2022 - Volume #46, Issue #5, Page #18
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Adaptor Lets Grain Drills Handle Both Coarse And Fine Seed
Earl Wagler and Delmar Gerber of Ontario, Canada, figured out how to build a grass seeder update kit to allow farmers to plant forage grass mixtures with up to 30 percent coarse grasses in the Fine Seeder Box.
“A lot of farmers knock down seeded grasses for hay or haylage,” Wagler says. “They use it as a forage and mix in ingredients like corn silage to make a feed ration.
“Unfortunately, alfalfa isn’t as high in fiber as the grasses are,” he says. “Research was showing that too much alfalfa was causing twisted stomachs in livestock.”
He says more research showed that if producers added more grasses into hay and haylage forage mixes, it increased the fiber level.
“Some farmers were putting straw into their mixes for more fiber,” he says. “But straw isn’t very digestible. So, we thought why not put more grasses into the mix because it boosts fiber and it’s more digestible.”
The update kit allows livestock producers to plant a forage and grass mix. Installing the kit also eliminates bridging and plugging at the downspout cotter pin.
It’s a seven-step process to install the kits that involves removing the grass seeder rubber tube as well as the downspout cotter pin.
The kit has not been tested for Bromegrass use.
When ordering a kit, Wagler says they need to know whether you need a steel or a plastic downspout kit.
The kits are designed for front-mounted fine grass seeder boxes. They work on Case IH model numbers 510, 5100, 5200, 5300, 5400, 5500, 6200, and 6300.
The individual kit price is $4.70 (Can.) each (before shipping). The kits work with 16, 18, and 21-run seed drills. Make sure to specify which type of kit you need and the type of seed drill you operate.
Shipping usually adds approximately $20 to the total as it’s sent through the postal service.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Earl Wagler, P.O. Box 126, Millbank, Ontario, Canada N0K 1L0 (ph 519-595-4440); or Delmar Gerber, 3230 Chalmers Forrest Road, RR #1, Linwood, Ontario, Canada N0B 2A0 (ph 519-698-2849).
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