Interseed Cover Crops And Sidedress, Too

Interseed Cover Crops And Sidedress Too PLANTERS The double-duty Biomass Builder from HFL Fabricating lays down 2 rows of cover crops while sidedressing the row crop The design made sense to HFL owner Rick Hendrikx for his own farm use as well as for others “I have a personal interest in interseeding cover crops and wanted something cost effective ” says Hendrikx “It seemed like a good idea to seed cover crops at the same time we sidedress fertilizer but there wasn’t a machine that would do both in a single pass ” HFL had worked with Salford Group on a banding tube to drop dry fertilizer behind a coulter The tube has also been used to plant soybeans and some corn “The ability to plant with just a tube behind a coulter was an eye opener for keeping costs down ” says Hendrikx He applied the concept to HFL’s seed drill row unit This allows the operator to set depth while press wheels to the rear preserve soil moisture and enhance soil/seed contact The row units can be equipped with a coulter and knives for either 28 percent or dry fertilizer with tubes to either side for cover crops Each tube follows its own wavy coulter If no sidedressing is needed the fertilizer knife can be removed and a third cover crop tube added “We didn’t reinvent the wheel but it did require some work to produce the Biomass Builder ” says Hendrikx “What we have are multiple components that can be mixed and matched to the customer’s needs ” Mounting systems can also be customized as needed with a 3-pt hitch on the front and back of the row unit toolbar This allows it to be mounted to a tractor and then used for lift assist to carry a liquid fertilizer tank or a Valmar seed tank The entire system can also be turned into a pull-type system “We price everything out on an individual basis ” says Hendrikx “However a 30-ft toolbar with 12 row units would be priced at around $70 000 with a simple seed and liquid fertilizer setup ” Hendrikx has used his system for dual seeding/sidedressing as well as simply interseeding with 3 rows of cover crops 5 in apart “This year we also used it to plant wheat inside soybean rows for relay cropping ” says Hendrikx “We went with twin row 30-in soybeans with 3 rows of wheat in between them ” Hendrikx farms in Ontario and says the Biomass Builder provides the versatility and adaptability he needs He thinks others will agree “We have dealers in Canada but not as many in the U S ” says Hendrikx “We sell direct where we don’t currently have dealers Dealer inquiries are welcome ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup HFL Fabricating 26847 Kerwood Road Kerwood Ont Canada N0M 2B0 ph 519 247-3806; 866 592-3806; www hflfabricating com

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