Tom Barrie, Bowmanville, Durham
Soil Type: Loam | Farm Operation: Corn, Soybean, Small Grains
Years in Operation of No-till: 14

Tillage/Cropping System

System: No-till
Fall Tillage:
Spring Tillage:

Planter Make, Model and Description

CaseIH planter formerly 8-row solid converted to wing fold
Flexicoil airseeder
Yetter single disc fertilizer coulters

Tillage/Coulter Dimensions:

2 front coulters 17 inch in diameter with 3/4 inch weave.
Coulter between trash whippers 15 inch with eight, one inch wide weaves.

Fertilizer System:
Liquid In furrow: nonw
Broadcast:
Dry Banded: 150 lbs of 8.3-39-12.5 starter in row
Additional Nitrogen on Planter: 220 lbs urea 6 inches off row
Sidedress N: None. Corn is planted on red clover or soy ground. We have customers who plant into killed Alfalfa fields with no additional N.

Pros

Cons

One pass no-till planting, fairly inexpensive. The air seeder also plants small grains and soybeans.
Planter was 8 row ridged, converted to wing fold allows narrow transport width.
Will plant into any soil type and trash cover
Fairly rugged, seldom breaks

Hard to pull. 8100 JD is just adequate when everything is loaded to the max
Hard to separate varieties for Bt refuge
Complicated. There is hydraulic steering for the rear wheels. Easy to go forward but difficult to back up.
N fertilizer has to be extremely well made with a minimum of dust or the metering roll will cake and reduce application rate. Ammonium nitrate is better than Urea. A slightly humid day will plug the rolls within 3 acres using urea.