T_Max
PMA Member
That was a very good video, Skip. I have a general question about drills for the group. There are some things I would never buy used. Too many chances to buy a lemon and not know it until it is too late. There are some things I would never buy new, because used ones are much cheaper and are easy to repair / hard for the previous owner to mess up. Where do drills fall on this spectrum for you? New prices are pretty high for most guys. Do you need a degree in mechanical engineering to maintain / repair them? If you bought a used one with plenty of miles, is it reasonable to expect you can put many more on it? I often have to look at / buy things online through auctions due to time and distance. I have a hard time pulling the trigger on something with so many moving parts sight unseen. Is it reasonable to assume that a guy with some general mechanical skills could overcome most of the issues he might face on one of these machines? I would love to have one, but I have never really been around them.
deep woods goat hunter
PMA Member
Skip-
I that doubletree mix planted or something different?
I that doubletree mix planted or something different?
Really good ?!!!!!!!
1) they are not complex. A planter is much harder to work on. Drills are for sure more basic…. Chain drive system that just meters seed out as u go. Few big metal boxes, some tubes, etc. Changing clutches, chains, bearings & OPENERS is main things & it’s pretty rare I’m ever doing it. Every couple thousand acres maybe. It’s easy & not that expensive Labor is most because there’s so many more rows (7.5” spacing vs a 30” planter)…..
2) being that they are pretty basic - a used Great Plains wouldn’t spook me a bit. Even the worst repairs- not bad at all. They are basic. But the guts of a GP drill are just so much heavier built - why I wouldn’t be afraid of used one. I got a couple other brands used- never again. GP- I’d be just fine with it.
3) so say someone is a “medium size” plotter…. Even a 6’ drill be fine. & a used one…. Not bad. If u own land & gonna do plots forever & want equipment to last- I’d get one. If u aren’t it & maybe not a lot of acres- I’d hire it out or buy cheap stuff. Or heck - guys on a budget- go buy an old minimal till drill with 2 boxes. Lots of options. IMHO- the rotary tillers & the aggressive tillage for years - yikers…. Over time the soil will get worse & worse & failures will be more prevalent and take all the tillage tools - the value- coulda just bought a drill in many cases. Controversial & I’ll upset a few of my friends but rotary tillers should be sold for scrap & destroyed.
. Dbltree mix with some slight tweaks.
T_Max
PMA Member
Sold! I rebuilt a corn planter from the ground up, so looks like I'll have to go ahead and jump in on this! Haha!Really good ?!!!!!!!
1) they are not complex. A planter is much harder to work on. Drills are for sure more basic…. Chain drive system that just meters seed out as u go. Few big metal boxes, some tubes, etc. Changing clutches, chains, bearings & OPENERS is main things & it’s pretty rare I’m ever doing it. Every couple thousand acres maybe. It’s easy & not that expensive Labor is most because there’s so many more rows (7.5” spacing vs a 30” planter)…..
2) being that they are pretty basic - a used Great Plains wouldn’t spook me a bit. Even the worst repairs- not bad at all. They are basic. But the guts of a GP drill are just so much heavier built - why I wouldn’t be afraid of used one. I got a couple other brands used- never again. GP- I’d be just fine with it.
3) so say someone is a “medium size” plotter…. Even a 6’ drill be fine. & a used one…. Not bad. If u own land & gonna do plots forever & want equipment to last- I’d get one. If u aren’t it & maybe not a lot of acres- I’d hire it out or buy cheap stuff. Or heck - guys on a budget- go buy an old minimal till drill with 2 boxes. Lots of options. IMHO- the rotary tillers & the aggressive tillage for years - yikers…. Over time the soil will get worse & worse & failures will be more prevalent and take all the tillage tools - the value- coulda just bought a drill in many cases. Controversial & I’ll upset a few of my friends but rotary tillers should be sold for scrap & destroyed.
Dbltree mix with some slight tweaks.
Bucksnbears
Well-Known Member
Great video Skip.
I personally have no need for one as all my plots are 1/4 acre or less.
I'm stuck to the broadcast and drag method.
I personally have no need for one as all my plots are 1/4 acre or less.
I'm stuck to the broadcast and drag method.
Well done, Skip! You made some excellent points on soil health. I started with 2.8% organic matter on a soil health project on May 1st of this year, and will be monitoring it. Good stuff!
CottonwoodCanyon
Well-Known Member
One thing to consider too, is that a lot of no-till rental opportunities through Pheasants Forever chapters, NRCS offices, and others for those that don't want to bite off the price tag.
Skip,
I agree with everything you’ve said on this subject, especially the rototiller comment. They destroy less than perfect soils, especially on a slope of any grade. They dry out the soil to extremes, create a hard pan that exceeds comprehension, and kill earthworms and most other life in the soil. When you consider the cost of a large (6 ft or larger ) rototiller, a heavy cultipacker, a sub-soil ripper, a mechanical spreader, and perhaps a disc, the cost adds up quickly. Add to this the cost of repair for the damages these machines do to the soil ecosystem and you find a hefty cost for less than acceptable results. Till a dry marginal slope up into a fine powder, cultipack and plant a crop, but have it get hit by a thunderstorm and return to find all your topsoil gone. That’s something you won’t recover at any price. Also, tillage will bring stuff out of the seed bank ya never thought existed ! I’m speaking from experience gained as a younger man, when I was excessively energetic, struggling to make things happen, possessed little cultivation knowledge, but found out the hard way that rototillers could destroy the thin layer of top soil we had in WV. No till is the way to go for soil and moisture conservation if for no other reason. Rentals are an option and used equipment is affordable if you know what a good deal looks like. Just my $0.02
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I agree with everything you’ve said on this subject, especially the rototiller comment. They destroy less than perfect soils, especially on a slope of any grade. They dry out the soil to extremes, create a hard pan that exceeds comprehension, and kill earthworms and most other life in the soil. When you consider the cost of a large (6 ft or larger ) rototiller, a heavy cultipacker, a sub-soil ripper, a mechanical spreader, and perhaps a disc, the cost adds up quickly. Add to this the cost of repair for the damages these machines do to the soil ecosystem and you find a hefty cost for less than acceptable results. Till a dry marginal slope up into a fine powder, cultipack and plant a crop, but have it get hit by a thunderstorm and return to find all your topsoil gone. That’s something you won’t recover at any price. Also, tillage will bring stuff out of the seed bank ya never thought existed ! I’m speaking from experience gained as a younger man, when I was excessively energetic, struggling to make things happen, possessed little cultivation knowledge, but found out the hard way that rototillers could destroy the thin layer of top soil we had in WV. No till is the way to go for soil and moisture conservation if for no other reason. Rentals are an option and used equipment is affordable if you know what a good deal looks like. Just my $0.02
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