Super Seeder From Prasco

Super Seeder From Prasco PLANTING EQUIPMENT Planters 3-1-6 Alex Currie crops about 4000 acres near Nloosomin, in Saskatchewan, Canada. To get those acres ready for seeding, he used to work the stubble twice in the fall and again before seeding. Then, he seeded and harrowed. Not any more. Currie switched to a new=concept seeder called the Super Seeder, manufactured by Prasco, of Winnipeg. It cut at least one field operation from his seeding program and, depending on the year, he says he'll reduce field operations by still another trip. This would cut his field trips from five to three. But more important, Currie will save the cost of another drill, tractor and operator. "With the number of acres we seed, I would have to buy another press drill. But, with the 40-ft. Super Seeder, plus traveling at 7 to 8 miles per hour, I can get the crop in with the one unit. So, I save the cost of the second drill, tractor and operator," he explains. Currie is not the only Great Plains farmer using the Super Seeder. Jim Peterson, who farms just across the border in North Dakota, already has changed his field operations to include a Super Seeder. He cut field operating costs from $21.75 to $11.25 an acre. Prasco's Super Seeder is an airstream seeder developed by two farmers in the Antler area of southeast Saskatchewan. It is really a minimum tillage seeder designed to give better seed placement over a range of soil textures and conditions, according to Chuck Harrison, general manager. "It goes through mud better than a drill, which allows you to get close to pot holes and low-lying areas," he points out. Currently, the Super Seeder will mount on most 40-ft., heavy duty field cultivators, or any size unit your existing tractor can pull, says Harrison. "The only adaptation needed is to remove the cultivator's existing hitch and fit a special rolling hitch. This adaptation, which is part of the Super Seeder package, close couples the grain tank and cultivator, yet leaves the cultivator flexible to move up and down as the machine moves over uneven ground." The system works this way: Seed from the grain tank is metered into an air flow which carries the seed to the main manifold. From this primary manifold, grain is distributed evenly to smaller manifolds and then to the plastic boot behind each cultivator shank. One of the big advantages of the air seeder is that it has only three moving parts. The blower is driven by its own hydraulic motor from the tractor hydraulic system. It creates the air flow to carry seed from the grain tank to the seed boot. The metering device immediately below the grain tank meters seed evenly into the air stream. It can be calibrated to precisely meter any size seed at any rate. Currie has seeded wheat, fall rye, oats, barley and rapeseed. Currie says another advantage of the Super Seeder is that you can seed faster: "With conventional drills, you have to keep the speed between 41/2 to 5 mph. But, with this air seeder, you can travel between 7 and 8 mph. Seed is metered into the air flow in relatjon to the speed of travel." Currie adds that, by keeping weight of the seed and fertilizer off the cultivator, "you maintain better depth control so you seed at a more even depth, which gives you better germination and emergence." When seeding in a field is finished, the cultivator folds, making it easy to transport the 40-ft. unit to the next field. "There is no need to load it onto a drill carrier. The seed and fertilizer tubes are flexible piping which allows the cultivator to fold without having to alter the seeding system," Currie explains. Both the grain and grain-fertilizer models of the new Super Seeder sell for $17,500. For more details, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Prasco Super Seeder, 400-280 Smith St., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 1K2, Canada (ph 204 942-7354).

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