Double Framed Grain Drill

Double framed grain drill PLANTERS Planters 11-4-8 "There's not a grain drill in the world that'll do what mine does. I have essentially done the same thing with a grain drill as manufacturers do to build double-frame planters," says David C. McCoy, Fredericktown, Ohio. The problem McCoy had was finding a drill that would plant three different crops at onceùoats, alfalfa and bromegrass. He says he's learned that his cows have a strong preference for the mix of grass and legume over straight alfalfa. For several years, McCoy seeded bromegrass together with oats. "It works but as you bounce through the field, the difference in density between the two seeds causes the oats to settle at the bottom, resulting in poor distribution. And when the bromegrass is seeded with the oats, it's a bit too deep so it doesn't establish as well. "The only commercial machine I know of that would let me plant three seeds at once is a Brillion Surestand seeder, which you pull behind your present seeder. This would require a substantial hitch on the back of the grain drill, and would cost more money. John Deere used to make an FBB drill 25 years ago that would let you mount an extra large grass seed box on back so that you could plant a small grain, a legume and grass seed at once. Although they're no longer made, I found a used one. "The drill had no bottom left in the fertilizer compartment and the small grain box was frozen solid. So I removed the large grass seeder and mounted it on my older Deere FBA grain drill, using the frame from the junk drill. I got power to run this additional seeder by changing the fertilizer drive system. It drops the large bromegrass seed down large rubber tubes onto the ground surface. "I also mounted the legume box from the junked FBB drill on the back of the drill and centered the drop tubes so they split the 7-in. spacing of the front legume box. I set the front and back legume boxes at half the normal seeding rate. These narrow 3 ¢-in. alfalfa bands reduce the weed competition you normally get between 7-in. bands. "I also mounted the gang of press wheels off the old drill onto the new drill frame. I set the existing gang of press wheels 3¢ in. to the left and attached the new gang 3¢ in. to the right. Now I press the alfalfa seeds coming down both sets of drops into the top ? in. of soil, as well as the bromegrass coming from the large grass seeder." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, David C. McCoy, Wotokahan Farm, 16413 Old Mansfield Road, RL 1, Fredericktown, Ohio 43019 (ph 614 397-4664).

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