Broadcast your seed rather than drill in rows?

[warksfarmer]

Dragging up an old thread... Was sowing away yesterday thinking why are we sowing ?
Thinking is that a section control spreader followed by a Vaderstad nz or similar set at 2 inches would establish a crop perfectly well. Why have money tied up in seed drills ?

I think you are probably right. The last few years have seen us change the seeding method quite a bit searching for the ultimate if it exists. Optimum seed spacing has always been of interest to me but achieving it has been the problem. Broadcast is quick and easy but it subsequently causes more passes afterwards in the form of a harrow possibly twice and then rolls. This is why drills were invented to avoid the harrow passes you would think? So you then start looking for a drill that can broadcast and cover and basically there isn't one. We nearly bought an old cultivator (can't remember its name) that lifted the soil up in a wave like fashion before planting it back down to fit it with a seed hopper to blow seed underneath the wave of soil. But again its not ideal and would of been a bit heath robinson.
Anyway I went on a few farm tours and randomly came across a home made drill that had big fin like feet stuck in the back of a shed. As soon as I saw it immediately reminded me of a Duett coulter from Horsch so we bought a used 4m drill with 7 inch shares on it and tried it. Its done a fantastic job and we have seed coverage akin to that of broadcast but not quite. Whether we can better this I have no idea but at least it can still cover the seed which is the important bit.
Its gone against previous thoughts of zero soil movement but to counteract that we've gone to drilling later in November. whether its right or not we have no idea as of yet but early signs look promising.

 

[Brisel]

Treated seed needs to be buried and away from pre em herbicides. That’s all really. Spend half the savings on the expensive drill on another 10% higher seed rate to allow for seed too deep or too shallow. With good modern spreaders, autosteer and undressed farm saved seed you could save plenty of money and time.

 

[Still Farming]

Clearly broadcasting beans on a bare field is a recipe for disaster but into a standing cover crop may work like nature intended, less that optimum possible yield yes but minimal costs.
Who's prepared to try a 10mt square in some CC.

Broadcast and shallow plough in.
Never had trouble

 

[Still Farming]

Broadcast crops for years and never had any issues.
Just light disc in and drag harrow -simple.
These days most growers are "sucked" into the machinery dealers web ,and speil.
20k for this 39k for that ,when £500 of spinner,disc,drags do as well ?

 

[jonnyjon]

Soil disturbance is the problem, causing an increase in weeds. Broadcast cereals on bare stubble and roll twice with a guttler roller???

 

[Shropshire Farmer]

If you haven’t got serious grass weeds though. Surely a light pass to get a chit where no compaction issues. Then spray off broadcast then Harrow and roll. Or where you need to remove compaction a deeper primary pass spray off broadcast and Harrow and roll. What’s not to like ?

 

[JLLM]

@bovrill put this up on another thread.

 

[JCfarmer]

I have a 6m kuhn tine drill which is less expensive to buy and cheap to run. I have now a section control KV fert spinner and have been contemplating spinning on 40% of seed and drilling 60% thus covering the spun on seed. Might have to try a field.

 

[jonnyjon]

If you haven’t got serious grass weeds though. Surely a light pass to get a chit where no compaction issues. Then spray off broadcast then Harrow and roll. Or where you need to remove compaction a deeper primary pass spray off broadcast and Harrow and roll. What’s not to like ?

Maybe, don't like disturbance especially at sowing time, creates perfect conditions for weeds, tend to all scratch till when planting cover crops pre cash crop. Would love to find a way to do it via broadcasting tho

 

[Shropshire Farmer]

You won’t broadcast without following with something to cover it

 

[Clive]

I think you are probably right. The last few years have seen us change the seeding method quite a bit searching for the ultimate if it exists. Optimum seed spacing has always been of interest to me but achieving it has been the problem. Broadcast is quick and easy but it subsequently causes more passes afterwards in the form of a harrow possibly twice and then rolls. This is why drills were invented to avoid the harrow passes you would think? So you then start looking for a drill that can broadcast and cover and basically there isn't one. We nearly bought an old cultivator (can't remember its name) that lifted the soil up in a wave like fashion before planting it back down to fit it with a seed hopper to blow seed underneath the wave of soil. But again its not ideal and would of been a bit heath robinson.
Anyway I went on a few farm tours and randomly came across a home made drill that had big fin like feet stuck in the back of a shed. As soon as I saw it immediately reminded me of a Duett coulter from Horsch so we bought a used 4m drill with 7 inch shares on it and tried it. Its done a fantastic job and we have seed coverage akin to that of broadcast but not quite. Whether we can better this I have no idea but at least it can still cover the seed which is the important bit.
Its gone against previous thoughts of zero soil movement but to counteract that we've gone to drilling later in November. whether its right or not we have no idea as of yet but early signs look promising.

have you sold your Weaving then now ?

 

[warksfarmer]

have you sold your Weaving then now ?

Yes traded it for the horsch. No real reason other than the rows were to narrow. We looked at fitting a boot to spread the seed out but it would of cost the same as the price to change.

 

[gooseman]

You won’t broadcast without following with something to cover it

On our Fenland farm we broadcast our wheat a few hours ahead of the beet harvester. The harvester then covers the seed. We follow with a Cambridge roll and pre-em. Job done. Just need to keep trailers confined to headlands.

 

[alomy75]

On our Fenland farm we broadcast our wheat a few hours ahead of the beet harvester. The harvester then covers the seed. We follow with a Cambridge roll and pre-em. Job done. Just need to keep trailers confined to headlands.

What a great idea! Any photos of it coming up?

 

[gooseman]

What a great idea! Any photos of it coming up?

No pictures from this year yet. But here's one of our dog in a field broadcast last year. Variety Skyscraper done around 10t/ha

 

[Bob lincs]

On our Fenland farm we broadcast our wheat a few hours ahead of the beet harvester. The harvester then covers the seed. We follow with a Cambridge roll and pre-em. Job done. Just need to keep trailers confined to headlands.

How did you come up with that idea ?

 

[gooseman]

Many years ago I started out on my own contract beet harvesting with a Standen Cyclone. I spent weeks and weeks with my head out of the window watching the lifting gear working. I dreamt of putting a seeder unit to the side of the front trash disc. So that the disc covered the seed. I never got to do it, but the dream carried on. In the end I figured that a few ton of undressed seed could be sacrificed if necessary, in order to trial the idea. It's normally my daughters job to check progress of the harvesters and just keep in front of them. They normally lift 30 acres per day and we can spread that in an hour or so. It's remarkable how little remains uncovered.

 

[Andy26]

On our Fenland farm we broadcast our wheat a few hours ahead of the beet harvester. The harvester then covers the seed. We follow with a Cambridge roll and pre-em. Job done. Just need to keep trailers confined to headlands.

Proper farming!

 

[redbaron]

Can't see that working well on wet heavy soils lifting in December or January? Do you do this right through the autumn/winter? Perhaps a shallow power harrow instead of rolls? Intriguing.

 

[gooseman]

Can't see that working well on wet heavy soils lifting in December or January? Do you do this right through the autumn/winter? Perhaps a shallow power harrow instead of rolls? Intriguing.

We haven't done it in really wet conditions yet, we have had to lift the headlands with a buster when harvester battles them down wet wet. But we normally have a look when the harvester has gone to see what to do.