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Bourgault Seed Singulation

15K views 51 replies 20 participants last post by  Jason Hildebrand 
#1 ·
Bourgault appears to be working on it, and has been for some time. See link below to patent.


each shank will have its own meter either mounted on the opener assembly or on the frame close to the opener.


Patent*2902922*Summary - Canadian Patents Database=
 
#22 ·
I think they will have pretty much the same thing as this:

https://www.grainews.ca/2017/12/19/a-one-pass-hybrid-planter-drill-born-on-the-farm/#

Take BG large hi flotation toolbar and put some planter row units on there and pull a large tank behind so fill times are at a minimum. I don't know if its possible but I for one would like some sort of singulation system while still using a hoe concept. Double disk/single disk openers are no great thrill to me, the constant maintenance plus finicky when it comes to field conditions just doesn't seem that appealing.
 
#34 ·
Hoe drill is definitely not cheaper because you have to buy 20% more machine to get even close to the same amount done. Maintenance costs are not a factor that would swing a guy either way really.

On the singulation thing Bourgault needs to fire that primary tower in the bush where it belongs, all it does is provide another chance for a decrease in accuracy and increase in seed damage. Don't see how singulation will pay on a hoe drill when seeding wheat, even on a 10" unit the seeding rates required for top yields have the plants basically touching each other. This is where disc drills and narrow spacing are the end game I think. Unless you just want to be average, which doesn't really pay for a million dollar drill. Planters make way more sense for the crops that actually need singulation. Anything Bourgault makes now would require a complete rework, which I just don't expect from them.
 
#36 ·
Was same way here until I bought one three years ago as well as a couple of others since. I really have no desire to return to a hoe drill at this point. Last three crops have been the best on record here which is due to several factors but I don't think the drill is the limiting factor. Disc drills do require some getting used to though and some are harder to work on than others. I found the 3710 thread scary too and probably wouldn't buy one of those.
 
#37 ·
Was 2 disc drills around here this year, I have zero experience with them, but this is what I seen. Beginning of our seeding season it was very wet, and one outfit didn’t seem to work, they used their old hoe drill.
End of season was dry and the one that seeded than, a lot of the crop didn’t come up. Not sure if it wasn’t deep enough, or maybe couldn’t pack enough.
I think all the moving parts scare most of us away. Just like a planter, they look more complicated. And it seems either planter or disc drill guys are always changing to aftermarket parts to make them work.

Is a disc drill actually cheaper swman ? Thinking a 60’ disc drill might cost as much as a 76’ independent opener drill ???
 
#38 · (Edited)
Mine will walk on water, after all there is 96 little wheels underneath holding it up. When dry you need to seed deeper than you first think because they don't pack as heavily. I made that mistake the first year but got bailed out with rain. This year was pretty dry and had good emergence because I had it deep enough. Truthfully I probably was at risk with a hoe drill at the shallow depths I used to seed at, these drills are so precise.

I paid 250K approximately for the drill portion of mine 3 years ago. That's a 60' with 7.5" spacing and all run blockage. The extra openers add up, I think had I bought a 10" it would have been similar to a hoe drill of the same width. Obviously prices have gone up ad CDN dollar has gone down. Just put about $4000 worth in new discs on this summer, took a day with two guys and good for a couple of years again. I tried a few aftermarket closing wheels and in zero till I think they have value but haven't switched others over. Otherwise my drill is bone stock. EDIT: I did put seed brakes on it which was an improvement in soybeans.
 
#41 ·
Has anyone tried disc levelers on a independant how drill apart from the new Amnity drill? With disc levelers on a hoe drill you can seed at any speed you want and get basically the same job done. When you go faster with a big drill and lot of product you need a good air system and high fan capacity on the cart. The new John Deere cart with the bigger pipes under it is impressive and should be able to handle a lot of product better than the Bourgault set up with two sets of towers.
 
#44 · (Edited)
Jason we have run farm land / amity disc levellers with active spring tension for almost 10 years on a flexicoil 5000 12 inch spaced drill. With our set up there is no difference in precision seeding canola or anything else going 4mp or 7mph. It gives equal dirt cover behind each row and significantly improves the eveness of germination than using no levelling at all. All dics levelers are not equal and how you set them has a big influence how well they work. We also seed between the rows most of the time which helps the disc levelers preform better. Our neighbors with independant drills have their canola come up a litttle quicker and little more even but at the end of the day I am not convinced it is yielding any better. If you have hired men the independant drills are probably more idiot proof for setting depth.
 
#47 ·
Ideally I would band N in fall and that would be the only tillage except for maybe a harrow pass. Last year I broadcast and worked with spikes in spring which was almost necessary to smooth harvest tracks from the wet fall of 2016. S has always gone down with seed as Tiger 90 but I now had 5 years of elemental spread as Biosul. Up until now I have always put the same blend of 11-52 and 0-0-0-90 on every acre every year.
 
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