Aussie Built No Till Air Seeder

Aussie built no till air seeder HITCHES Hitches 17-2-7 Innovative Australian farmer Derek Barn-stable built his own no-till air seeder featuring straight shanks with a new type of point that's designed to penetrate even the hardest soils, a clamp-on system for shanks that requires only a hammer, and a simple new metering system for seed and fertilizer that has only one moving part. Barnstable farms in a part of Australia that has very hard duplex soils. He wanted to no-till small grains and grasses but couldn't maintain consistent depth control with existing field cultivator type air seeders. He also didn't like the design of existing air seeder venturi mechanisms which he felt were too complex. He designed 5/8-in. wide, 24-in. long straight shanks with high strength and rigidity. They attach to the 3 1/2-in. sq. tool bar with a C-clamp that's held in place with a heavy steel pin that can be knocked out with a hammer. Makes changing row spacing a quick and easy job. Key to success of the straight shanks are the new-style 3-in. wide points which are designed to draw down yet keep fur-rowing to a minimum. The shanks generally run 4 to 5 in. deep with fertilizer dropped at the bottom of the point. Seed is dropped through a boot on a hinging bracket behind the shank. Seed depth is varied by moving the seed boot closer to or further away from the shank (the closer it is to the shank, the deeper the seed is placed). Barnstable generally seeds 1 1/ 2 to 2 in. deep. The hopper is divided into two bins which each hold about 1 ton of fertilizer or seed. Can be loaded by auger or there's a fold-down ramp that lets you walk up to it with a wheelbarrow. Bins are not pressurized. He used a modified Accord air system that's got just the one moving part that meters seed or fertilzer into the air stream. No ventures needed. Because there's little soil disturbance, a simple straight chain harrow is all that's needed behind the seeder. The high ground clearance makes point changing easy and prevents trash plug-ups. Grass seed can be seeded ahead of the chain harrow via a small seed hopper that can be attached to the side of the main hopper. Barnstable would like to fmd a manufacturer for his air seeder in North America. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Derek G. Barnstable, 83 Campaspe Esp., Echuca, Victoria Australia 3564 (ph 61 054 824450).

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