You really do these videos in a good way so the layman understands what you are talking about. I’ve enjoyed all of them and I am now waiting for my DRL-072 to arrive. I’m looking forward to getting started with the new drill. Great points made on operation of the machine. Thank you so much for the great videos.👍😎
@@theback40I did receive my drill in late February and planted all of my spring plots with it. I love it and thanks to your detailed videos, I was able to calibrate it (somewhat). The gage needle has a lot of play in it nd I have tightened it up as much as possible. I also discovered not to travel to the plots without first locking down the adjustment lever. I’m still trying to get the depth adjustment figured out and I know you did a portion of a video about that. Any help or links would be appreciated. Thanks again.
@@Metroxl7226 Hey Earl, that's great news, and congratulations! Like all complicated pieces of machinery, there is a little bit of "art" to learning all the nuances and getting the adjustments right. Looking forward to hearing how it turns out. All the best to you.
Another great video Mark, I've been using my old disk for a crimper with good results. I set the disks to run straight and have no weight added, I do roll it first and lay it down and disk across it in other direction. It is a little more fuel and time but still way cheaper then buying a crimper. Keep up the great video's
Hey Mike, that's a great idea. I tried the same thing with my culti-packer, with terrible results. I don't think there is enough weight or sharp edge to do the job. But a disc is a great idea! And a lot of guys already have them, so please let us know how well this works. All the best to you!
@theback40 this is what I do as well… the one thing that concerns me is the additional passes and the associated possible compaction. But I’m hoping the deep rye roots help mitigate that. But yes I broadcast, roll, then disk at 90 degrees, good kill.
Built a roller crimper 2 winters ago cost me about $600 works very well...can send pix if you wish...actually you just gave me the idea after watching this video of possibly making it a loader mount for the front of the tractor, thanks Mark would love to see your results!!
Hey Randy, wish I had the skills to build one! The ultimate in efficiency would be the crimper on the front, drill on the back. One pass, and you are done. All the best to you. Would like to see pics, hit the "about" tab and my email is there.
I would also like to see a photo of your crimper. As Mark indicated if you had a crimper on the front to float along the ground and the planter on the back! That would be outstanding.
@@theback40 Mark - I do have the ablility to mount my 6' Goliath on the front of my tractor and my 5' Saya on the rear. As you say....under certain conditions that would be great.....but.....I want to plant into the standing rye for a couple of reasons....and then terminate in a few weeks. 1. Easer to plant into the standing rye. 2. The rye is not ready to crimp at the boot stage.....need to wait for the dough stage. 3. Need to get my warm season crop planted early so it can flourish before crimping and before fall. Best. Tom.
@@tompeterson3296 Ah, okay, I get it now. But will the new crop be too far along and also die when crimped? How long is too long? I suppose it will be fine for a week or two?
Very informative. New subscriber just off this video. I have exactly the same situation here in south central wi, super sandy soil. Just started no tilling 4 out of my 10 acres of plots last year. I have a great plains 6ft drill and broadcast 2 acres and drilled 2 acres. Way better results with drill-so another experiment out there that agrees with your conclusion. Definitely need to wait till all the rye has flowered good-which seemed behind this year due to cold spring. I also bought a crimper-if you can afford it its worth the money-lays it all down super flat and looks like its been hit with glyphosate after 2 days without having to spray. My 2 cents and looking forward to future updates
I have been waiting for this upload and you did not disappoint. I have a Saya 507 on order because of you. It’s clear to me that you are honestly assessing and reporting your experiments. Honestly you have helped me and for that thank you.
Hey David, glad I could be of help! That's really the reason I do this. Would appreciate some feedback from you on the 507 after using it a few times. Good luck with you "new toy" once it get here. All the best to you.
Glad I came across your video. Good timing for my reply. I am also in an area with sandy soil and have tried a few different methods thus far. I'll try and be quick and concise. Year 1 dozer clearing of plot and soil manipulation. Soil test (every year), fertilizer and lime as needed. I did all my planting with a genesis drill. So year 1 great crop. Virtually no weeds and a great stand. Fall cover crop of rye and terminated with herbicide next year for summer/early fall plot. Did ok with just the drill. Not near as thick and lush as the bare ground but I also did soybeans and the combination of dry conditions and deer made it tough. Fall plot did pretty well with minimal weeds oats/peas/beans on 1/2 and brassicas other half. Rye overseeding. This year really nice rye stand similar looking to yours. Plan was for summer release and crimping (yea I bought one). Process went great and almost total kill on the rye. Nice mulch/mat overall. As the crop started coming up I noticed some other green plants coming up just a bit faster--marestail. 2 weeks later it was everywhere and the plot was really suffering. No real guidance from greencover on how to manage (basically 2 options as I already knew) spray it burndown or let it go. Well since I didn't want it to go to seed I sprayed it all yesterday and planted soybeans again. So with my last 3 years results I can tell you my opinion is the no till drill is awesome and as that thatch layer gets built up I think those culters will be nice to have (though I do appreciate the financial aspect), I think for the average food plotter thinking of getting a really nice stand with no herbicide us is just not practical, and I'm not sure the crimper is mandatory as once the plant is dead and dry the wind seems to just carry the pieces away. However next year my plan is to plant, crimp, and then spray to see how much mulch layer I can keep on the ground. If it's not significant as in year 2 with just spraying I'll likely sell the crimper. Good luck and appreciate the video.
Hey Brandon, big thank you for taking the time to comment. Looking over my plots this weekend, I'm 50/50 right now if they will turn out, I'm seeing weeds and the planted crop fighting it out right now. I have a mild regret that I didn't burn it down with gly after planting, but I am sticking to my experiment to see how it turns out. I have the fall planting to recover if this one turns out to be a complete failure. So thankful for your comment about the roller/crimper and your results, please keep us updated as you progress. All the best to you.
they call that last years growth a trash layer and some good old fashioned manure from cattle or horses would give you a huge improvement in your soils quality. over the years just feeding the cows on the hill tops through the winter, has added a significant amount of top soil. keep up the good work, your definitely a contributor in proper conservation practices
Thank you! Would be great if I could get livestock on those fields. Even a shot of manure would be a great help, but the access trails are too tight to get a local farmer to pull some in for us. All the best to you.
More good content Mark! While I have somewhat less experience with my drill.....I am getting some awesome results too. I did get a roller crimper and I have planted GCC Summer Release....and some buckwheat and sunflowers...."green" into the standing rye. The rye popped back up in a few days.....and I now am waiting for the dough stage to put the roller crimper to it. (Goliath 6'er) Like seeing your follow-up videos. Keep up the great channel here. Best.
Hey Tom, thank you. I'll get an update video out soon. Right now I'm thinking I either needed to crimp it with an official crimper like your Goliath, or have sprayed to kill it first. BUT, we'll see in a few weeks. All the best to you.
awesome man we're just setting out doing exactly what you've been doing in the same type of soil. Ours is basically dead sand desert were trying to bring back the topsoil with no till. As for the crimper I'm making an oak log into an octagon on my sawmill and attaching angle iron on the 8 faces and mounting it on the front bucket. "roller crimper" lol great video keep the updates coming on what your noticing on soil improvement
Mark, looks real good. I will be starting this next spring. I am building a crimper in a couple weeks, I will send pics. I will be crimping all my buckwheat this fall. Great video.
Gosh, I am right in the same boat as you! Last year, I rented a seeder drill from the local co-op and it worked wonderfully, but as you mentioned... prices of these implements are super high. I love Grant's channel and his method, but I just can't afford (or make sense) of buying a new seeder + a roller crimper for my 2-3 acres of food-plotting. Great video and I love the patience you had with getting this out rather than rushing to post a pre-maturely decided verdict!
Mark....thanks for the update, a great video. I'll be planting my summer blend this or next weekend depending on the weather. I'll keep you posted. Bob
Hey Todd, thanks for the feedback. I should have asked you about that four years ago when I started this, LOL. I appreciate your confirmation on this, now we can focus on the best way to control weeds and such. All the best to you.
@@theback40 I really like that little packer on the back of the conventional drills. The SAYA does not have that. I too am in sand country.....and could get along with the conventional drill too. The only question I have is....will the duff and thatch become too great In time....and would those slicer coulters be of help. I do realize there are other no till products that do not use slicers.....but they are considerably heavier. You are proving the conventional to work.....Kudos! Tom
@@tompeterson3296 I am wondering the same thing Tom. So far, so good as it seems the thatch from the previous year is degraded enough that the drill cuts through, and this years fresh thatch is going "with the grain" so the discs can slip through the duff and get into the sand. I'm going to keep going with this process for now, but if the thatch gets to be too much and the drill is no longer effective, then we'll have to move on to an official no-till drill. But, I think we're going to be okay.
Great video! helpful tip for anyone who doesn't have sandy soil and needs a true no-till drill, check out your local soil and water department, farmers co-op, ect. You can rent a drill for somewhere around 10 bucks an acre.
Hey Christopher, good idea. I did this two years ago when I was first testing the concept, and it worked great. Only cost $100 to rent it, too. Just a bit inconvenient as it was 25 miles away and pulling it on the road is restricted to 25 mph. All the best to you.
Thank you! I would think it would be very similar. And if you are looking for a reason to get out on the side by side on your property, then I say YES, it will work great. All the best to you.
Mark, I really enjoy your updates. Seems like you have been doing the no till for a few years, have you seen much difference in the soil enhancement. Do you feel you are building soil and organic matter? I bought a 40 year old grain drill after watching your updates and will be drilling this spring. Keep the updates coming and congratulations to your wife and daughter for filling the freezer.
Hey Joe, thank you. I do feel the soil is building, but slower than I had hoped. Right now I am thinking it is a exponential not linear buildup of soil quality. I'll be testing the soil this spring and look forward to seeing the progress we have made since the last test two years ago. Will get an update to everyone then, too. Good luck with your classic drill!
Hey Brad, glad I could help. I'll keep throwing up videos as I experiment and learn, hopefully making it easier and faster for you to get your property and foodplots rockin'. All the best to you.
Very good video, once you hit the crimper pricing you really got my attention! LOL been doing this for many years as well always experimenting, and I like your methodology. Would I love a crimper and a no-till drill? Of course, but you're talking about 18 to $20,000! LOL
I’m getting great results from my cash crop after crimping the multi-species blend “Crazy Ray’s” fall cover crop. Use a Firminator with a Suzuki King Quad ATV on my ten acre plots. Planning to market this solution to farmers and land owners that want “big bucks” on their land.
Thanks for sharing; subscribing. Was thinking the same thing about floating the bucket. Bummer it didn't work well. Wonder how floating in reverse with a very slight angle of the blade would work. Might play with box blade scaping from the rear so can drive forward, but concerned about digging ; no float. Gly is over 300% $$ from last season, fuel ztill on the rise, the Assault Government of ours still 'fundamentally changing the nation" to a 3rd world status. Looking forward to your progress and exploring your older vids.
Hey David, those are a couple of good ideas. But I'm too late to try them now, the plantings are a few inches tall and I'm afraid I would break them off too and kill them. I got lucky and converted everything to no-till just in time for the seed, fertilizer, and diesel prices to go sky high. All the best to you.
@@theback40 I'm a wee bit behind you further north on the west side of the lower and a year or 2 behind in restoring the soil biome. Haven't yet brought up the tractor, so burned up my $-cost averaged gly (lol) to broadcast my cover mix into Rye & weeds. Awesome rain events shortly afterward, hoping for goid germination and more of a crimping b4 fall food plot planting.
@@davidvankainen6711 You have a plan, and that is half the battle. I lucked out and have two jugs of gly in the shop that I dollar cost averaged last year, so it's pretty low. I'm holding it and will sell when the market gets a bit higher, LOL. You got some good rain up there this weekend, should have pretty good chance at germination. All the best to you.
@@jameszynda462 Hey James, the bucket took out about half of it. There's a better way, just gotta figure it out, without spending $5k on a roller crimper. All the best to you.
Great video again! I too am in SW Michigan and want a no-till drill and a crimper but can't justify the cost. My soil is the same as yours so I'm going to keep an eye out for a nice used drill. Keep us posted on how that field germinates.
My first year was not successful and I have the great plains and a crimper, next spring I am going to plant then run my sickle bar more over the field to lay it down on top of the seed
@@theback40 The planter is the cats meow and if you had 100% cereal rye and lots of it, the roller I think would work fine but mine was mixed with oats and they stand right back up. Since we building soil and need the cover, I am going to use sickle next year, might spray but cutting right after planting
Good stuff! Did you happen to notice if a good percentage of the rye that was ran over by the tractor tires died compared to the rest? I’m a believer in weight at the right stage will kill the rye.. Thanks
Thanks! Still waiting to see how much of the rye died, but right now I would guess 1/3 of it is terminated from the wheel tracks of the tractor. I shoot an update video every few days and will consolidate them into a RUclips video in a week or two. All the best to you.
That is a great option, too, thanks for the comment. Anything that can lay it down in a consistent direction, not a random mess like a mower will work well. All the best to you.
Mark, I enjoyed your content. Especially the suggestion you made about newbies like me taking the time to learn the difference between a grain drill, a planter, and a grain drill. I have a unique property in Middle Georgia. And I have every soil type there is because my property is an old fish farm. And like you, I can’t justify some these initial upfront expense on a New No-Till and a 4K climber. So like most budget restricted Conservationist, I’m forced to try creative innovation and use the tools that I have. So I’d like your thoughts on this plan of action: Since my standing rye an wheat is well beyond the “doe” stage, I plan to seed extra heavy into my standing plots; then I plan to take my tractor like you did with the bucket tilted and pull my 7’ heavy duty cultipacker attached with a commercial grade spiked tooth drag harrow, (and affix extra weight onto the harrow )so that the spike create at least an 1.5 inch or better channels. I think the combined trauma/ force of the cultipacker in conjunction with the weighted spike tooth harrow should terminate and crimp just about anything. What do you think of the plan. And if the agitation of the weighted spiked tooth harrow terminates existing vegetation creates soil to seed contact, I may flip the harrow over on the smooth side and drag it with the 4 wheeler in an effort to further crimp the current vegetation and enhance the soil to seed contact. What do you think?
Hey Johnny, thank you. That plan sounds good, it's at least worth trying. Just hope the rye stalks don't get wrapped around and make a big "snowball". Let us know how it goes. All the best to you.
Hey Wayne, I don't have any experience with this to say for sure. But, I suspect if the drill had a way to add front coulters and maybe some additional weight, you could do it in "more clayish soil", especially if it is spring and the clay is softer from moisture. All the best to you.
If you were just starting the no-till process, would you initially disc and harrow to really get the fields flat? When I have disc'd in the past, it leaves ridges and I'm worried about the drill having constant contact. Possibly I'm using the disc incorrectly, but I can't usually get it nice and flat. Thanks for all your great videos. You and Dr Grant Woods are my two go to's!
Hey Brad, that is a good question, you're making me think too much in the morning, haven't even had my second cup of coffee yet. Ugh, I'm not a fan of ever disturbing the soil......for any reason. I think if it were me, I would at least try once or twice to make it work without flattening. If it doesn't work to your satisfaction (remember, we just need deer to use the plots, we're not cash cropping to feed our families) you could go back and do whatever you could to make adjustments. Good luck, and wishing you all the best. Let us know how it goes...
Hey Eric, I have continued to debate this in my mind, and right now I am planning on hitting it with herbicide this spring. I don't like it, just trying to get away from chemicals, but it's been 3 years since my last spray, I think that's pretty good. All the best to you.
Hey Jim, thanks. It hasn't been easy, the weeds are starting to win the war. I'm going to have to commit to buying a crimper, or using my already paid for sprayer, or figure out some other way, maybe more rye? Ugh. All the best to you.
I am worried you did not terminate all of the "old crop" from last year. It may not make a difference anyway. But PackerMaxx now has a cultipacker with a crimper for $1300. Don't know how well it works. Mike Kitchen's using his old disc (set without any angle) as a crimper may work for guys that still have a disc. And for the guys that are ok with chemicals that would work like it does for Jeff Sturgis. Enjoy your videos, tons of useful information. Continued success and have a great 2022 hunt.
Hi David, This will be my second season using the old disk as a crimper , I haven't had to use any chemicals and have had great results. I'm crimping buckwheat, winter rye and old brassicas
Hey David, thanks for the info. I checked the plots yesterday, and think you may be right with your concern. But, this is what makes it interesting to keep trying different techniques, we'll get it dialed in eventually. Thinking I should have sprayed it first, but I'm interested to see how it ends up looking in a few months. All the best to you!
Hello there. I have sandy soil and its been doing pretty good rotating buckwheat, then Rye. I have never used a grain drill, but I do have sandy soil. Would a grain drill work on “side hilling”? Or do you have to have fairly flat ground?
Hey Tim, we have very flat ground here, so I can't say how it will work "side hilling". Hopefully someone can comment on this that has experience in hill country. All the best to you.
Hi Mark just a follow up from our last conversation I came up with a setting of 2.5 for soybeans and 1.5 for corn in the large seed box. Where I live in S.E. Michigan we have heavy clay so no till planting with my DRL-72 would not be successful. Thanks for the great informative videos!
I was wondering the same thing because the tire tracks in the plots are still "down" a week later. I'm going to keep an eye on this and compare to see if it works. All the best to you!
Could you have small angle iron welded to the drive wheel of the Tar River and still make a one pass setup? I just thought of it as i was watching this video for the second time???
Hey Brad, good question. Not sure it would be heavy enough as we are using most of the drill weight to get the planting discs into the ground, and we would be taking the weight away from them so not sure how it would perform?
I have a kasco drill with a cultipacker on the back. I will drill one direction then drive back over it with the drill the opposite direction and it will cut the rye and kill it. I know it's an extra step but saves from buying a crimper.
Very interesting........I have tried going over a second time at 90 degrees to try crimping it with a cultipacker, but that doesn't work too well. Never thought about going the opposite direction to bend it back over and break it. I'll have to give this a try next year. All the best to you!
Great video Mark! I purchased a small 29 acre property in TN a couple of years ago. I saw that it had plenty of deer sign and the neighbors have great bedding that joins my property. I have a couple of fields that I won’t to turn into food plots. Do you recommend killing it with herbicide before planting or burning? I was considering both since burning won’t cost me anything but time. Just wanted to get your opinion. Or anyone else’s that may read this.
Hey Russell, thanks. Depends on your soil and typical rainfall there. For sure hit it with herbicide. If your soil doesn't need the protection of the thatch to hold in moisture, then you can burn it. But if the soil is light and doesn't hold moisture well, you may want to consider leaving the thatch in tact to help shield it from the sun and wind to hold moisture. All the best to you.
@@theback40 Thanks for the quick response! I have more of a clay rocky soil mix, and we normally get a decent amount of rain in TN, but of course that varies from year to year. I’m going to see if I can rent a grain drill to try. I spend enough money on deer hunting can’t see spending that much on a no till drill! Thanks again for your input and I will let you know how it all works out.
Good work getting away from spraying this is my 45 yr of food plotting and I’ve spayed a total of 1/4 ac and that was too much half the crap we spray for is prime forage
Hey James, thanks. I'm sticking to my original plan this year to see how no fertilizer and no spraying turns out. Lots of weeds, but this is for wildlife, not cash cropping to put food on my table.
Hey Mike, I did that last year, and it was ok, but not great. The random pattern of the thatch laying on the ground from mowing made it difficult for the drill to work in some spots. However, mowing it AFTER drilling in the seed may still be an option. I might give this a test still this year, not sure yet. All the best to you.
I tried a few different things with the equipment I already own, like running a weighted cultipacker over it, dropping the bucket down and scraping the ground as I planted, but none of it worked well enough. So last year I capitulated, and sprayed gly. Crimping would be great, but I don't feel like dropping $5k on one yet. I already own a good sprayer, so i'll stick with this for now. All the best to you.
I don't have any experience with clay, so it's best I don't make a recommendation. There are a few guys that have tried the no-till version of the same Tar River drill (part no. SAYA-507) I have because they have much heavier soil than we do here, but I'm not sure what they would say about the performance in clay. Search for some videos and hopefully you can find one that can answer your question. All the best to you.
Hey Mark great video I like the real world run down👍 where are your sponsors and how come your not trying to sell us nothing 🤣 and I had mist a couple of the last videos I'm all caught up now great job on the other videos 👍
Hey Jarrett, thank you. I did try that, and this drill is not heavy enough to cut the fresh thatch. If it was a true no-till drill, with cutting coulter and more weight, it would cut the thatch. All the best to you.
Hey Brian, thanks for the info. Do you know anyone that has used it yet? Would like their feedback. The grain drill weighs around 800 pounds empty. I threw a couple old window weights on it, plus the seed, so it probably runs in the 900-1000 pound range now. All the best to you.
Great video Mark. Been watching your Drill videos for while now. I'm in the central UP. My plots were ridges with TSI and what was left was either yellow sand and black sand. I'm a few miles from the lake Michigan shoreline, so think Beach Sand lol. For 3 summers now I've planted Rye and Wheat and only about half germinate, the rest is just laying on top. At the price of seed, that is money wasted. Since my plots are very hilly, my habitat consultant thought I might need to invest in a drill? I find my seed has washed down the hills, and grows thicker there. My side hills are almost bare. I need to continue to build the soil with Rye, wheat and oats, so I'm at the point of making an investment. So the DRL-72 would be best for sandy soil and $2000 cheaper than a SAYA-05? I will only be drilling through old thatch and green plants into all sand. I've looked at more quality drills but like you say, used they are $8000 and up. Seems like a lot of money to plant 4 acres twice a year. I've considered an old grain drill but they are at least 8-10 feet plus the wheel width, and that is hard to get through the woods from plot to plot. Just my opinion. Your thoughts? Keep of the great videos.
Hey Cregg, 100% agree with you. Since you have the same situation I do, I think the DRL-72 is the way to go. Only time will tell if this is a good long term solution, but for right now, I think it is. I might suggest you try mixing in some Crimson or Berseem clover with your rye, this will help pump some nitro into your soil and get the system working faster. All the best to you.
Hey Dave, a few guys following the channel have done that since they already had a flailmower, but I'm not sure how it went for them. Seem like it should be pretty good since the only problem with a brush hog type mower is the rows and clumps it leaves behind, which is not an issue with the flailmower. Unfortunately, I don't have one so can't test it and show you how it went. All the best to you.
Hey Greg, my tractor is a 3046R and can easily handle. You could get the DRL048 (4 foot wide instead off 6 foot) that weighs in at 568 pounds since the 1025r rear arms are rated for 681 pounds. The tractor will easily pull it, that's not the issue. The only issue is if the tractor can lift it. But I have found adding a few hundred pounds of weight to the drill help it perform better, so if you did this it could be marginal. But, if you're looking for an excuse to get a bigger tractory, this is it! All the best to you.
What is the cheapest tractor if I only need for grain drill, and potential no till drill in the future? I am preparing to start a farmstead, so I am trying to work out the required upfront fund. Thanks in advance for the info.
Hey Luke, congrats to you for your intended new farmstead, that's an admirable endeavor. As far as tractors, I am not informed enough to give you any guidance. I can say that it took me weeks to go visit the dealers, find reviews from users, compare specs, pricing etc... before I chose my tractor. Put in your research time and you'll be satisfied with your purchase. All the best to you.
Hey David, sorry, but I don't have any specific recommendations. But that's gotta be a pretty cool tractor! Look on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for a drill, there are some guys out there that are buying large farm drills at auctions and cutting them down into small ones for us guys. All the best to you.
Hey Just wondering, I have a finish flail mower for grinding trimmings in my vineyard. It can be lowered to skim down to the dirt and lays down a fine mulch layer as wide as the mower. Do you think using that after the grain drill planting would work to terminate the previous crop and cover the newly planted stuff?
Hey Kevin, it sure seems like it would work well, and a few other guys have commmented the same who already have a flail mower like you. But I can't recall if they ever confirmed back to me how it worked? If you give it a try, will you please let me know how it worked? All the best to you.
Hey JT, it's 7" spacing on the drill. I haven't tried 100% corn yet, but have planted it in a mix at about 5lb/acre, and it did very well. All the best to you!
I Mark i just seen your video thanks again on your honesty i am waiting for my no till drill the saya 507 it won’t be in until august i wonder if you have any news or information about it thanks again
If you think it is, you're probably right. We're working with sand here, so very soft no matter how moist or dry it is. If you have clay, that stuff gets so hard when it dries out, I don't think there is a chance this drill could work on that. I'm sure a real no-till drill would work though, just gotta get out the checkbook. All the best to you.
Hey Don, we're in West Michigan, call it the greater Grand Rapids area. Planted Green Cover Seed "Summer Release Blend" on May 28. I planted your clover/chickory blend years ago in my micro plots and game trails, did great, and now it's time for a refresh. BTW, your podcasts are great! All the best to you.
@@theback40 Thanks for the reply! I am always trying to learn what food plotters are doing successfully in different regions of the country. Keep up the great work!
Hey Chad, it's 46 HP, and easily handles the drill, almost like it's not even back there. The drill is around 800 pounds, probably 1000 pounds full of seed. All the best to you.
Hey Ryan, it is a Tar River brand, purchased from a local farm equipment dealer. It was $3500 out the door. Finding a dealer wasn't easy, I had to track down the master distributor, and ask them who they recommend, and then tell the local dealer that I was going to buy it from them and who to call at the master distributor. They didn't even know about it at the time, but they do now! All the best to you. In West Michigan, the dealer I purchased from was Burnips Equipment.
@@theback40 Thank you. Small world, that's not far from where I grew up. Saugatuck, MI. I live in Alabama now, but my folks are still up there in Michigan.
@@theback40 We just started this last year with our cattle plots. I am like you and want a few years of data to know for sure, but we have an organic farmer down here that cover crops his beds with Sunn Hemp and is seeing significant nitrogen revitalization, so just trying to copy that and see where we go.
@@deeko175 Good question, I'm not sure how effective it is on marestail. I have a problem with that stuff, too, and last year mowed it in August and hit it with gly, and it killed it pretty well. But, not sure if it was the mowing or the gly that killed it? Please comment if any of you have experience here, is 2-4-D appropriate for this stuff?
Hey Apollo, I agree, it is very expensive equipment just for foodplots. But, it's my hobby, and I get great enjoyment out of it. Some people spend money on boats, cars, vacations, cabins and such, but I spend mine on habitat. All the best to you.
Yes, we are drilling in the seed with the drill only, and now after another season, it is just getting better and better, and we are learning more and more. All the best to you.
Hey Jeddia, that is for sure the way to get it done properly, I'm just trying to save $5000 by figuring out a different way to get it done instead of buying a crimper. Thanks for watching, wishing all the best to you.
@@theback40 If you have, or know someone with, welding skills, you can build a crimper for a couple hundred bucks...errr...I mean dollars. We welded two 55-gallon steel drums together and used 1/4-inch steel stock for the blades. Adjust the weight by adding/removing sand as needed. Works perfect.
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You really do these videos in a good way so the layman understands what you are talking about. I’ve enjoyed all of them and I am now waiting for my DRL-072 to arrive. I’m looking forward to getting started with the new drill. Great points made on operation of the machine. Thank you so much for the great videos.👍😎
Hey Earl, thank you. Hope your new drill gets delivered in time for spring plantings! All the best to you.
@@theback40I did receive my drill in late February and planted all of my spring plots with it. I love it and thanks to your detailed videos, I was able to calibrate it (somewhat). The gage needle has a lot of play in it nd I have tightened it up as much as possible. I also discovered not to travel to the plots without first locking down the adjustment lever. I’m still trying to get the depth adjustment figured out and I know you did a portion of a video about that. Any help or links would be appreciated. Thanks again.
@@Metroxl7226 Hey Earl, that's great news, and congratulations! Like all complicated pieces of machinery, there is a little bit of "art" to learning all the nuances and getting the adjustments right. Looking forward to hearing how it turns out. All the best to you.
Another great video Mark, I've been using my old disk for a crimper with good results. I set the disks to run straight and have no weight added, I do roll it first and lay it down and disk across it in other direction. It is a little more fuel and time but still way cheaper then buying a crimper. Keep up the great video's
Man that is a great idea. I never would have thought of that
@@billhickman4826 , Hi Bill it has worked very well , I'm crimping winter rye , buckwheat and brassicas from previous year
Hey Mike, that's a great idea. I tried the same thing with my culti-packer, with terrible results. I don't think there is enough weight or sharp edge to do the job. But a disc is a great idea! And a lot of guys already have them, so please let us know how well this works. All the best to you!
@theback40 this is what I do as well… the one thing that concerns me is the additional passes and the associated possible compaction. But I’m hoping the deep rye roots help mitigate that. But yes I broadcast, roll, then disk at 90 degrees, good kill.
Built a roller crimper 2 winters ago cost me about $600 works very well...can send pix if you wish...actually you just gave me the idea after watching this video of possibly making it a loader mount for the front of the tractor, thanks Mark would love to see your results!!
Hey Randy, wish I had the skills to build one! The ultimate in efficiency would be the crimper on the front, drill on the back. One pass, and you are done. All the best to you. Would like to see pics, hit the "about" tab and my email is there.
I would also like to see a photo of your crimper. As Mark indicated if you had a crimper on the front to float along the ground and the planter on the back! That would be outstanding.
@@theback40 Mark - I do have the ablility to mount my 6' Goliath on the front of my tractor and my 5' Saya on the rear. As you say....under certain conditions that would be great.....but.....I want to plant into the standing rye for a couple of reasons....and then terminate in a few weeks. 1. Easer to plant into the standing rye. 2. The rye is not ready to crimp at the boot stage.....need to wait for the dough stage. 3. Need to get my warm season crop planted early so it can flourish before crimping and before fall. Best. Tom.
@@tompeterson3296 Ah, okay, I get it now. But will the new crop be too far along and also die when crimped? How long is too long? I suppose it will be fine for a week or two?
@@theback40 Yep......I'm hoping that it will work that way. Careful watch on the progress of both the rye and my new crop.
Great video! I like seeing people that try things out to see if they work for their situation. Not everyone's place is the same.
Couldn't agree with you more! Every property is different, ever owner has different goals, finaicial means, time etc....
Very informative. New subscriber just off this video. I have exactly the same situation here in south central wi, super sandy soil. Just started no tilling 4 out of my 10 acres of plots last year. I have a great plains 6ft drill and broadcast 2 acres and drilled 2 acres. Way better results with drill-so another experiment out there that agrees with your conclusion. Definitely need to wait till all the rye has flowered good-which seemed behind this year due to cold spring. I also bought a crimper-if you can afford it its worth the money-lays it all down super flat and looks like its been hit with glyphosate after 2 days without having to spray. My 2 cents and looking forward to future updates
Hey Dave, thank you so much for sharing your experiment results with all of us! I definitely have to work on the weed control part now...
I have been waiting for this upload and you did not disappoint. I have a Saya 507 on order because of you. It’s clear to me that you are honestly assessing and reporting your experiments. Honestly you have helped me and for that thank you.
Hey David, glad I could be of help! That's really the reason I do this. Would appreciate some feedback from you on the 507 after using it a few times. Good luck with you "new toy" once it get here. All the best to you.
That plot looks awesome! As I said in the earlier video, I'm so glad I found this video thread! Thanks for posting!
Thank you!
ruclips.net/video/fje5eL1oePY/видео.html&ab_channel=GrowingDeer.tv
Glad I came across your video. Good timing for my reply. I am also in an area with sandy soil and have tried a few different methods thus far. I'll try and be quick and concise. Year 1 dozer clearing of plot and soil manipulation. Soil test (every year), fertilizer and lime as needed. I did all my planting with a genesis drill. So year 1 great crop. Virtually no weeds and a great stand. Fall cover crop of rye and terminated with herbicide next year for summer/early fall plot. Did ok with just the drill. Not near as thick and lush as the bare ground but I also did soybeans and the combination of dry conditions and deer made it tough. Fall plot did pretty well with minimal weeds oats/peas/beans on 1/2 and brassicas other half. Rye overseeding. This year really nice rye stand similar looking to yours. Plan was for summer release and crimping (yea I bought one). Process went great and almost total kill on the rye. Nice mulch/mat overall. As the crop started coming up I noticed some other green plants coming up just a bit faster--marestail. 2 weeks later it was everywhere and the plot was really suffering. No real guidance from greencover on how to manage (basically 2 options as I already knew) spray it burndown or let it go. Well since I didn't want it to go to seed I sprayed it all yesterday and planted soybeans again. So with my last 3 years results I can tell you my opinion is the no till drill is awesome and as that thatch layer gets built up I think those culters will be nice to have (though I do appreciate the financial aspect), I think for the average food plotter thinking of getting a really nice stand with no herbicide us is just not practical, and I'm not sure the crimper is mandatory as once the plant is dead and dry the wind seems to just carry the pieces away. However next year my plan is to plant, crimp, and then spray to see how much mulch layer I can keep on the ground. If it's not significant as in year 2 with just spraying I'll likely sell the crimper. Good luck and appreciate the video.
Hey Brandon, big thank you for taking the time to comment. Looking over my plots this weekend, I'm 50/50 right now if they will turn out, I'm seeing weeds and the planted crop fighting it out right now. I have a mild regret that I didn't burn it down with gly after planting, but I am sticking to my experiment to see how it turns out. I have the fall planting to recover if this one turns out to be a complete failure. So thankful for your comment about the roller/crimper and your results, please keep us updated as you progress. All the best to you.
they call that last years growth a trash layer and some good old fashioned manure from cattle or horses would give you a huge improvement in your soils quality. over the years just feeding the cows on the hill tops through the winter, has added a significant amount of top soil. keep up the good work, your definitely a contributor in proper conservation practices
Thank you! Would be great if I could get livestock on those fields. Even a shot of manure would be a great help, but the access trails are too tight to get a local farmer to pull some in for us. All the best to you.
More good content Mark! While I have somewhat less experience with my drill.....I am getting some awesome results too. I did get a roller crimper and I have planted GCC Summer Release....and some buckwheat and sunflowers...."green" into the standing rye. The rye popped back up in a few days.....and I now am waiting for the dough stage to put the roller crimper to it. (Goliath 6'er) Like seeing your follow-up videos. Keep up the great channel here. Best.
Hey Tom, thank you. I'll get an update video out soon. Right now I'm thinking I either needed to crimp it with an official crimper like your Goliath, or have sprayed to kill it first. BUT, we'll see in a few weeks. All the best to you.
awesome man we're just setting out doing exactly what you've been doing in the same type of soil. Ours is basically dead sand desert were trying to bring back the topsoil with no till. As for the crimper I'm making an oak log into an octagon on my sawmill and attaching angle iron on the 8 faces and mounting it on the front bucket. "roller crimper" lol great video keep the updates coming on what your noticing on soil improvement
Cool idea on the roller crimper, that's a serious "regenerative" strategy using wood! Good luck on this project. All the best to you.
Mark, looks real good. I will be starting this next spring. I am building a crimper in a couple weeks, I will send pics. I will be crimping all my buckwheat this fall. Great video.
Thanks. I'm jealous you have the means to build your own crimper!!! All the best to you.
@@theback40 I will build you one after I make sure it works correctly. I think I can build one for about $300.00
@@BlueWidow2010 That a deal!!! Keep me posted.
I have been thinking of doing the same, If you make one please shoot a short video.
@@Kraig5821 @bluewindow2010, post it on your channel and get us the link...
Gosh, I am right in the same boat as you!
Last year, I rented a seeder drill from the local co-op and it worked wonderfully, but as you mentioned... prices of these implements are super high.
I love Grant's channel and his method, but I just can't afford (or make sense) of buying a new seeder + a roller crimper for my 2-3 acres of food-plotting.
Great video and I love the patience you had with getting this out rather than rushing to post a pre-maturely decided verdict!
Thanks! All the best to you.
Mark....thanks for the update, a great video. I'll be planting my summer blend this or next weekend depending on the weather. I'll keep you posted. Bob
As you know I will be using my 507.
Hey Bob, it's finally time to plant! All the best to you. Looking forward to hearing how it goes for you over the summer...
Thanks for the reply, I will keep you posted. I still think we will have to terminate the summer blend after planting the fall blend into it.
Thanks. Really good presentation, and a good portion of humility.
Thanks Peter! Hope you are having a great season.
Very informative video, conventional drills are basically no till drills in sand country, use them a lot. No need for coulters in sand.
Hey Todd, thanks for the feedback. I should have asked you about that four years ago when I started this, LOL. I appreciate your confirmation on this, now we can focus on the best way to control weeds and such. All the best to you.
@@theback40 I really like that little packer on the back of the conventional drills. The SAYA does not have that. I too am in sand country.....and could get along with the conventional drill too. The only question I have is....will the duff and thatch become too great In time....and would those slicer coulters be of help. I do realize there are other no till products that do not use slicers.....but they are considerably heavier. You are proving the conventional to work.....Kudos! Tom
@@tompeterson3296 I am wondering the same thing Tom. So far, so good as it seems the thatch from the previous year is degraded enough that the drill cuts through, and this years fresh thatch is going "with the grain" so the discs can slip through the duff and get into the sand. I'm going to keep going with this process for now, but if the thatch gets to be too much and the drill is no longer effective, then we'll have to move on to an official no-till drill. But, I think we're going to be okay.
Great video! helpful tip for anyone who doesn't have sandy soil and needs a true no-till drill, check out your local soil and water department, farmers co-op, ect. You can rent a drill for somewhere around 10 bucks an acre.
Great point! I started this whole process three years ago renting a Great Plains no-till drill from our county co-op for $100.
Nice video👍🏻. Another option that may also be available is to rent a no till drill from a local Co-op or County extension.
Hey Christopher, good idea. I did this two years ago when I was first testing the concept, and it worked great. Only cost $100 to rent it, too. Just a bit inconvenient as it was 25 miles away and pulling it on the road is restricted to 25 mph. All the best to you.
I wonder if you could use side by side with plow and get similar as bucket. Nice video well explained
Thank you! I would think it would be very similar. And if you are looking for a reason to get out on the side by side on your property, then I say YES, it will work great. All the best to you.
Mark, I really enjoy your updates. Seems like you have been doing the no till for a few years, have you seen much difference in the soil enhancement. Do you feel you are building soil and organic matter? I bought a 40 year old grain drill after watching your updates and will be drilling this spring. Keep the updates coming and congratulations to your wife and daughter for filling the freezer.
Hey Joe, thank you. I do feel the soil is building, but slower than I had hoped. Right now I am thinking it is a exponential not linear buildup of soil quality. I'll be testing the soil this spring and look forward to seeing the progress we have made since the last test two years ago. Will get an update to everyone then, too. Good luck with your classic drill!
A very informative and helpful video...Thanks for helping my research for my foodplot future
Hey Brad, glad I could help. I'll keep throwing up videos as I experiment and learn, hopefully making it easier and faster for you to get your property and foodplots rockin'. All the best to you.
Very good video, once you hit the crimper pricing you really got my attention! LOL been doing this for many years as well always experimenting, and I like your methodology. Would I love a crimper and a no-till drill? Of course, but you're talking about 18 to $20,000! LOL
Exactly! Well said. Thanks for the feedback too. We still have more to learn, and will share anyting we can. All the best to you!
It is the organic mater.that is what holds the moisture.i did it on farm scale,never go back
Hey Jeff, thank you for the comment. I was inspired by farmers like you to convert my process, and am so thankful. All the best to you.
I’m getting great results from my cash crop after crimping the multi-species blend “Crazy Ray’s” fall cover crop. Use a Firminator with a Suzuki King Quad ATV on my ten acre plots. Planning to market this solution to farmers and land owners that want “big bucks” on their land.
Hey Mike, that's great to hear. Glad you are having good results, and good luck on your marketing efforts. All the best to you.
Thanks for sharing; subscribing. Was thinking the same thing about floating the bucket. Bummer it didn't work well. Wonder how floating in reverse with a very slight angle of the blade would work. Might play with box blade scaping from the rear so can drive forward, but concerned about digging ; no float. Gly is over 300% $$ from last season, fuel ztill on the rise, the Assault Government of ours still 'fundamentally changing the nation" to a 3rd world status.
Looking forward to your progress and exploring your older vids.
Hey David, those are a couple of good ideas. But I'm too late to try them now, the plantings are a few inches tall and I'm afraid I would break them off too and kill them. I got lucky and converted everything to no-till just in time for the seed, fertilizer, and diesel prices to go sky high. All the best to you.
@@theback40 I'm a wee bit behind you further north on the west side of the lower and a year or 2 behind in restoring the soil biome. Haven't yet brought up the tractor, so burned up my $-cost averaged gly (lol) to broadcast my cover mix into Rye & weeds. Awesome rain events shortly afterward, hoping for goid germination and more of a crimping b4 fall food plot planting.
@@davidvankainen6711 You have a plan, and that is half the battle. I lucked out and have two jugs of gly in the shop that I dollar cost averaged last year, so it's pretty low. I'm holding it and will sell when the market gets a bit higher, LOL. You got some good rain up there this weekend, should have pretty good chance at germination. All the best to you.
Gotta break the stems to get it to lay flat
@@jameszynda462 Hey James, the bucket took out about half of it. There's a better way, just gotta figure it out, without spending $5k on a roller crimper. All the best to you.
Great video again! I too am in SW Michigan and want a no-till drill and a crimper but can't justify the cost. My soil is the same as yours so I'm going to keep an eye out for a nice used drill. Keep us posted on how that field germinates.
Sure thing Brad. All the best to you.
My first year was not successful and I have the great plains and a crimper, next spring I am going to plant then run my sickle bar more over the field to lay it down on top of the seed
Rats! I would have thought the GP and crimper would be the perfect combination. Keep us updated please. All the best to you.
@@theback40 The planter is the cats meow and if you had 100% cereal rye and lots of it, the roller I think would work fine but mine was mixed with oats and they stand right back up. Since we building soil and need the cover, I am going to use sickle next year, might spray but cutting right after planting
Good stuff!
Did you happen to notice if a good percentage of the rye that was ran over by the tractor tires died compared to the rest? I’m a believer in weight at the right stage will kill the rye.. Thanks
Thanks! Still waiting to see how much of the rye died, but right now I would guess 1/3 of it is terminated from the wheel tracks of the tractor. I shoot an update video every few days and will consolidate them into a RUclips video in a week or two. All the best to you.
I know most of the rye dies with my setup. 45HP Kubota pulling an old John Deere 2 row planter.
Sickle bar works for me - 100% kill on small grains. Just don't try to cross the direction of the cut with your drill when you come back to plant ;)
That is a great option, too, thanks for the comment. Anything that can lay it down in a consistent direction, not a random mess like a mower will work well. All the best to you.
Mark, I enjoyed your content. Especially the suggestion you made about newbies like me taking the time to learn the difference between a grain drill, a planter, and a grain drill. I have a unique property in Middle Georgia. And I have every soil type there is because my property is an old fish farm. And like you, I can’t justify some these initial upfront expense on a New No-Till and a 4K climber. So like most budget restricted Conservationist, I’m forced to try creative innovation and use the tools that I have.
So I’d like your thoughts on this plan of action: Since my standing rye an wheat is well beyond the “doe” stage, I plan to seed extra heavy into my standing plots; then I plan to take my tractor like you did with the bucket tilted and pull my 7’ heavy duty cultipacker attached with a commercial grade spiked tooth drag harrow, (and affix extra weight onto the harrow )so that the spike create at least an 1.5 inch or better channels. I think the combined trauma/ force of the cultipacker in conjunction with the weighted spike tooth harrow should terminate and crimp just about anything. What do you think of the plan. And if the agitation of the weighted spiked tooth harrow terminates existing vegetation creates soil to seed contact, I may flip the harrow over on the smooth side and drag it with the 4 wheeler in an effort to further crimp the current vegetation and enhance the soil to seed contact. What do you think?
Hey Johnny, thank you. That plan sounds good, it's at least worth trying. Just hope the rye stalks don't get wrapped around and make a big "snowball". Let us know how it goes. All the best to you.
Could you not use a grain drill and modify by adding front coulters if your soil is not sandy and it work for more clayish soil?
Hey Wayne, I don't have any experience with this to say for sure. But, I suspect if the drill had a way to add front coulters and maybe some additional weight, you could do it in "more clayish soil", especially if it is spring and the clay is softer from moisture. All the best to you.
If you were just starting the no-till process, would you initially disc and harrow to really get the fields flat? When I have disc'd in the past, it leaves ridges and I'm worried about the drill having constant contact. Possibly I'm using the disc incorrectly, but I can't usually get it nice and flat. Thanks for all your great videos. You and Dr Grant Woods are my two go to's!
Hey Brad, that is a good question, you're making me think too much in the morning, haven't even had my second cup of coffee yet. Ugh, I'm not a fan of ever disturbing the soil......for any reason. I think if it were me, I would at least try once or twice to make it work without flattening. If it doesn't work to your satisfaction (remember, we just need deer to use the plots, we're not cash cropping to feed our families) you could go back and do whatever you could to make adjustments. Good luck, and wishing you all the best. Let us know how it goes...
Looks great. The only question I have is why not hit it w roundup right before drilling?
Hey Eric, I have continued to debate this in my mind, and right now I am planning on hitting it with herbicide this spring. I don't like it, just trying to get away from chemicals, but it's been 3 years since my last spray, I think that's pretty good. All the best to you.
Exceptional video quality and great information provided on the how and why of no-till planting. Northern Michigan?
Thank you Jason. West Michigan, greater Grand Rapids area. All the best to you.
Great to see you not using any poison.
Hey Jim, thanks. It hasn't been easy, the weeds are starting to win the war. I'm going to have to commit to buying a crimper, or using my already paid for sprayer, or figure out some other way, maybe more rye? Ugh. All the best to you.
I am worried you did not terminate all of the "old crop" from last year. It may not make a difference anyway. But PackerMaxx now has a cultipacker with a crimper for $1300. Don't know how well it works. Mike Kitchen's using his old disc (set without any angle) as a crimper may work for guys that still have a disc. And for the guys that are ok with chemicals that would work like it does for Jeff Sturgis. Enjoy your videos, tons of useful information. Continued success and have a great 2022 hunt.
Hi David, This will be my second season using the old disk as a crimper , I haven't had to use any chemicals and have had great results. I'm crimping buckwheat, winter rye and old brassicas
Hey David, thanks for the info. I checked the plots yesterday, and think you may be right with your concern. But, this is what makes it interesting to keep trying different techniques, we'll get it dialed in eventually. Thinking I should have sprayed it first, but I'm interested to see how it ends up looking in a few months. All the best to you!
Will be very interesting to see your results.
Fingers crossed!
Hello there. I have sandy soil and its been doing pretty good rotating buckwheat, then Rye. I have never used a grain drill, but I do have sandy soil. Would a grain drill work on “side hilling”? Or do you have to have fairly flat ground?
Hey Tim, we have very flat ground here, so I can't say how it will work "side hilling". Hopefully someone can comment on this that has experience in hill country. All the best to you.
Hi Mark just a follow up from our last conversation I came up with a setting of 2.5 for soybeans and 1.5 for corn in the large seed box. Where I live in S.E. Michigan we have heavy clay so no till planting with my DRL-72 would not be successful. Thanks for the great informative videos!
Hey Jason, thanks for the settings, this will help a lot of guys as I get a lot of questions about this. All the best to you!
Hell yeah Mark! What if after you planted all of it, you drove over all of it almost using your tires as a crimper? I’d imagine that would work well….
I was wondering the same thing because the tire tracks in the plots are still "down" a week later. I'm going to keep an eye on this and compare to see if it works. All the best to you!
Will be interesting to see the results of your food plot.
We still have some things to figure out, I'm looking forward to solving the puzzle. All the best to you.
Could you have small angle iron welded to the drive wheel of the Tar River and still make a one pass setup? I just thought of it as i was watching this video for the second time???
Hey Brad, good question. Not sure it would be heavy enough as we are using most of the drill weight to get the planting discs into the ground, and we would be taking the weight away from them so not sure how it would perform?
I have a kasco drill with a cultipacker on the back. I will drill one direction then drive back over it with the drill the opposite direction and it will cut the rye and kill it. I know it's an extra step but saves from buying a crimper.
Very interesting........I have tried going over a second time at 90 degrees to try crimping it with a cultipacker, but that doesn't work too well. Never thought about going the opposite direction to bend it back over and break it. I'll have to give this a try next year. All the best to you!
Great video Mark! I purchased a small 29 acre property in TN a couple of years ago. I saw that it had plenty of deer sign and the neighbors have great bedding that joins my property.
I have a couple of fields that I won’t to turn into food plots. Do you recommend killing it with herbicide before planting or burning? I was considering both since burning won’t cost me anything but time. Just wanted to get your opinion. Or anyone else’s that may read this.
Hey Russell, thanks. Depends on your soil and typical rainfall there. For sure hit it with herbicide. If your soil doesn't need the protection of the thatch to hold in moisture, then you can burn it. But if the soil is light and doesn't hold moisture well, you may want to consider leaving the thatch in tact to help shield it from the sun and wind to hold moisture. All the best to you.
@@theback40 Thanks for the quick response! I have more of a clay rocky soil mix, and we normally get a decent amount of rain in TN, but of course that varies from year to year. I’m going to see if I can rent a grain drill to try. I spend enough money on deer hunting can’t see spending that much on a no till drill! Thanks again for your input and I will let you know how it all works out.
@@russellstanley8100 Renting a drill is a great strategy. Best of luck to you, keep us updated.
Good work getting away from spraying this is my 45 yr of food plotting and I’ve spayed a total of 1/4 ac and that was too much half the crap we spray for is prime forage
Hey James, thanks. I'm sticking to my original plan this year to see how no fertilizer and no spraying turns out. Lots of weeds, but this is for wildlife, not cash cropping to put food on my table.
Would it have been beneficial to brush hog or mow the existing crop down first before planting?
Hey Mike, I did that last year, and it was ok, but not great. The random pattern of the thatch laying on the ground from mowing made it difficult for the drill to work in some spots. However, mowing it AFTER drilling in the seed may still be an option. I might give this a test still this year, not sure yet. All the best to you.
Great video! Do you spray gly or crimp to terminate your cover?
I tried a few different things with the equipment I already own, like running a weighted cultipacker over it, dropping the bucket down and scraping the ground as I planted, but none of it worked well enough. So last year I capitulated, and sprayed gly. Crimping would be great, but I don't feel like dropping $5k on one yet. I already own a good sprayer, so i'll stick with this for now. All the best to you.
Great video! What implement do you recommend for clay soil?
I don't have any experience with clay, so it's best I don't make a recommendation. There are a few guys that have tried the no-till version of the same Tar River drill (part no. SAYA-507) I have because they have much heavier soil than we do here, but I'm not sure what they would say about the performance in clay. Search for some videos and hopefully you can find one that can answer your question. All the best to you.
Hey Mark great video I like the real world run down👍 where are your sponsors and how come your not trying to sell us nothing 🤣 and I had mist a couple of the last videos I'm all caught up now great job on the other videos 👍
Hey Rack Man, LOL!
Right off the bat when he says he's not taking idiot advice and giving it time before he makes a decision commands respect.
Thanks Josh.
Great video! Just a suggestion, but why not use bucket to lay down thatch then seed it perpendicular to how you laid it down? Drill would cut thatch
Hey Jarrett, thank you. I did try that, and this drill is not heavy enough to cut the fresh thatch. If it was a true no-till drill, with cutting coulter and more weight, it would cut the thatch. All the best to you.
Earth works sells a small roller crimper for under $1,000. Question, how much does your grain drill weigh?
Hey Brian, thanks for the info. Do you know anyone that has used it yet? Would like their feedback. The grain drill weighs around 800 pounds empty. I threw a couple old window weights on it, plus the seed, so it probably runs in the 900-1000 pound range now. All the best to you.
No till is an excellent method that reduces soil erosion. Aldo Leopold would be beaming with pride.
This difference is quite stunning. If we knew about this method back in his days, I'm sure he would have been an advocate! All the best to you.
Great video Mark. Been watching your Drill videos for while now. I'm in the central UP. My plots were ridges with TSI and what was left was either yellow sand and black sand. I'm a few miles from the lake Michigan shoreline, so think Beach Sand lol. For 3 summers now I've planted Rye and Wheat and only about half germinate, the rest is just laying on top. At the price of seed, that is money wasted. Since my plots are very hilly, my habitat consultant thought I might need to invest in a drill? I find my seed has washed down the hills, and grows thicker there. My side hills are almost bare. I need to continue to build the soil with Rye, wheat and oats, so I'm at the point of making an investment. So the DRL-72 would be best for sandy soil and $2000 cheaper than a SAYA-05? I will only be drilling through old thatch and green plants into all sand. I've looked at more quality drills but like you say, used they are $8000 and up. Seems like a lot of money to plant 4 acres twice a year. I've considered an old grain drill but they are at least 8-10 feet plus the wheel width, and that is hard to get through the woods from plot to plot. Just my opinion. Your thoughts? Keep of the great videos.
Hey Cregg, 100% agree with you. Since you have the same situation I do, I think the DRL-72 is the way to go. Only time will tell if this is a good long term solution, but for right now, I think it is. I might suggest you try mixing in some Crimson or Berseem clover with your rye, this will help pump some nitro into your soil and get the system working faster. All the best to you.
New subscriber! Looking forward to following along
Hey Aaron, thank you! We still have a bit more to figure out, but we're making progress.
How about if you went over with a flailmower after seeding , it would knock everthing down and leave a nice thatch
Dave
Hey Dave, a few guys following the channel have done that since they already had a flailmower, but I'm not sure how it went for them. Seem like it should be pretty good since the only problem with a brush hog type mower is the rows and clumps it leaves behind, which is not an issue with the flailmower. Unfortunately, I don't have one so can't test it and show you how it went. All the best to you.
What size tractor is that? I have a 1025r....do you think it could handle that drill?
Hey Greg, my tractor is a 3046R and can easily handle. You could get the DRL048 (4 foot wide instead off 6 foot) that weighs in at 568 pounds since the 1025r rear arms are rated for 681 pounds. The tractor will easily pull it, that's not the issue. The only issue is if the tractor can lift it. But I have found adding a few hundred pounds of weight to the drill help it perform better, so if you did this it could be marginal. But, if you're looking for an excuse to get a bigger tractory, this is it! All the best to you.
What is the cheapest tractor if I only need for grain drill, and potential no till drill in the future?
I am preparing to start a farmstead, so I am trying to work out the required upfront fund.
Thanks in advance for the info.
Hey Luke, congrats to you for your intended new farmstead, that's an admirable endeavor. As far as tractors, I am not informed enough to give you any guidance. I can say that it took me weeks to go visit the dealers, find reviews from users, compare specs, pricing etc... before I chose my tractor. Put in your research time and you'll be satisfied with your purchase. All the best to you.
Any recommendations on a drill for a small old 20hp Massey from the 80s ?
Hey David, sorry, but I don't have any specific recommendations. But that's gotta be a pretty cool tractor! Look on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for a drill, there are some guys out there that are buying large farm drills at auctions and cutting them down into small ones for us guys. All the best to you.
@The Back 40 ok thanks and may 2023 be a good growing year for you
Hey
Just wondering, I have a finish flail mower for grinding trimmings in my vineyard. It can be lowered to skim down to the dirt and lays down a fine mulch layer as wide as the mower. Do you think using that after the grain drill planting would work to terminate the previous crop and cover the newly planted stuff?
Hey Kevin, it sure seems like it would work well, and a few other guys have commmented the same who already have a flail mower like you. But I can't recall if they ever confirmed back to me how it worked? If you give it a try, will you please let me know how it worked? All the best to you.
@@theback40 yes I will get back to you.
Just found your channel man , keep up the good work
Thank you! All the best to you.
What is the spacing between planters? I like how thick you planting is. Have you tried corn?
Hey JT, it's 7" spacing on the drill. I haven't tried 100% corn yet, but have planted it in a mix at about 5lb/acre, and it did very well. All the best to you!
I Mark i just seen your video thanks again on your honesty i am waiting for my no till drill the saya 507 it won’t be in until august i wonder if you have any news or information about it thanks again
Hey Giuseppe, hopefully you get the new 507 in time for planting your fall plots! All the best to you.
This what I’ve been wanting to do. Unfortunately I think my ground is too hard.
If you think it is, you're probably right. We're working with sand here, so very soft no matter how moist or dry it is. If you have clay, that stuff gets so hard when it dries out, I don't think there is a chance this drill could work on that. I'm sure a real no-till drill would work though, just gotta get out the checkbook. All the best to you.
@@theback40 I'm on 40 acres also so the checkbook ain't opening that far!
@@GunnyArtG LOL! I feel it too...
Where are you located, what did you plant and what date did you plant it? Thanks
Hey Don, we're in West Michigan, call it the greater Grand Rapids area. Planted Green Cover Seed "Summer Release Blend" on May 28. I planted your clover/chickory blend years ago in my micro plots and game trails, did great, and now it's time for a refresh. BTW, your podcasts are great! All the best to you.
@@theback40 Thanks for the reply! I am always trying to learn what food plotters are doing successfully in different regions of the country. Keep up the great work!
@@chasinggiantswithhigginsou6147 Thanks, you do the same!
What size tractor do you have hooked to that drill?
Hey Chad, it's 46 HP, and easily handles the drill, almost like it's not even back there. The drill is around 800 pounds, probably 1000 pounds full of seed. All the best to you.
Yes! no-till for the win!
Hey Gavin, LOL! Thanks, and all the best to you.
Where did you get your grain drill and what brand is it? Total cost, please? Thank you!
Hey Ryan, it is a Tar River brand, purchased from a local farm equipment dealer. It was $3500 out the door. Finding a dealer wasn't easy, I had to track down the master distributor, and ask them who they recommend, and then tell the local dealer that I was going to buy it from them and who to call at the master distributor. They didn't even know about it at the time, but they do now! All the best to you. In West Michigan, the dealer I purchased from was Burnips Equipment.
@@theback40 Thank you. Small world, that's not far from where I grew up. Saugatuck, MI. I live in Alabama now, but my folks are still up there in Michigan.
@@ryanschoon8699 Small world indeed. That's only about an hour away.
New subscriber. Brilliant video 💪🏻 🏴
Thank you Iordof! Hope it helps. All the best to you.
Looks good!
Thanks Joe. Hope you are getting good results in your plots, too. All the best to you.
@@theback40 We just started this last year with our cattle plots. I am like you and want a few years of data to know for sure, but we have an organic farmer down here that cover crops his beds with Sunn Hemp and is seeing significant nitrogen revitalization, so just trying to copy that and see where we go.
@@joesaucer7367 Nice! Keep us updated please.
@@theback40 Sounds good. Our intern is documenting everything on @crazy meets crazy channel
@@joesaucer7367 Can't seem to find your channel, could you past a link here?
Great video! I like the information you are disseminating. Just hit it with glyphosate after you plant. 😉
Thank you. I'm starting to think the same thing about hitting it with glyphosate, but wanted to try one time without.
Gly doesn’t kill mares tail, correct? Anyone have advice on how to keep that stuff in check?
@@deeko175 Good question, I'm not sure how effective it is on marestail. I have a problem with that stuff, too, and last year mowed it in August and hit it with gly, and it killed it pretty well. But, not sure if it was the mowing or the gly that killed it? Please comment if any of you have experience here, is 2-4-D appropriate for this stuff?
Please at some point give us an update, great video!
I have been shooting quick updates every few days, and will put them together and publish something in a week or so. All the best to you.
Nice family
Thanks Jay. All the best to you.
Crazy idea.... go over with an empty drill perpendicular to your first pass. Your drill will act as a supper crimper!
OK! Now there's a good idea, hadn't though of that one. Thank you! I'm going to have to give this a try.
👍
Thanks Fred, all the best to you.
yeah but a tractor and drill isnt worth a deer plot.
Hey Apollo, I agree, it is very expensive equipment just for foodplots. But, it's my hobby, and I get great enjoyment out of it. Some people spend money on boats, cars, vacations, cabins and such, but I spend mine on habitat. All the best to you.
No-till? And proceeds to drill the seed in.
Yes, we are drilling in the seed with the drill only, and now after another season, it is just getting better and better, and we are learning more and more. All the best to you.
You need to use a crimper to knock down the standing vegetation before planting.
Hey Jeddia, that is for sure the way to get it done properly, I'm just trying to save $5000 by figuring out a different way to get it done instead of buying a crimper. Thanks for watching, wishing all the best to you.
@@theback40 If you have, or know someone with, welding skills, you can build a crimper for a couple hundred bucks...errr...I mean dollars. We welded two 55-gallon steel drums together and used 1/4-inch steel stock for the blades. Adjust the weight by adding/removing sand as needed. Works perfect.