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Self Propelled Interseeding Drill
"It helps take the risk out of interseeding," says Joe Federer, Wolcott, Ind., who built a three-wheeled, self-propelled grain drill with narrow wheels to seed soybeans into growing wheat with a minimum of damage.
Federer, who previously seeded soybeans by air, says he needed near perfect weather conditions to ge
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Self Propelled Interseeding Drill DRILLS Drills (42C) 7-5-8 "It helps take the risk out of interseeding," says Joe Federer, Wolcott, Ind., who built a three-wheeled, self-propelled grain drill with narrow wheels to seed soybeans into growing wheat with a minimum of damage.
Federer, who previously seeded soybeans by air, says he needed near perfect weather conditions to get a successful crop of beans. That meant he needed at least a little rain soon after aerial seeding.
Now, Federer can plant with precision into relatively clean ground between his 7-in. spaced wheat with his 10-ft., self-propelled International grain drill.
Federer built the drill's triangular frame from scratch, making use of spare parts around the farm. The drill itself is mounted on the back at the same height at which it would normally operate. The drill is powered by a 60-hp Volkswagen engine and 4-speed transmission. Although he says he has more power than he needs, the transmission lets him adjust to varying field conditions.
The engine is mounted toward the back of the frame to add weight to the openers on the drill. The seat on the drill is an auto seat from a Gran Prix and the steering mechanism Federer rigged up controls just the front wheel. There are no brakes. The rear wheels are chain-driven so downshifting slows enough to stop, says Federer.
He seeds soybeans in wheat from 6 in. tall to the heading-out stage. Since the narrow motorcycle wheels on the drill are spaced to fit 7-in. rows, he says there is very little damage. And, although the combine wheels run over some of the soybean plants when combining, he says it does little damage to yields. He had good yields of about 35 bu. on much of his double-cropped acreage although yields where grain was seeded into headed-out grain were as low as 13 bu. per acre.
The drill cost Federer about $1,600 to build. He can remove the drill off the back for normal use when needed.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joe Federer, Rt. 2, Box 195, Wolcott, Ind. 47995 (ph 219 279-2539).
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