It is a big mistake to think about No Till and start talking about the drill and the price of it or even to think of it in terms of not ploughing or not tilling . I have seen the drill and work it has done and it is a typical New Zealand machine very functional very simple .
No Till biological farming
- Thread starter Louis mc
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It is a big mistake to think about No Till and start talking about the drill and the price of it or even to think of it in terms of not ploughing or not tilling . I have seen the drill and work it has done and it is a typical New Zealand machine very functional very simple .
Blackwater boy
Moderator
Why would it be a mistake?
G
guest 1
Guest
I was talking to him at the Grass & Muck event, he said he used the drill almost exclusively for cereals which I thought very unusual as most of those types of machine in this country are used primarily for grass stitching. From memory he was going direct into stubble with it and was having good results. He had made a few modifications to the machine as it was delivered from NZ, whether or not these have been integrated as standard equipment I don't know as I didn't pay much attention to it at Punchestown
Grain will grow after the combine so the drill is not really very important .
Blackwater boy
Moderator
Agreed but from the little I know about no till I would have expected some drills to cope better with big cover crops and trash versus others and things like angles of discs and ability to close the a lot again etc in not so ideal conditions.
@Bog Man is spot on. Many pointless Internet forum debates have gone on for months debating one no-till drill versus the other. They all work pretty well if you have your homework done and stick to the principals. We chose ours based on looks and the fact that the colour scheme matches our tractors
Merv_B
Well-Known Member
Yes and no. Yes it the whole thing is much more than just the shiny metal but not all drills are suited to zero till and a lot of farmers like shiny things so show them a tool for the job at the right money and it might increase their interest.
Blackwater boy
Moderator
That's what I was thinking. As far as I am aware there is a huge difference in prices from drill to drill and spec to spec, I doubt the most expensive ones are so because they look well behind what ever brand of tractor you have and maybe have a beacon on the back......
Beacon on the back... now there's an idea
Tractor Tom
New Member
Evening lads, the drill is a no till drill & will direct drill grain, beans & small seeds into stubble..if moving from a plough based system, I advise to lightly disc stubble year 1, to level the fields. After that you'd be no tilling, unless the field still wasn't level enough or if weeds or slugs were needing control.
If your looking at the Duncan website, then check out the Duncan Renovator Mk4. It has twin 550l boxes, & 4 rows of T boot tines. The Mk4 has standard the mods I did to mine, which is a classic.
The Mk 4 is the tillage farmers machine. Cost of basic machine 31k plus vat. You can add on but you don't need them.
If you want an air drill option then your looking at the AS3000, same machine but twin air boxes.
Or double disc machine then the DD30 is the choice. Again twin 700l air bins on double disc coulter system with optional press wheel closers or after Harrow. Email me for these prices. ballinafaghfarm@gmail.com.
Or to see crops in the fields. Happy to help.
Ugo Schtiglitz
Well-Known Member
They look a fairly bombproof job and caught my eye too. I think what the lads are driving at above is that there are many things to think about before driving into the field with the drill. Rotation, covers, grass weed burden etc.
Go bananas Louis, two beacons or bust. Colour co-ordination rules btw.
Go bananas Louis, two beacons or bust. Colour co-ordination rules btw.
Tractor Tom
New Member
Correct.....it's rotation, cover crops, Organic manures & soil biology protection. All of these practices can be undertaken while a farmer prepares to purchase a drill. Beans or oats are great entry crops for direct drilling. Which is what I'm doing in the pic.They look a fairly bombproof job and caught my eye too. I think what the lads are driving at above is that there are many things to think about before driving into the field with the drill. Rotation, covers, grass weed burden etc.
Go bananas Louis, two beacons or bust. Colour co-ordination rules btw.
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Ugo Schtiglitz
Well-Known Member
Sometimes, the pricing is as simple as that. $$$$$ don't make a good job of it...you do!
Merv_B
Well-Known Member
How long are you direct drilling now and did you move direct from ploughing or did you dabble with min-till?
C
Cork
Guest
Interesting observation.
Just walking across the trial plots. Picked up a stone the size of a bag of sugar. Just dropped it on the corner of the grass pathway that runs across the site. It's permanent although ploughed and reseeded once a year.
As I dropped the stone, it clattered against another stone on the ground. Immediately after the noise you could hear literally thousands of little suction type sounds across the grass - it was the worms that were up to the surface due after all the rain.
I repeated it in another area and it happened again. Amazing when you hear it although I'm sure plenty of other people have noticed it.
Just walking across the trial plots. Picked up a stone the size of a bag of sugar. Just dropped it on the corner of the grass pathway that runs across the site. It's permanent although ploughed and reseeded once a year.
As I dropped the stone, it clattered against another stone on the ground. Immediately after the noise you could hear literally thousands of little suction type sounds across the grass - it was the worms that were up to the surface due after all the rain.
I repeated it in another area and it happened again. Amazing when you hear it although I'm sure plenty of other people have noticed it.
Last edited by a moderator:
Hardysplicer
Well-Known Member
Rapid with front discs up is a very capable direct drill
gone
Well-Known Member
That's interesting, would the rear discs have to be near new?
Would it handle much trash?
I must try a bit next Autumn, but thinking about it I had give one of fields a 2nd run of the Karat because it was finding it difficult after just one, but that was after Oats and the straw was chopped. Maybe with less surface straw it might work.
Hardysplicer
Well-Known Member
I always found stubble harder to handle than chopped straw
Short stubble and bale straw
Newer discs the better, worth a try
Would work a dream after beans I'd say and maybe rape too
C
Cork
Guest
A member of the forum (you know who you are) passed this on to me this morning.
I think its an excellent piece, probably the best summary of Carbon management in soils that I have come across as yet. I like the balance of the programme.
Enjoy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08g5531
I think its an excellent piece, probably the best summary of Carbon management in soils that I have come across as yet. I like the balance of the programme.
Enjoy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08g5531
Ugo Schtiglitz
Well-Known Member
A good balanced introduction to some of the prinicples of conservation agriculture. Some scepticism and some hopeful notes for the future. Carbon sinkng in cropped soil has some limits but a step in the right direction.
Ugo Schtiglitz
Well-Known Member
anyone growing peaola? the peas and rape mix?
Was away in the east and just back...a big thanks to the air traffic controllers...up there with CIE bus drivers.
Anyhow just listened to that and I was quite struck by what was said and unsaid. The U.K. Farmer that wanted gov/eu funds to support his 'conservation' agriculture efforts, and the Mme from the French min of ag who was a little coy about the incentives that they are employing to get a major swing to soil farming by 2020...namely the slashing of nitrates.
Fyi, it's working a treat...