Inaccurate drilling

[fingermouse]

No gps here errors usually depend on which way I’m slouching in seat
Did treat ourselves to an hydraulic Coulter bar on the present combi drill
Absolutely great on tricky headlands etc
Not so great if you forget to drop it back down again though
Even worse still if you go back a week or two later to redrill odd runs of forgetfulness and forget to drop it again
Least we have plenty of skylark plots

 

[jonnyjon]

why even buy a drill


broadcast ...its the modern lowcost way..........and all done with no strakes whatsoever ....

If I wasn't no till I would broadcast, people who are tilling should be broadcasting imo, far cheaper, faster and a better job going on cover crop experience

 

[MrNoo]

To be fair my drilling has been ok this year a few small gaps when turning on headland corners and one load drilled with a blocked end coulter (it's always the end coulter!!!) Run a 3m Rapid, set at 3m on RTK, front discs just kissing the surface and an offset put into the GPS.
Have seen a few shockers about with half width drill shut off over a whole field and one where the drill went in just past the headland bout but we all do if from time to time!!

 

[Andrew K]

What width do you run your Horsch at?

I run my Claydon at 5.98m but that's not RTK, only an old SF2 setup. 2" offset needed, strangely for a perfectly symmetrical machine built with autosteer in mind.

Thats exactly where I used to run our Claydon on SF2!

 

[yellow belly]

Always wanted a drill that had an extra Coulter so it was full width Coulter to coulter in stead of last row to end row

Had the last 2 drills made to 9 m with an extra Coulter than needed so drill measure 9 coulter to coulter so now with Rtk steering the tramlines are true 27 m

If you drill at 50 mm less than full bout the tramlines are 150 mm too narrow on a 3 bout tram or 200 mm on a 4 bout
On a 24 m 3 bout system is half % extra spray use
I have often seen drill with a row on top of the last row which can be 3% extra on a imput cost of £500a ha is. £15 a ha
Each 100 acres is £500 soon pays for Rtk

 

[Cowcorn]

When i was young i used to to drill a lot of spring crops for other farmers with a 3 metre MF 30 . When you called a month later if their were misses or badly matched runs there would also be a miss in the cheque for the job !!!! A half hour with a measuring tape setting up the markers and an open back window to throw an eye across the feed rollers usually ensured a miss free job .

 

[Farmer Roy]

Does it really matter, a bit of a wide guess row or the odd gap ?
Apart from ego or pride ?

 

[Clive]

I blame RTK GPS for lower yields !

Shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line right ?

So wiggly rows are longer than straight ones yes ?

Longer rows surely means more plants ?

 

[Farmer Roy]

Haha - when auto steer first came in 20 yrs or so ago, people always said there were more acres in a wiggly paddock
More acres - more tonnes right ?

 

[patrick4]

My trams are supposed to be 33m but they end up being 31.7m running a 3m drill, slight over lap on every run I suppose,have to turn off end sprayer nozzles by hand once headland is done sometimes I don't boder depending what's in tank or if I am tight on application rate for given fields. Haven't the confidence to move drill markers out a bit.

 

[Cowcorn]

Does it really matter, a bit of a wide guess row or the odd gap ?
Apart from ego or pride ?

In economic terms it makes shag all difference, but in small fields a good tight job is pleasing to the eye. Now to throw some petrol on the fire...... You no till boys are naturally untidy so dont really see the misses but a bad idea sloppy drilling job to a good ploughman well thats as bad as a badly ploughed field.

 

[Farmer Roy]

Haha - "tidyness" is in the eye of the beholder

 

[Oat]

My trams are supposed to be 33m but they end up being 31.7m running a 3m drill, slight over lap on every run I suppose,have to turn off end sprayer nozzles by hand once headland is done sometimes I don't boder depending what's in tank or if I am tight on application rate for given fields. Haven't the confidence to move drill markers out a bit.

What is not to be confident about? You know there is a problem, have identified the probable cause, and you know the likely solution. You have nothing to lose

 

[MrNoo]

Had a contractor powerharrow drill a couple of fields for me a year or so ago as too wet to get the Vaddy over it, no GPS and I ended up with 22m tramline spacing. He did a field last year mindful of the pee taking he'd had re his 22m tramlines and I ended up with 25m tramlines and gaps, so went and bought my own combi to do the job properly. I guess it all depends on how OCD you are about things, the trouble with GPS is that you get used to seeing beautiful straight lines over the whole farm and when you get someone in to drill "old school" it looks a bloody mess regardless.

 

[fenhayman]

In the 1960's , working for a contractor, I drilled 1000's of acres with a 21 row MH drill. Yes I left some gaps and once ran out of seed with half an acre left.
My post suggested that, despite all the new technology, the end result is worse.
I know that perfect drilling may not increase the yield but where is the pride or is it just a case of getting over the ground as quickly as possible and getting seed into most of it.

 

[MrNoo]

I certainly take pride in my drilling, after all I have to look at it for the rest of the year!!! An attentive operator can both take pride and cover the ground with the minimum of mistakes, blocked coulters happen, I check mine every fill up, some dont.

 

[fermec860]

I certainly take pride in my drilling, after all I have to look at it for the rest of the year!!! An attentive operator can both take pride and cover the ground with the minimum of mistakes, blocked coulters happen, I check mine every fill up, some dont.

With all the driver aids gps steering nice cabs electric alarms ect it should be easy but I'd seem to remember you used to be able see all the outlets on a mf 30 drill more so at night and be spot on driving with a two wheel drive tractor three rib tyre about 4 inches from the drill wheel mark

 

[fermec860]

With all the driver aids gps steering nice cabs electric alarms ect it should be easy but I'd seem to remember you used to be able see all the outlets on a mf 30 drill more so at night and be spot on driving with a two wheel drive tractor three rib tyre about 4 inches from the drill wheel mark

By the way we're on gps it's good but only as good as the driver you've still got A lot to watch

 

[Bob lincs]

If I wasn't no till I would broadcast, people who are tilling should be broadcasting imo, far cheaper, faster and a better job going on cover crop experience

I don’t think your allowed to broadcast seed with dressing on now .

 

[ratchet spanner]

My trams are supposed to be 33m but they end up being 31.7m running a 3m drill, slight over lap on every run I suppose,have to turn off end sprayer nozzles by hand once headland is done sometimes I don't boder depending what's in tank or if I am tight on application rate for given fields. Haven't the confidence to move drill markers out a bit.

My trams are supposed to be 33m but they end up being 31.7m running a 3m drill, slight over lap on every run I suppose,have to turn off end sprayer nozzles by hand once headland is done sometimes I don't boder depending what's in tank or if I am tight on application rate for given fields. Haven't the confidence to move drill markers out a bit.

I agree with Oat. If you can drill at 31.7 you could drill at 32.8. Go for it!