The bucket in the photo is for measuring the seed.
I put it under one seed cup.
I drive 234 feet. Sometimes I drive too far but at 150lbs per acre it doesn't really matter that much...
I use the Berckes Seed-o-meter to weigh the sample. It gives me a read out in pounds per acre. It is an incredible invention. Every farmer should have one. I think most farmers just guess...
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Guessing would be pretty expensive with canola. At prices hovering in the $6 per pound(or more) range we don't want to overdo it. I use a similar method on my Bourgault air seeder. Drive 100 feet catching the output from the main tank, weigh it, do the math and come up with as close to 5 pounds per acre as I can.. Won't be doing any of that for another 3 months though. -35F here this morning.
ReplyDeleteReading your post on the way out to feed pigs in a straight up Iowa blizzard. 8 inches of new snow, 50 mile winds, temps hugging zero F make bare handed seed weighing look like tropical utopia. All you need is a background of dancing girls in wheat straw skirts.
ReplyDeleteRain here in West Virginia, and a minimum of two more months to plant anything, possibly three or more, depending on the spring rains.
ReplyDeleteSo did you get stuck in the mud?
ReplyDeleteI suppose me complaining about 37 degrees would not bring any sympathy from my readers...
ReplyDeleteRalph, the beauty of this scale is that it gives a direct readout in lbs/acre. I used to turn the wheel by hand and weigh it but the rate always was different once I started planting.
Collieguy, you are tougher than I. Do you have a rope tied from the house to the pig department? I'd hate to hear you were trapped in the burnt out Studebaker for the duration of the blizzard!
Gorges, the rain will return here as well. We are debating about replanting anywhere it may flood later.
Muddy, Oh man was I close. I could feel it pull down. I only filled the drill half full. My next field the farmer said he left his "little" 4wd to pull me out. A 95 hp 4wd will only get me deeper. This time of year 200+ hp articulated 4wd with triples is a much better choice!
Not so much tough as a matter of what you're used to. Don't think I'd fare so well with your temps, drizzle, freezing mud and a brutally long growing season. Always enjoyed the down time of serious winter.
ReplyDeleteBurned out Stude makes a good deer stand.