Non-Air Folding Grain/Drill Cultivator

Non-Air Folding Grain/Drill Cultivator CULTIVATORS Cultivators (58C) 8-6-27 "It's got the width and capacity of an air seeder without the problems of inaccuracy and poor depth control," says Stanley Briggs, inventor of a new "auger-powered" 50-ft. wide folding drill that's fitted with conventional metering and packer wheels. At first glance, the new Briggs seeder looks like a conventional air seeder with a large 160 bu. grain tank and folding wings behind. But instead of blowing seed out to individual rows with air, the new drill uses augers to carry the seed. A pair of small augers carries seed from the tank to a shallow hopper at the rear. There, 2¢-in. dia. cross augers carry seed along the length of the drill, filling the hopper until pressure plates at the ends of the wings switch the augers off. Seed is metered out of the hopper by conventional metering wheels to seed tubes which place seed behind conventional hoe drill shovels. The 160 bu. grain tank is split into two compartments to haul both fertilizer and seed. The hopper at the rear is also split into two separate compartments each with its own auger for both seed and fertilizer. The fertilizer is metered just like the seed. "Once the augers fill up the rear seed hopper, they automatically shutoff, running only enough to keep the hoppers full. This means this seeder uses considerably less power than an air seeder, which runs all the time. Also, because it works like a conventional hoe drill with stiff shanks rather than spring tines, which can bend and cause depth and spacing to vary, it'll seed at whatever depth it's set," says Briggs. In transport, the wings fold up just like an air seeder. A cultivator mounts ahead of the row units, directly under the grain tank. It lets you cultivate ahead of the seeder after primary tillage or it can be used for no-till in wheat stubble ground. The prototype drill is 30 ft. wide with 10-in. spaced rows. Rows can be set up with any spacing. Briggs has also designed a double-folding 50-ft. wide drill. The new Briggs drill can be used to seed anything you'd normally plant with a grain drill. The augers are driven by tractor hydraulics. The new drill, which is scheduled to go into production early next year, will be "competitive" in cost with air seeders. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Briggs Mfg., Inc., Minneapolis, Kan. 67467 (ph 913 392-3412).

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