what to do with a Land Pride "seeder"

Before we actually purchased our land! - my son got this piece of equipment in a package deal with a small combine. We have 100 acres of sorta lumpy, heavy clay, grazing land, but he wants to plant small sections of grain for beer and fodder - Zone 4. He now believes this thing is for "turf" planting. All info and suggestions gratefully accepted!

Wow...I would sell my oldest daughter (I have no sons) for a grain drill like that! (Please do not take this as condescending in any way, because I am not like that at all, but it is called a Drill and not a seeder, though that is what it does.)

Your son is wrong though; it has 10 "openers" or disks that cut the ground and inject the seed and can "drill" small grains.


Whether you keep it or not, in that condition it is worth around $6000.

TY, Travis - it does look brand-new, tho this is a stock photo. My son is concerned that the "coulters"are not deep? enough for our clay soil. Also, I'm not sure we got "seed-plates" with it. I'm trying to convince him that it's not a "boat-anchor" - still looking for advice on how to use it.

It may be worth investigating using it to seed a green manure crop or two. This crop is a mixture of seeds, some deep rooted, other shallow and it
helps greatly to open up your soil.
When its mature there are steps to take, whether you put stock over it or cut it.
Then you seed again and go through the process. Travis may have more local knowledge.
Essentially it may help your grow better crops in the future by using the green manure now.

Seed drills such as this one work great for those who want to sow crops that have a seed of a larger size, such as corn and want it sowed in neat rows. Like Travis described, discs will cut the soil and a single seed will be dropped into the channel that's been cut in the soil, then right behind that an apparatus will cover the seed back up. They work well over soil that has been cultivated, or fluffed up and smoothed out, such as a soil that's been disked and harrowed. They can sometimes have difficulty drilling seed on soils that have never been touched or worked over for a long time. Results can vary also with the type of soil and how dry it is: think a clay soil in August that hasn't had rain in six weeks and is hard like concrete. They often have adjustments on then for the size of the seed being sowed, how far apart each row can be, how often a seed gets dropped in while moving along, and such.

This is not the right type of machine for planting turf or grass seed. Grass seeds are usually broadcasted onto the surface of a soil. Machines that do this can have a hopper on top full of grass seed which pours out one end onto a spinning plate that slings (or broadcasts) the seed evenly out in an arc or rainbow shape as the machine is driven along.

Mary,

I inherited some equipment when we moved in too. Then I found out everyone around here has the same implements, so I downsized and have a group that we trade. This is allowing me to invest in stuff that no one else has, and we are all better off.

This is not a common implement around here. If that is the same where you are this could be a nice trade item to start your network! Many cooperative extensions or soil conservation districts around here have seed drills, and unfortunately ours is rather lame. So I am looking at getting one. They need a big tractor to pull (or they are tiny drills). Viola! If I get the drill I can trade use of the drill for use of a big tractor! It literally has gotten to the point where the guy with the equipment trailer is the trade meister, because we need to move stuff 5-10 miles sometimes and that means a big truck/trailer combo. The responsibility of fixing stuff needs to be laid out ahead of time, and is more of an expense on the implement side for complex implements and the machine side for basic implements. And the guy with the truck we are looking at either a per-haul rate or other deals to make it worth his time and effort. Your situation may vary. I have made an effort to go to each of these locations and make sure they treat their equipment well. If they look like they beat theirs up, I can only imagine what they would do to something they don't own.

We are working on a friend's old backhoe, with the understanding that this could flow into the pool. Excavators so far are not available but who knows? I'm working on it!

This is allowing me to have a wider range of tools that I don't want to pay for or learn how to maintain, and deepens the network of trust which is so vital. The other nice part is that it is all tax free barter at this point, although several are looking at tax benefits (those who have more tools) if they can expense them for that purpose.

Thanks all for advice! The problem is as mentioned: long-term, un-tilled ground - very heavy clay. We have ended up with the 100 acres that was not suitable for haying/planting - only ever used for grazing with uneven surface and at least 3 smallish watercourses. The "coulters"/disks are very shallow - this old pasture has at least 6-inch deep root structure. This piece of equipment is nearly brand-new with instruction books, and there is much better/not clay land within driving distance. We have a big tractor capable of pulling it. Hoping for more suggestions on how to use it, or it will be for sale in Douglas County, WI.