Back in the 90s, we were already running wider row spacing than everyone thought we should. I hear all the time that 8” to 9” is as wide as rows should be so the canopy closes quickly. But we were at 12” then before moving to a 14” SeedMaster and the spacing was never an issue for our crops. When I looked at the new SeedMaster UltraSR single rank drill at 15” spacing, I had no issues about the agronomics at all.
Instead, what interested me most was a simple machine with fewer openers that was going to mean less maintenance. The UltraSR looked like an ideal solution to the planter-like approach with seed singulation in a single pass, high-capacity drill. I can seed 300 acres a day, up to 6 miles per hour, which for our farm is pretty much ideal. Simple, low maintenance, and productive is very important to me. It’s just my Dad and I, with my nephew coming to help as well. We liked how the UltraSR has fewer parts to wear and less maintenance. Around here, my neighbours run other brands of drills and I hear the complaints about maintenance, lot more bearings and bushings that wear and that kind of thing. No wonder they get flipped before the really big, and expensive, maintenance projects have to get done.
I pay attention to the details. I make sure the settings are all correct on the drill, that I’ve calibrated it correctly, that it’s well maintained, that air pressures in the tires are correct, that there’s no pin wear and slop. I run a harrow over my fields to make sure the residue is managed. The residue wheels are great and work well, but I tell anyone who asks that they don’t mean you can abandon proper residue management. They’re not going to magically overcome bad trash management. The results I get at the end of the season are directly related to the good management practices I follow and are pretty much as advertised with the UltraSR.
We farm on the edge of some marginal land. Lots of hills, potholes, and pie-shaped corners. I can drive right into the corners and seed every acre because it’s so easy to back out, pivot, and keep going. You can’t do that pulling a big train that’ll just end up jackknifing.
I’m the one who does our spraying. I just don’t see any added weed pressure from the wider row spacing. What I do see are healthier, bushier plants and less disease pressure because there’s more air flow through the canopy.
We’ve just ordered a new UltraSR for 2024. We were long ago sold on the seeding system from SeedMaster, and everything we had hoped for on the single rank drill came as advertised these past two years. The seeding innovation from the company, along with product support, parts support, and dealer support are all very important to me where we farm without access to a lot of help. SeedMaster’s been able to provide that excellent support all around.
Bryan Skinner, Skinner Farming
Provost, AB
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