Deep Bander Made From IH Cyclo Planter

Deep Bander Made From IH Cyclo Planter FERTILIZER APPLICATION Fertilizer Application (58f) 20-2-18 Ridge till farmer Brad Link, Renville, Minn., wanted to boost his corn yields by deep placing fertilizer into the ridge, but he didn't want to spend the money for a commercial deep-placement bander. Instead, he converted an old IH Cyclo planter into a deep bander for less than $2,500. "I saved a lot of money because a deep placement æair blower' fertilizer bander sells for $10,000 to $12,000," says Link. He bought the used IH 400 6-row planter for $600 and also bought six used Kinze fertilizer coulter units for $1,500. He stripped the planter down to the fertilizer boxes and changed the wheel spacing to 30-in. rows. He used 2 1/2-in. steel tubing to build a frame that he welded on back of the planter toolbar, then bolted the fertilizer coulters onto it. He used 1-in. metal tubing and 1/2-in. thick plywood to make box ex-tensions that mount on top of the original fertilizer boxes, increasing total fertilizer capacity by 600 lbs. He also repositioned the fertilizer tubes so they drop fertilizer behind the coulters at a 3 to 5-in. depth. "Deep banding instead of broadcasting reduced my fertilizer bill by 25%," says Link, who used the unit for the first time last fall. "In ridge till, nutrients have to be placed where the plants can use them, and deep banding is the only way to place fertilizer in the ridge. Another advantage of deep banding is that the seed sits only about an inch or so above the fertilizer. Once the roots reach the fertilizer the plant takes off so you get better emergence in a cold, wet spring. "I use the original planter transmission to deliver fertilizer. To adjust application rates I simply pull a pin and change sprockets. The coulters run at an angle and lift the ground a little. Fertilizer drops in behind the coulters and the soil falls back on top. "My total fertilizer capacity is about one ton. At an application rate of 70 to 100 lbs. per acre I can cover 20 acres before I have to refill. The add-on fertilizer box extensions pivot at each end of the planter. By removing two bolts I can swing them forward out of the way so I can put the original fertilizer box lids on in case of rain." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Brad Link, Rt. 1, Box 116, Renville, Minn. 56284 (ph 612 329-3101).

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