Producers who have tried seeding canola on wide row spacings are cautiously optimistic and taking steps to solve the problems that have occurred.
Some growers have used their air drills, but most have opted for a corn planter from Deere, Case, Kinze or Monosem.
However, the problem is the same no matter which planter they use: seed treatment flakes off the seed and plugs the tiny holes in the metering disc.
However, there are solutions to the plugging problem, said Jesse Beach, precision farming specialist with Future Ag, the Case IH dealer in Red Deer.
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“One of our customers developed a blow-out system that uses compressed air to keep the holes clean,” said Beach.
Beach said the only option for cleaning the holes was a star wheel from John Deere until the pneumatic system was installed on a Case planter last year.
“The star wheel would ride over the holes as the disc spun. The little fingers would poke through the holes and keep them clean as the disc went around,” Beach said.
“That’s what farmers have been using to keep the holes open. The problem is that the star wheel is plastic so they broke.
“A farmer I was working with came up with the idea of blowing air through the disc periodically. You get to the end of the row, hit the switch to give the discs a blast of air and the holes stay open.”
Beach said most planters have compressed air, so it’s not a big deal to run the pressure lines to the metering discs. There’s a spot on the disc that’s open to the atmosphere, he added, and the air blows through that hole.
Any loose seed treatment in the chamber is blown out the hole.
Beach said he knows of only one planter that has a blow-out system to keep the holes open.
Future Ag orders blank discs from Case and gets them drilled at a machine shop in Red Deer.
Beach said the grower he was working with did all the research and development work himself on the blow-out system.
“He did a lot of experimenting and testing in the field before he got it the way he wanted. He went through four or five sets of discs before he was able to find the number that works. He ended up with 140 holes.
“At that number, the disc isn’t spinning really fast. The seeds are spaced far enough apart that the singulator can get rid of the doubles.”
Beach said Future Ag outfitted two planters with canola discs last year and now has blank discs on order to do three more sets for next spring.
For more information, contact Beach at 403-343-6101 or visit www.futureag.ca.
