One-Pass Heavy Duty Planters

One-Pass Heavy Duty Planters PLANTERS Planters 33-3-16 Planting a wildlife plot doesn't need to take several weekends of work. Just one pass with a new generation of seeders, even in tall grass, is all it takes. Seven years ago the Strickland Brothers of Spring Hope, N.C., added Greenscape Conservation Seeders to their line of agriculture equipment. "Our Greenscape seeder is ground-driven so there are no complications from hydraulics," says Dale Strickland, who owns Belco Resources with his brother, Terry. "There are no rows; it plants in a solid pattern." They use military-quality AR-500 steel in the front and rear roller spikes, which dig 3 to 4 in. deep, to prepare the seedbed. About 40 percent of customers use the Greenscape for wildlife plots, but it also works well for overseeding pastures, roadside wildflower seeding, erosion seeding, and landscaping. Greenscape model 600-2 is 5 ft. wide and requires a tractor with at least 30 hp. It sells for $8,234. Greenscape model 840-2 is 7 ft. wide, requires 50 hp or more to pull it, and costs $11,590. The Collari Soil Reconditioner and Residue Burier also does one-pass landscape renovation and seeding, with the additional capability of burying rocks and debris. The Italian equipment is based on technology developed to bury debris after WWII, explains Janelle Butler, owner of Butler Equipment, the distributor for Collari in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Butler uses the equipment on her Dyersburg, Tenn., farm for wildlife plots, planting conservation strips. "It's a versatile machine," she says. "It does in one pass the same job that requires nine or 10 trips with conventional equipment." Collari offers about 20 different models from 31 to 119 in. wide in standard to super duty models to work in everything from vineyards and greenhouses to fields and golf courses. The standard model tills 4 to 6 in. deep, Butler says, while the heavy duty models till 8 to 10 in. deep to bury small rocks, roots and saplings and cover them with pulverized soil. "The secret to the Till & Seed is the separator grill that places debris on the bottom and allows fine soil to fall through," Butler says. The Till & Seed has a 4-speed gearbox and a pto with four friction disks. It also has an adjustable leveling bonnet and hydraulic depth control. Collari models weigh 900 to 4,000 lbs. and require 35 to 250 hp tractors to pull them. Prices range from $9,000 to $24,000. They can be equipped to plant everything from tiny grass seed to soybeans and corn. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Greenscape Conservation Seeder, Belco Resources Equipment, P.O. Box 8164, Rocky Mount, N.C. 27804 (ph 252 442-0700; www.BR-Equipment.com) or Collari Soil Reconditioner and Residue Burier, Butler Equipment, 1678 Jones Rd., Dyersburg, Tenn. 38024 (ph 731 285-8358; www.butlerent.com).

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