Drilling Maize

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Long story short, been offered 160acre farm very close. All seems right. Only catch is they want me too work and drill the 6acre of maize cover crop for the shoot there. The bloke they had before was useless, half the crops never got drilled and if they did never got sprayed or fert. Result is pee poor crops that a blackbird couldn’t hide in.
I have all the cultivation kit, BUT I don’t have a maize drill. Could it be sown with the air grass/forage crop drill mounted on the joskin set? Or is it that fickle that it has too be a precision job?? I have seen an old 6 row Webb for sale, looked handy money. I’ve already suggested not growing maize, grow something else. But that’s not working.
many thoughts on cheap establishment of maize over crop??
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Just pay a contractor,most farmers with their own tack will still have it drilled with a precision drill and I would of thought the shoot would want it in wide spaced rows also
The issue is that the contractors that do maize around here are all based miles away and don’t want too know about 5/6 acre of cover crop when they can be drilling a 50 acre dairy field somewhere. Hence it’s filtered down too me
 

Mc115reed

Member
Livestock Farmer
Drilling with a combi 95% of the time results in a crap crop.. if it’s purely for cover though that isn’t the end of the world
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
After what has been said about using a corn drill with slight mods, I’ve just asked a mate with a combo drill. He reckons he can put maize in with that. Sounds worth a try. Plus he’s super reliable! 😉

cheers folks!
Any of the mechanical drills should do it 👍🏻
Push the shutters down to get 50-75cm spacing 👍🏻 On an Air drill you can get blockers that go in the mushroom so only a few coulters are used.
 

Cowslip

Member
Mixed Farmer
Plenty of muck on the area now if you have any will help. We drill maize with the fertiliser and its much more successful but that's only possible with maize drill with fertiliser applicator. Too far away for us unfortunately but we do do game cover for people and drill around 700 acres a year and normally manage to fit it in.
 

Anymulewilldo

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cheshire
Plenty of muck on the area now if you have any will help. We drill maize with the fertiliser and its much more successful but that's only possible with maize drill with fertiliser applicator. Too far away for us unfortunately but we do do game cover for people and drill around 700 acres a year and normally manage to fit it in.
Will have too wait until after the season before work can start. Will get them flailed, plastered with muck and worked early spring before lambing with a bit of luck
 

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