Seeders Seed drill for horse pasture advice

[Lldesign1]

Looking for advice on seeding & overseeding our horse fields (25 acres) already established with bahaia, coastal bermuda, tall type fescue mix. Soil is Alabama red clay in most areas. We have not been very successful in the past with trying to cover in some bare areas as well as overseeding with annual ryegrass in winter. Have subsoiled, chisel plowed, disc, and broadcasted in the past. Looking to purchase a seed drill, and need advice on type, brand, how well it will perform in these conditions, etc. We are a non-profit Thearaputic Horse Ministry for children with mental and physical challenges. Our available funds are limited, but we are hoping for some grant money to purchase this equipment and want to make the best choices we can, but don't know much about drills, etc. We have a 2wd John Deere 970 (approximately 30 hp) tractor. Is that enough machine to handle a drill? It does have a loader on front for counter weight.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. All of these type of descisions help us offer this 100% free program for over 650 children in East Alabama and West Georgia.

Thank you!

Scott Little
Storybook Farm Inc.
Opelika, Al. 36801
www:HOPEONHORSEBACK.ORG
www:650HOPE.COM

 

[dwhite]

I would rent a drill for a day. You don't need the costs of owning and maintaining a drill unless you raise crops or need to re-establish much larger pastures.

 

[wbuoni]

Have you had soil tests done? We live near LaFayette GA and have similar soil conditions.

We plan to reseed some of our pastures this year, but we'll likely kill everything off before drilling in new seed. Our local Co-Op rents the drills on a per acre basis. I recall the price was very reasonable.

 

[MMagis]

I agree, check with your local Co op or Soil Water Conservation District and rent one. Also see if they can offer advice on what may have gone wrong in the past.

 

[dusty3030]

Here is your local district.
Lee County Alabama SWCD

Here are your USDA contacts
Program Staff | Alabama NRCS

Extension Service
Alabama Cooperative Extension System - ACES.edu

List of Farm Coop Stores
Alabama Farmers Cooperative, Inc. > Store Locations > Store List

Rent it or hire it out. Small drills / seeders are very expensive.

 

[flusher]

Looking for advice on seeding & overseeding our horse fields (25 acres) already established with bahaia, coastal bermuda, tall type fescue mix. Soil is Alabama red clay in most areas. We have not been very successful in the past with trying to cover in some bare areas as well as overseeding with annual ryegrass in winter. Have subsoiled, chisel plowed, disc, and broadcasted in the past. Looking to purchase a seed drill, and need advice on type, brand, how well it will perform in these conditions, etc. We are a non-profit Thearaputic Horse Ministry for children with mental and physical challenges. Our available funds are limited, but we are hoping for some grant money to purchase this equipment and want to make the best choices we can, but don't know much about drills, etc. We have a 2wd John Deere 970 (approximately 30 hp) tractor. Is that enough machine to handle a drill? It does have a loader on front for counter weight.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. All of these type of descisions help us offer this 100% free program for over 650 children in East Alabama and West Georgia.

Thank you!

Scott Little
Storybook Farm Inc.
Opelika, Al. 36801
www:HOPEONHORSEBACK.ORG
www:650HOPE.COM

No problem handling a 10-ft wide drill with that JD 970.
If budget is a concern, you can check eBay for grain drills in the $500 to $2000 range) that are ready to go.
If you want to lower your purchase cost, you can do what I did--buy an old drill and fix it up yourself.
I bought two old Minneapolis Moline P3-6 drills (10-ft wide, 20 drops, single disc openers) from a neighbor for $275. Spent about $200 assembling one good drill out of the parts from both units.



I plant Kanota oats on 6 of my 10 acres. Took about 3 hours to seed the hayfield. Results were pretty good.

[/ATTACH]

Good luck

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I've had great success with renting a "slit seeder"/overseeder from one of several rental marts in my area. The last one I rented was a 6'er, 3-point hitch. (Landpride) It worked well on my MF150. I used it to spruce up about 45 acres of hay ground I have.

Conventional grain drills aren't usually capable of "no tilling" into existing pasture turf. That is a deal killer unless you plan on tilling again before the next seeding.

A larger AG style no till pasture drill will be a load-and-a-half on your tractor. I rented a HAYBUSTER brand 8' no till drill a couple years ago. It was a workout for my 60hp/8000lb Deere 2440. Not sure I'd want to try that on a smaller tractor. Also have some experience with an 8' Tye brand no till grass drill. It was even heavier than the HAYBUSTER.

Unless you have a LOT of pasture that will need yearly overseeding, I'd avoid purchasing a no till drill. They're expensive, and like a lot of equipment, it doesn't do 'em any good to just sit and rust.

As mentioned, check with local county extension office. MOST will have rental units, or can suggest local rental options.

 

[deereman75]

I would not buy a drill for that size field. When my dad was growing up, they used to seed a half section (360 acres) of barly fields with a 10 foot seed drill and a JD 70, every year. You should defenatly rent one for a field that size.

 

[Duffster]

I've had great success with renting a "slit seeder"/overseeder from one of several rental marts in my area. The last one I rented was a 6'er, 3-point hitch. (Landpride) It worked well on my MF150. I used it to spruce up about 45 acres of hay ground I have.

Conventional grain drills aren't usually capable of "no tilling" into existing pasture turf. That is a deal killer unless you plan on tilling again before the next seeding.

A larger AG style no till pasture drill will be a load-and-a-half on your tractor. I rented a HAYBUSTER brand 8' no till drill a couple years ago. It was a workout for my 60hp/8000lb Deere 2440. Not sure I'd want to try that on a smaller tractor. Also have some experience with an 8' Tye brand no till grass drill. It was even heavier than the HAYBUSTER.

Unless you have a LOT of pasture that will need yearly overseeding, I'd avoid purchasing a no till drill. They're expensive, and like a lot of equipment, it doesn't do 'em any good to just sit and rust.

As mentioned, check with local county extension office. MOST will have rental units, or can suggest local rental options.

The silt seeder is probably the best choice, second would be a no till drill. That said we have over seeded a lot of alfalfa with an old van brunt seeder with pretty good success.

 

[Duffster]

I would not buy a drill for that size field. When my dad was growing up, they used to seed a half section (360 acres) of barly fields with a 10 foot seed drill and a JD 70, every year. You should defenatly rent one for a field that size.

Are sections a different size in Canada?