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Drill Design Comparisons in No-till

Both fields were planted the same day, with the same seed lot, at the same seeding rate. Both fields had had the same cropping history for five years, and the prior year’s wheat crop and stubble were very similar.

Mediocre No-till Seeding

Wheat planted with a so-called no-till drill (actually just the old packer-wheel design with heavier down-pressure springs, but several companies sell these as ‘no-till’ drills). Note the substantial soil disturbance and stubble being buried. Stand was 870,000 plants/a.

This is just one example of dozens that Matt Hagny has observed over the years — the wannabe no-till drills only obtain about half or 2/3 the stands that they should in long-term no-till.  These press drills need loose soil to function (they perform better if they have aggressive coulters out in front, but then you’re planting all the weed seeds and burying all your mulch; you’d be money ahead to buy a real no-till drill).

Superb No-till Seeding

This was taken just a couple hundred feet from the photos to the left. However, this field was planted with a JD 1560, outfitted with 90-series boots, SDX firming wheels, and spoked closing wheels. Extremely low soil disturbance, and all the stubble is retained. Stand was 1,240,000 plants/a.

Concord shank – L; JD 1850 – R (same seed lot, same rate, same day; the farmer was well-versed in setting shank openers and had been running his Concord for several years, whereas the 1850 was new and unfamiliar to him). North-central KS into sunflower stubble. Yield was ~ 10% less with the Concord.

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Content of this page is copyright 2005-2024 Exapta Solutions, Inc. (reprint with written permission only).

Thompson wheel covered by U.S. Patent No. 6,907,833. Liquid delivery feature of Valion seed tube guards is U.S. Patent No. 8,978,564. Ninja seed bounce flap U.S. Patent Pending. UniForce U.S. Patent Pending. All rights reserved on other designs. Exapta is a registered trademark of Exapta Solutions, Inc. Keeton is a registered trademark of Precision Planting. Mojo Wire, Thompson wheel, Valion guard, Ninja flap, UniForce, DuraLok, No-till Seeding Explained, and No-till Seeding School are trademarks of Exapta. Disclaimer: Recommendations & page content are current, accurate, and believed to be broadly applicable as of the time of writing (Dec 2005) and last update (2005 – 2014). Because of diversity of soils, climate, crops, planter & drill models/designs marketed worldwide, combinations of attachments, etc., actual results may vary. No warranty is made as to actual results obtained. Should you encounter exceptions or worthwhile annotations to the statements made on this page, please contact us.

Derek Tjaden

Derek is Kansas native who grew up in a 100% no-till farming operation. From an early age the benefits of no-till were made known to Derek by his father and by attending no-till conferences. From there he furthered his passion for soils while at Kansas State University getting his agronomy degree. He has had the experience of working in various roles and sectors of agriculture from sales and consulting, to management, which have all been within production agriculture. Derek has also worked in specialty ag markets such as turf and ornamentals.

Bob Pagel

Sales & Service Representative

Prior to joining Exapta, Bob Pagel was an Agricultural Territory Sales Manager for Ritchie Brothers, serving parts of MN, WI and IA. He continues to support his family farm in SE Minnesota.

Jon Zeller

Current Product Engineer

Jonathan Zeller joined Exapta excited to return to working with no-till planting equipment. He supported research of no-till planting and other ag related projects for 7 years with Kansas State University’s Agricultural Engineering Department after getting his engineering degree. He later worked 3 years for Landoll Company, LLC. where he gained experience in a design engineering role. Jonathan grew up on a small family farm in NE Kansas working with row crops, hay and cattle. Jonathan enjoys solving engineering problems and improving or creating products to be robust and easy to install and service.