BILLINGS, Mont. – Last year’s wet weather wasn’t limited to the Canadian Prairies.
It also affected producers in the northern United States, including Tim Nessan of southern Montana.
His rotation requires 9,500 acres of winter wheat, and last year he was seeding into conditions so muddy that he finally had to park his 60 and 80 foot John Deere no till drills.
Luckily, Nessan had just taken delivery of a new drill he was going to demonstrate for the Multi-Farming Company of Australia.
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With nothing to lose, Nessan hitched one of his three Big Buds to the Multiplanter and made quick work of the last 2,800 acres.
The 80 foot Multiplanter is the first such machine in North America. Although designed for the normally dry Australian climate, Nessan said it’s ideal for wet conditions.
“It pulled easily at 7.5 m.p.h. in the mud. In better conditions, we can do nine,” he said.
“There’s not much of a furrow, so it wasn’t throwing up much dirt. This seeder is so simple. Very clean and all kinds of clearance. You look at it and you think there’s something missing.”
Nessan puts down 70 pounds of nitrogen with his floater. Seed and startup fertilizer go down with the drill.
“We ran all our seed and startup through the single tube on the Multiplanter, just like we do with our other seeders. It has a second tube if you want to double chute and put down nitrogen. It doesn’t work up much soil, so that narrow packer seemed to work just fine. There’s no offset. It follows the shank exactly.”
Hydraulic pressure on the 18-inch diameter wheels is adjusted in the cab. Each opener mounts to a parallelogram, independent of the frame, so it follows field contours.
Each tip requires four horsepower in average soil conditions. Row spacing is 13.3 inches, or three rows per metre.
“With the right cart, 700 bushels or more, we’ll seed a section a day. That’s a 12-hour workday.”
Nessan likes the idea that the only grease points are at the front castor wheels. All other bearings are permanently sealed.
For more information, contact Kris Trevilyan at multifs@tpg.com.au.
