Why not broadcast cereals with a fertiliser spreader to save the cost of a drill?

[Gadget]

When ICI published the results of the 10 tonne club they broke the operations down for analysis. With the drilling, precision drilling had the highest yields followed by broadcasting.
We used to do a lot at 40ft, followed by two 20ft springtines. As has been said the pre em sprays worried us so, when they became the norm, we went back to a drill

 

[neilo]

I haven’t put spray on pre-em on Winter Barley for several years now, choosing to go in peri-emergence instead, when I want to go through with insecticide anyway.
Admittedly I don’t have blackgrass to worry about, but the chem seems to work just as well.

Would that be an option on broadcast crops, if the pre-em is a concern?

 

[serf]

 

[DrWazzock]

And any time I want to sell a grain drill or for that matter any other piece of kit it’s never a horrendous price.

 

[nxy]

A 6m secondhand light tine drill wouldn't be much slower, and you'd know the seed was buried. If a kkk would go properly, so would it.

You would think so but a few years ago we bought a Kverneland tine seeder to do the job when it got wet. I quite liked it in the dry until we got a Vaderstad Rapid and found out what real depth control was.

In difficult conditions the tine seeder was pretty hit and miss as the tiny wheels sunk in the wet spots (when they were still going round and not come to a stop). Even how much seed was in the drill made a difference to how deep it drilled. Plus it was only 5m wide and we got on so much faster broadcasting that it got sold.

 

[David.]

You would think so but a few years ago we bought a Kverneland tine seeder to do the job when it got wet. I quite liked it in the dry until we got a Vaderstad Rapid and found out what real depth control was.

In difficult conditions the tine seeder was pretty hit and miss as the tiny wheels sunk in the wet spots (when they were still going round and not come to a stop). Even how much seed was in the drill made a difference to how deep it drilled. Plus it was only 5m wide and we got on so much faster broadcasting that it got sold.

Ah, proper wet....

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

This was why ploughing with horses was done carefully and neatly with small furrow width. We used to hand broadcast onto such neat furrows that the seed fell into the grooves and once harrowed over it was all at the right depth. It even came up in rows. We even had a bean drill that fitted on the side of the horse plough.
A lot of that finesse was lost as things got bigger and bigger so it now it costs eleventy billion pounds …… to achieve the same end result….. and all the folks that would have been employed on it are sat on council estates watching day time TV.

Some of us still do it

 

[Tractorstant]

Broadcast all my stubble turnips this year . Quick and surprisingly accurate .View attachment 995597

I remember the farmer who's land our house backed on to spinning on stubble turnips...not very accurately all ended up in mothers precious flower beds....she went potty!

 

[Case290]

also got free fertiliser 2 then

 

[DRC]

I remember the farmer who's land our house backed on to spinning on stubble turnips...not very accurately all ended up in mothers precious flower beds....she went potty!

When I was a lad it was quite normal to have fertiliser and stubble turnips spread from an airplane . Dad had a field done which drifted over a neighbours field . He had a good crop of turnips for free over half his field .

 

[Flatlander]

A few tried it here in a wet year but it was hit and miss. Ok if it keeps raining until it’s got roots down but if it drys out you’ve got patchy crops. Reminds me of a seed rate talk I had with dad when I was a kid. he seeded on the heavier side but always said Fir seed. One fir the slug one for the crow one to go on top then the one to grow. Will have to be pretty dire before im filling the fertilizer spreader.

 

[Bury the Trash]

The soil here doesn't dry out between October and February at least , broadcast ed seed in good conditions in early October , carefully covered will do as well as any drilled seed and save the running costs and capital cost of a drill
Proven fact.

 

[yellow belly]

The cost of a broardcast crop is higher on average to a notilled crop
more crop failure or more weeds with no preem more intensive cultivation more failed crops due to pests( slugs pigeons crows have a field day )

 

[neilo]

Wasn’t there a DD trial (at @Clive ’s ?) a couple of years ago, with lots of different drills used. Iirc the best crop was established by broadcasting and a run over with a Carrier wasn’t it?

 

[nxy]

The cost of a broardcast crop is higher on average to a notilled crop
more crop failure or more weeds with no preem more intensive cultivation more failed crops due to pests( slugs pigeons crows have a field day )

I agree with you. Its just dragging a big no till drill around isn't always an option. I wonder how many drills the average arable farm have to cover all conditions. I know I have 4.

 

[warksfarmer]

Now that grain drills are such a horrendous price, I was wondering if anybody of you have broadcast cereal seed on a field or two, as a trial .
The work rate using a fert spreader to spread cereal seed at 24mtr or more would be a game changer. If then followed with a 12mtr wide set of heavy drag harrows ( if such a set are made) to harrow the seed in, planting ones cereals would be a very quick operation.
Have any of you “tray tested” your spreader for wheat or barley to see what the spread pattern is like, so you know how much to overlap to get even seed distribution across the field, auto steer comes into own to get the job done accurately.
Also does broadcasting allow each individual seed more space to grow / tiller, unlike conventional rows as in attached pic
I ask the above as a retired farmer,seeing the price of machinery/implements going through the roof.

There isn’t any savings as you need to spread more seed than you would drill. And just buy a used direct drill then you don’t need to cultivate like you would if broadcasting.

Broadcasting is a last resort for a tillage system if it’s to wet for drills to run.

 

[Lowland1]

View attachment 995621
Some of us still do it

We did something similar with our discordan nice straight ridges on gps spun the seed on most falls in the furrows then cultipressed in. It actually looked like in had been drilled the main problem not enough seed on the outside breeds and too much on the gorings

 

[Sharpy]

This was why ploughing with horses was done carefully and neatly with small furrow width. We used to hand broadcast onto such neat furrows that the seed fell into the grooves and once harrowed over it was all at the right depth. It even came up in rows. We even had a bean drill that fitted on the side of the horse plough.
A lot of that finesse was lost as things got bigger and bigger so it now it costs eleventy billion pounds …… to achieve the same end result….. and all the folks that would have been employed on it are sat on council estates watching day time TV.

Oat seed furrow?

 

[DrWazzock]

Oat seed furrow?

I would think it would have been oats. They grew oats and turnips and potatoes near Glasgow on thin stony soils. And mostly grass for the Ayrshire’s.

 

[DrWazzock]

We have broadcast into pressed ploughing with some success. Seed falls into the press ring grooves.
Best results we find with OSR and grass seed is broadcast onto Cambridge rolled land. Mostly all at 1/2” into roller grooves then harrowed over. Better than drilling every time. Use Alvan Blanche brush box to sprinkle seed on.