Grain drills

[bdog]

I am needing a three point grain drill. It doesn’t need to be no till. I would like a 7’ planting width. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of options on the market. I will be planting winter wheat food plots for deer and hay grazer around my house to graze cattle on.

I have found the following and am curious if anyone has any experience and feedback on them.

Woods FPS84 Food Plot Seeder - Woods Equipment

Plant up to three types of seed in one pass with the FPS84. Ideal for hunters and small acreage farmers seeding legumes and larger seeds.

woodsequipment.com

Grain Drills | Brush Cutters & other Well-Built Attachments | VMC Equipment

vmcequipment.com

Tar River Crop Seeders | Tar River Manufacturing

www.tarrivermfg.com

This one is not a drill but is interesting

VMC POWERSEEDER™ | Brush Cutters & other Well-Built Attachments | VMC Equipment

vmcequipment.com

Currently I have been using a Deere 8300 10’ pull type drill that is 12’ wide overall. It works well around the house but is too big to easily transport to the ranch and even if I got it there I would have difficulty getting it down the narrow ranch roads in between the areas where the food plots will be.

 

[kneedeep]

It would depend on if you planted into tilled seed beds or into existing sod.
Maybe the Woods for the disc cutting ahead of seed if it is no till.
Any would plant into prepared ground.
I use a 7200 JD and can offset hitch to make 2 passes for double rows.
Use a IH 5100 end wheel drill for prepared ground on 7" rows

 

[super55]

If the tractor in the pic is the one you are using for the planting I would look at either a Great Plains/Landpride 3p series or an RTP grain drill. Essentially it all depends on your budget but you can find reasonable deals at auctions. Tractorhouse can help you get an idea of cost.

Personally I would go with a no-till with double disc openers. Reason being, It will cause the least amount of pasture damage. Press wheels probably aren't even necessary. Put the cattle back in the field for a week and they will do the work for you. I like the Tar River Drills but your operartion sounds like it might be testing the durability of it.

 

[bdog]

Thanks for the replies. To clarify everywhere I plant will be tilled ground. Most likely chisel plowed followed by a disc. I am not trying to renovate pasture land this is essentially farm ground.

The tractor in my avatar was sold last week. I will be doing this with my RX (73hp).

Budget is about 10k but would prefer a solution that is around half that if possible. I think I can get around that doe my 8300 drill and it would be nice to sell it and buy what I need without too much additional cash outlay.

 

[super55]

Well not needing no-till really opens your options. You can either go with a seeder or a drill with your typical disc openers. Both have their advantages. Seeders such as Brillion and Frontier are way better at running small seeds like alfalfa, clover or brassicas but a drill seems to work better for items like soybeans, oats and larger seeds. Plus with a drill the seedbed typically doesn't need to be finished as well.

I really think a genesis light 8' would be a good fit but they are pricey. Something like a tye pasture pleasure might also be a good fit. Another option that might be really affordable is to buy a used small conventional pup drill. (The ones they two on flanks of the larger drill) and take it to a welding shop and have them fabricate a 3 point hitch for it.