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Mobile No-Till Setup

Iowannabe

Iowannabe

New Member
Hello everyone. My first post here.

My family and I have 4 hunting properties scattered around the area and I'm looking to get away from the tilling-to-plant practices. In total, I plant about 10 acres of food plots a year. I'm looking to gather opinions on what to purchase for a mobile no-till setup using one of the tractors I already have. I have a Kubota sub-compact tractor, which has a 680lb 3-point lift capacity, and a John Deere 4 series tractor, which has a 2500lb 3-point lift capacity.

My guess is nobody will recommend using the sub compact for using a no-till drill, but I figured I would toss that out there if someone knows a good mobile method.

I've used my John Deere 4 series with a buddy's Great Plains 606NT pull style drill, which it does well with, but it's not real "mobile". I would have to trailer them separately to each property, which I would rather not do.

Any recommendations on what drill/brand to purchase for one of these machines? It seems like the Great Plains/Landpride and the Genesis are the most common. Are the heavy no till drill necessary, or would a minimal-till do the job without having to till?
 
10 acres a years, genesis 5 will do great. Very mobile, legit no till, under 2500 lb capacity. Under heavier use (more acres) I'd def go GP.
 
Welcome! Caveat...I will share some thoughts, but cannot answer all of your questions based upon personal experience.

I too have a compact tractor, LS 4140H, which I believe is rated for 2700 pounds on the 3 point lift. I currently use a Truax Flex-II drill with fair success. (I need to get it to close the seed bed furrow better. This could just be an additional adjustment and/or replacing some "tired" springs, etc.) It is a tow behind model and does feature three seed boxes. I think it is cutting a sufficient furrow and dropping seed reliably, FWIW.

I am strongly considering getting a Genesis 5, which is a 3 point device, that is around 1800 pounds. So I think I can use it with my tractor.

I am drilling more and more and tilling less and less...but am not fully no till...yet.

With that said, I don't think there is anything viable for your smaller tractor...but I think a Genesis, or similar, would work with your 4 series no problem. I will probably buy the Genesis because I am a place in my life where I can generally afford things AND I am trying to avoid "saving money" only to have to buy something a second time when I get annoyed and frustrated. :)
 
IowaBowHunter1983 said:
10 acres a years, genesis 5 will do great. Very mobile, legit no till, under 2500 lb capacity. Under heavier use (more acres) I'd def go GP.
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Thanks for the thoughts. I do think the Genesis 5 would be a good fit.

If a guy wanted to purchase a Great Plains unit (I have a dealership near my home), are there any thoughts on which model? No-till vs min-till?
 
Agree with Genesis, really like mine. Only potential regret is that it wont do fluffy natives. Other comment is that trailering your tractor, i assume loader, and a 5’ genesis is a heavy load. Not sure how far apart your farms are but likely going to need a heavy trailer and 3/4 ton truck to haul them together.
 
Iowannabe said:
Thanks for the thoughts. I do think the Genesis 5 would be a good fit.

If a guy wanted to purchase a Great Plains unit (I have a dealership near my home), are there any thoughts on which model? No-till vs min-till?
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U won’t regret anything Great Plains. Is the one u have now a pull type & that’s why u need to trailer them separate or what’s reason for that? I like pull type better but harder to trailer. But with big enough trailer- think it’s doable
 
Sligh1 said:
U won’t regret anything Great Plains. Is the one u have now a pull type & that’s why u need to trailer them separate or what’s reason for that? I like pull type better but harder to trailer. But with big enough trailer- think it’s doable
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The one my friend lets me borrow is a 6' no-till pull type 606NT. The wheels make the unit wider than any trailer width I have available to use. With that said, I generally just hook it up to my truck directly to pull it down the highway.
 
Iowannabe said:
The one my friend lets me borrow is a 6' no-till pull type 606NT. The wheels make the unit wider than any trailer width I have available to use. With that said, I generally just hook it up to my truck directly to pull it down the highway.
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The Genesis drill does not have coulter blade like a true no till. It is more similar to a minimum till like GP 600. There is another good quality brand of foodplot no till drills called Kasco model is versa drill. They make a 48" 3p and pull type that might work on your smaller tractor and fit your trailer.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 
bbloom96 said:
The Genesis drill does not have coulter blade like a true no till. It is more similar to a minimum till like GP 600. There is another good quality brand of foodplot no till drills called Kasco model is versa drill. They make a 48" 3p and pull type that might work on your smaller tractor and fit your trailer.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
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I assure you the Genesis to tills great. Better without coulters actually. People that got the coulters have been taking them off.
 
This is my super cheap junker rig that gets it done pretty well. Cheap tractor & picked this 2 box drill up for like $500-1000? It’s kinda a back up unit & id buy a nicer unit if I only had one set up. It does get it done though.
IMG_0418.jpeg
 
Genesis just came out with a lighter model. It’s the M5.

A Woods FPS60 may work for you. It’s not really a no till drill.
 
IowaBowHunter1983 said:
Great plains just came out with new small models as well..

Great Plains Ag

www.greatplainsag.com www.greatplainsag.com
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I spoke to a Great Plains rep about them. They kind of goofed up. The way they made them, they set way back off the 3 point lift arms so they still require a large tractor. The 5’ model suggest a 70 hp. The 6’ model was designed differently and suggest a 60 hp.
Kind of silly to make a 5’ model that needs that much hp/lift capacity.

He did say that changes will be coming but don’t know how soon.
 
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