it has disks that cut and a panel that covers the seed. It works great for a $1200 option in plowed soil.

 

[The Bog Man]

Well I have looked at both the Tar River & the Northern Tool seeders & they are very similar to each other based on all of the images I can find. The Northern Tool version is at least $800 less. For the extra $800, the Tar River model has stainless steel seed boxes, better adjustment handles, and a lightweight cultipacker at the back of the seeder. On top of that, it looks a little more "finished" with the SS box & red paint. There is also a visible seed rate adjustment needle on both the front and rear boxes.

They really look to be made by the same company, yet I still think I would spend the extra $800 for the Tar River model. Either one is much cheaper than the anything else you can find new that doesn't just drop seed.

 

[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.