Australian No-Air Seeder

Australian No-Air Seeder AIR SEEDERS Air Seeders (42B) 8-6-27 According to recent reports in The Land, a popular Australian farm magazine, air seeders in that country can expect stiff competition from a new "No-air" seeding concept. Osborne Mfg., a Western Australian firm, has come up with a new 50-ft. wide "Augerline" seeder that uses small augers to carry seed to row units rather than air. The Land reports that while air seeders have virtually taken over the Australian market during the past decade, farmers are now looking for alternatives due to the recent release of new bearded semi-dwarf wheat varieties that require more accurate seed placement. Neil Thomson, who farms near Beckom, was the first to buy one of the new Osborne Augerline seeders, which is comparable in cost to a conventional air seeder. He says he could have "paid for a big conventional drill a couple times over" with the wheat that's failed to emerge over the past few years when planted with his air seeder. An auger drive system on the new Osborne seeder takes seed and fertilizer from a large central hopper and carries it along a trough running the width of the machine. The auger turns on and off automatically, maintaining an even level of seed in the trough. Thomson says the new machine is the first in Australia to offer the wide sowing capacity and trash clearance of an air seeder with the precision of a conventional drill.

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