Cereals will do better on narrower spacing. That is just a reality. Canola can do well on wide or narrow spacing IMO. Plants per ft2 regardless of spacing is key. 3lbs on narrow spacing puts plants in the row further apart allowing space around the entire plant. Put 3lbs on 15' row spacing and only space on 2 sides of the plant. I am not sold on the wide spacing canola theory. Floating gives the best plant ability to expand but germination is sacfriced with varying seed depth and without moisture soon after can be a wreck. Here in the NE though many thousands of acres are still seeded this way with great success most yrs.
Seedmaster Ultra SR
https://www.seedmaster.ca/ultrasr.php
I thought this concept was still in prototype phase, but noticed the local dealership is carrying brochure, so it must be out in the market. Unfortunately I missed both sask farm shows this summer, did anyone have a look at this machine? What were your impressions? 15” is awfully wide spacing. I’ll commend SM for thinking outside the box and pushing new directions
I thought this concept was still in prototype phase, but noticed the local dealership is carrying brochure, so it must be out in the market. Unfortunately I missed both sask farm shows this summer, did anyone have a look at this machine? What were your impressions? 15” is awfully wide spacing. I’ll commend SM for thinking outside the box and pushing new directions
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Thought I’d throw you guys an update from our side by side trials in northern Alberta from last season.
15” UltraSR vs 10” bourgault and 12” hawk in barley we saw no yield difference. Same in wheat. Canola was better by 3 bushels per acre.
Having said this.....these results are in an area that isn’t super dry. I can see that further south where canopy close up early is needed due to low moisture conditions most of the time this probably isn’t the answer. I sold one to a fellow in Innisfail Alberta last august which is central area. He’s moving from 10” to this. We did fall rye with it and it looked perfect going into winter. We will see what the results are come this fall and what the customer experienced on his other crop yields compared to his last drill on 10” would produce.
15” UltraSR vs 10” bourgault and 12” hawk in barley we saw no yield difference. Same in wheat. Canola was better by 3 bushels per acre.
Having said this.....these results are in an area that isn’t super dry. I can see that further south where canopy close up early is needed due to low moisture conditions most of the time this probably isn’t the answer. I sold one to a fellow in Innisfail Alberta last august which is central area. He’s moving from 10” to this. We did fall rye with it and it looked perfect going into winter. We will see what the results are come this fall and what the customer experienced on his other crop yields compared to his last drill on 10” would produce.
If you are wanting to confirm the 15" spacing is not a drag on yield you need to compare to a seedmaster 10" and 12" spacing with same rates of fertilizer. Then you should have an independent drill that can seed at 7-8" spacing that has a comparable opener to the seedmaster. This should also be done for 3-5 years. This will be the only way to truly put the issue to bed. We have been looking at the SR but the wide spacing on cereals of all peer reviewed third party testing shows decreases as spacing increases. Can't ignore those till you prove it right, not anecdotal of how a farmer thinks the 15" yielded compared to the last 10" drill. Useless information, things every year are so variable.Thought I’d throw you guys an update from our side by side trials in northern Alberta from last season.
15” UltraSR vs 10” bourgault and 12” hawk in barley we saw no yield difference. Same in wheat. Canola was better by 3 bushels per acre.
Having said this.....these results are in an area that isn’t super dry. I can see that further south where canopy close up early is needed due to low moisture conditions most of the time this probably isn’t the answer. I sold one to a fellow in Innisfail Alberta last august which is central area. He’s moving from 10” to this. We did fall rye with it and it looked perfect going into winter. We will see what the results are come this fall and what the customer experienced on his other crop yields compared to his last drill on 10” would produce.
Is there any chance of a paired row opener that can be used on this SR drill? Like the Dutch conversion kit? This would help immensely in my opinion with the spacing issue. Love the idea of a SR, so easy to check, fix, etc. No more crawling under a drill would be seeding heaven!Thought I’d throw you guys an update from our side by side trials in northern Alberta from last season.
15” UltraSR vs 10” bourgault and 12” hawk in barley we saw no yield difference. Same in wheat. Canola was better by 3 bushels per acre.
Having said this.....these results are in an area that isn’t super dry. I can see that further south where canopy close up early is needed due to low moisture conditions most of the time this probably isn’t the answer. I sold one to a fellow in Innisfail Alberta last august which is central area. He’s moving from 10” to this. We did fall rye with it and it looked perfect going into winter. We will see what the results are come this fall and what the customer experienced on his other crop yields compared to his last drill on 10” would produce.
Ok but how are side by side trials that are recorded vs 10” or 12” competitor drills in the same field with same rates of product and same treatment through the season not viable info? I agree it needs to be done for at least a few years in a row which is what we are doing through my dealership for customers. I also have 10 years experience on wide spacing and I’ve never seen a yield variance that was significant. As far as 7-8” spacing well that’ll never happen here unless someone has a box drill. I’ve thought about double seeding with the SR to mimic 7.5”. Would have to seed slow and interow with two half applications.If you are wanting to confirm the 15" spacing is not a drag on yield you need to compare to a seedmaster 10" and 12" spacing with same rates of fertilizer. Then you should have an independent drill that can seed at 7-8" spacing that has a comparable opener to the seedmaster. This should also be done for 3-5 years. This will be the only way to truly put the issue to bed. We have been looking at the SR but the wide spacing on cereals of all peer reviewed third party testing shows decreases as spacing increases. Can't ignore those till you prove it right, not anecdotal of how a farmer thinks the 15" yielded compared to the last 10" drill. Useless information, things every year are so variable.
Just recently Dutch released some new stuff for SM opener designs but no reports yet on how they’ve worked. Dutch designed and inline rework for the SM opener. We will see once people try. Not sure how well an in-line would work on the SRIs there any chance of a paired row opener that can be used on this SR drill? Like the Dutch conversion kit? This would help immensely in my opinion with the spacing issue. Love the idea of a SR, so easy to check, fix, etc. No more crawling under a drill would be seeding heaven!
Like the idea of the SR, maybe for canola and chickpeas here. Row spacing is my only concern with that unit.
Myo when you talk about seeding wheat at 170lb per acre that a over a bushel more per acre than we currently use. At todays grain prices thats a lot more seed cost. How much seedbed utilization do you get on 15 in row spacing?
pretty typical seeding rate for these parts when growing CPS.Myo when you talk about seeding wheat at 170lb per acre that a over a bushel more per acre than we currently use. At todays grain prices thats a lot more seed cost. How much seedbed utilization do you get on 15 in row spacing?
Ok but how are side by side trials that are recorded vs 10” or 12” competitor drills in the same field with same rates of product and same treatment through the season not viable info? I agree it needs to be done for at least a few years in a row which is what we are doing through my dealership for customers. I also have 10 years experience on wide spacing and I’ve never seen a yield variance that was significant. As far as 7-8” spacing well that’ll never happen here unless someone has a box drill. I’ve thought about double seeding with the SR to mimic 7.5”. Would have to seed slow and interow with two half applications.
Thought I’d throw you guys an update from our side by side trials in northern Alberta from last season.
15” UltraSR vs 10” bourgault and 12” hawk in barley we saw no yield difference. Same in wheat. Canola was better by 3 bushels per acre.
Having said this.....these results are in an area that isn’t super dry. I can see that further south where canopy close up early is needed due to low moisture conditions most of the time this probably isn’t the answer. I sold one to a fellow in Innisfail Alberta last august which is central area. He’s moving from 10” to this. We did fall rye with it and it looked perfect going into winter. We will see what the results are come this fall and what the customer experienced on his other crop yields compared to his last drill on 10” would produce.
What do you think about lentils with 15" spacing? They are the only crop I'm nervous about with 15" spacing.Thought I’d throw you guys an update from our side by side trials in northern Alberta from last season.
15” UltraSR vs 10” bourgault and 12” hawk in barley we saw no yield difference. Same in wheat. Canola was better by 3 bushels per acre.
Having said this.....these results are in an area that isn’t super dry. I can see that further south where canopy close up early is needed due to low moisture conditions most of the time this probably isn’t the answer. I sold one to a fellow in Innisfail Alberta last august which is central area. He’s moving from 10” to this. We did fall rye with it and it looked perfect going into winter. We will see what the results are come this fall and what the customer experienced on his other crop yields compared to his last drill on 10” would produce.
Curious how the SR and 15" spacing looks on a dry year like this. According to localish dealer there are none in the US to go look at and we cant get up to Canada.
They must have gone up in price the last couple years. Nearer to 1/2 a mil US than 400 now.
They must have gone up in price the last couple years. Nearer to 1/2 a mil US than 400 now.
I find my weed growth in flax and peas increases a lot with wider spacing and narrow rows. My barley burns quicker with narrow row and seeding rate needs to be lower. I spent 3 yrs adding twin row dutch low draft openers to my seedmaster drill and with a lot of pictures to help me remember observations, Im happy now with my 12 inch spacing. I live further north than where seedmaster did testing. so different areas and my typical rainfall may dictate results and lead into different positions. Canola is ok and just adapts.So what if you were on wider spacing and that row where your hose was off hadn’t been tilled up in the first place? Would there be as many weeds growing if it hadn’t been disturbed? Not trying to be a jerk just asking. The more you disturb the soil the more weed seeds will grow.
I can honestly say that I’ve never seen weed issues due to wider spacing drills.
I would be interested in seeing a picture of the have on the Seed MasterI find my weed growth in flax and peas increases a lot with wider spacing and narrow rows. My barley burns quicker with narrow row and seeding rate needs to be lower. I spent 3 yrs adding twin row dutch low draft openers to my seedmaster drill and with a lot of pictures to help me remember observations, Im happy now with my 12 inch spacing. I live further north than where seedmaster did testing. so different areas and my typical rainfall may dictate results and lead into different positions. Canola is ok and just adapts.
Interested in these drills but have a few worries. First how the residue wheels handle the odd rock out in the field and the 15 inch spacing in cereals. Any extra info would be appreciated with making this decision
I would think you would take at least a 10% hit on cereals, canola should be good.
Yes that’s kinda what I think but the more I read about others that use wider row spacing says it’s not that bad. It sure looks like a lot simpler machine.
Their is rumblings that Dutch and possibly even Seedmaster are working on an opener (paired row??) that will be 12" spacing for this drill. That would be a big game changer in my mind to go 12" on this drill for the dryer areas and change to 15" when doing canola. I'd be sold on it if that were the case.
Dutch is doing 12”. But it’s a huge job to change it over.
I saw this drill at AgDays this weekend. Very interesting. Do you guys think canola seeding rates could be as low as a planter with these drills?
Still think your leaving some yield on the table with cereals, need to get down to 10” for cereals especially in the northern prairies.
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