Diker Equipped Planter Traps Moisture For Crop

Diker equipped planter traps moisture for crop MANURE HANDLING Miscellaneous 10-2-32 "It's a fantastic new way to trap moisture in the field while you plant," says Leon Thompson, representative of Ag Engineering, Tri-Cities, Wash., manufacturer of the Dammer Diker, a machine that digs holes in the field to trap water and which was featured in FARM SHOW two years ago (Vol. 8, No. 3). The company is now marketing a new one-pass seed drill that incorporates the diker, chisel plow and drill for a one-pass planter designed for dry conditions. The Dammer Diker makes nearly 8,000 holes per acre, each 5 in. deep, 6 in. in dia. and spaced 2 ft. apart. It works in conjunction with a chiselplow which works up the soil ahead of it. The company says its the only dam-making machine on the market that dig holes in the ground to trap moisture rather than simply damming the surface. Now the company has teamed the Diker up with a 20-ft. wide Great Plains drill. The big one-pass machine includes up-front deep-chiseling shanks, rollers to refirm the seedbed, the drill, and a set of Dammer Diker spider wheels to punch holes in behind. The Dammer Diker is adjusted to fit the desired width and depth of the rows. The machine has been in testing for a year and Thompson says it'll be cost effective anywhere irrigation water is available or there's a minimum of 12 to 15 in. of annual rainfall. The Dammer Diker has been used to trap water in nearly every small grain and row crop. The one-pass seed drill machine sells for $37,000 and requires a 180 hp. tractor. The company is willing to work with farmers to adapt to existing grain drills. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ag Engineering & Development Co, P.O. Box 2814, Tri-Cities, Wash. 99302 (ph 509 735-3596).

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