Ribbon Seeder Maximizes Use Of Soil And Fertilizer

2004 - Volume #28, Issue #1, Page #34

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LeRoy Richard, Horace, North Dakota, felt conventional methods of drilling small grains didn't allow the crop to make the best use of soil nutrients and also broadcast fertilizer over too wide an area.
  He decided if he could concentrate seed and fertilizer in one area, he could use fewer inputs with better results.
  Over the past six years he's developed a toolbar that can both fertilize and seed. He went to the field with his first prototype four years ago and has continued to refine it. His current model can be changed from drilling a single row to a paired row planter, ribbon seeding, fall zone tiller, etc., with a single wrench and less than 10 minutes time per row.
  For crops normally drilled, like wheat, his system seeds in 10-in. ribbons, with skips of open ground between them. In the same pass, he applies urea below the seed and other nutrients in closer proximity. His patented opener covers the fertilizer before dropping the seed above it. The design of the opener and firming roller assure that all seed is placed at precisely the same depth, whether it's seeded the width of the tilled ribbon or in a 7 1/2-in. spaced single row down the center.
  Another feature Richard incorporated in his opener is the design of the seed tube which allows seed to drop into the soil at zero velocity. "There's no rolling or bouncing with this design," he says. "Seed stays in the soil exactly where it drops from the tube."
  Richard sees his ribbon seeding and multiple use toolbar design being used in soybeans where growers want the advantages of solid seeded beans without the potential disease problems.
  He's formed Strategic Ag Systems, Inc. to manufacture and market the Universal Agricultural Implement Toolbar system and hopes to have it on the market in the near future. Price should be about $1,250 per row.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, LeRoy Richard, Strategic Ag Systems, Inc., 7604 Brink Drive, Horace, N. Dak. 58047 (ph 701 281-9499).

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Ribbon Seeder Maximizes Use Of Soil And Fertilizer PLANTERS Planters 28-1-34 LeRoy Richard, Horace, North Dakota, felt conventional methods of drilling small grains didn't allow the crop to make the best use of soil nutrients and also broadcast fertilizer over too wide an area. He decided if he could concentrate seed and fertilizer in one area, he could use fewer inputs with better results. Over the past six years he's developed a toolbar that can both fertilize and seed. He went to the field with his first prototype four years ago and has continued to refine it. His current model can be changed from drilling a single row to a paired row planter, ribbon seeding, fall zone tiller, etc., with a single wrench and less than 10 minutes time per row. For crops normally drilled, like wheat, his system seeds in 10-in. ribbons, with skips of open ground between them. In the same pass, he applies urea below the seed and other nutrients in closer proximity. His patented opener covers the fertilizer before dropping the seed above it. The design of the opener and firming roller assure that all seed is placed at precisely the same depth, whether it's seeded the width of the tilled ribbon or in a 7 1/2-in. spaced single row down the center. Another feature Richard incorporated in his opener is the design of the seed tube which allows seed to drop into the soil at zero velocity. "There's no rolling or bouncing with this design," he says. "Seed stays in the soil exactly where it drops from the tube." Richard sees his ribbon seeding and multiple use toolbar design being used in soybeans where growers want the advantages of solid seeded beans without the potential disease problems. He's formed Strategic Ag Systems, Inc. to manufacture and market the Universal Agricultural Implement Toolbar system and hopes to have it on the market in the near future. Price should be about $1,250 per row. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, LeRoy Richard, Strategic Ag Systems, Inc., 7604 Brink Drive, Horace, N. Dak. 58047 (ph 701 281-9499).

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