Harrow Seeder Produces Evenly-Spaced Crops

Harrow Seeder Produces Evenly-Spaced Crops HITCHES Hitches 16-6-16 "We think it's the best air seeder on the market. Produces near perfect equi-distant spacing," says Fred Gilman, sales manager for Stoller, Inc., Pontiac, Ill., about the new harrow-mounted air seeder he put together by combining a Gandy Orbit-Air seeder and a special-built McFarlane 16-bar flexible harrow. Gilman, who also farms, says he got the idea after observing farmers around his state who were having fertilizer companies come out to broadcast soybeans and then used harrows to incorporate the seed. Everyone seemed happy with the idea so Gilman went to McFarlane Manufacturing Co., in Sauk City, Wis., with the idea of designing a McFarlane harrow with a strong enough frame to carry the weight of an air seeder. "It gives plants more room to grow with extra sunlight and nutrients. You can get near-equidistant spacing with new no-till drills coming on the market but they cost more than twice as much as this new harrow seeder," says Gilman. The Gandy seed blower mounts on the tongue of the harrow cart and tubes run back to a row of special brackets mounted across the front of the harrow. Tubes are spaced 1 ft. apart and they blow seed onto deflector plates that spread seed out evenly over the ground. Then the harrow works them into the ground down to a depth of about 2 in. "Unlike air seeders mounted on field cultivators, which often leave streaks and plant some seed too deep and leave some seed on the surface, this harrow seeder creates a beautiful seedbed, leaving seed at a much more consistent depth," notes Gil-man. One problem with the harrow seeder is that it leaves the soil loose so seed-to-soil contact is not always the best. ' To be safe Gilman recommends bumping up the seeding rate by about 20 percent. If lack of moisture is a problem at the time of planting, he says you may have to use a conventional drill which will pack the furrow. "We're thinking of adding rolling baskets to the back of the harrow which may help pack the seed better," he says. Gilman says the harrow seeder should also work well in alfalfa, wheat, oats, rye, and other small grains. "It might work even better in wheat than in soybeans because germination time isn't usually so critical. You've got more time if moisture conditions aren't just right." A 24-ft. wide 16-bar harrow and air seeder sells for $14,000 complete. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, McFarlane, 1259 South Water Street, P.O. Box 577, Sauk City, Wis. 53583 (ph 800 627-8569 or 608 643-3321).

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