JD 750 or 1860 drills

[mctom]

Has Any one had experience with the JD 1860 air drill or the 750( or 752)box drill? Would it be suitable for 0-till in parkland areas( north of Edmonton), or would a hoe type be better?

[squiggy]

The no-till drills will work just fine in your area. I have heard many people tell me that they would not work on their farms or in their areas. don't believe it for a second! We purchased a 752 drill last year and seen our best crops ever. Even seeding into hard packed clay areas, like roads across fields, produced some excellent yields. The down fall to these machines is refilling approx every 12 acres. If you go to the 1860 for the increased capacity keep in mind there is no mid row banding option, which has become a must in seeding units. I would like to experiment with adapting an air tank to the 752 instead of using the drill boxes to increase capacity and offer the mid row band of fertilizer.

[JD_GREEN]

I wouldn't look at either. We did a demo with an 1860 after harvest and it failed miserably in our soil conditions. In lentil stubble penetration was not even and discs were riding on top in hard ground. Most disappointing was the fact that soil moisture conditions were good and it still did a poor job. What would you do in a dry spring?? Talk to some people and they swear by them. However how fussy are you?? Whats acceptable hairpinning?? Whats good for one person isn't for the other. By the way there is double shoot mid row bander option available for the 1860. As far as I am concerned I'm looking at the new Bourgault disc, looks much more promising!!

[RICHARDJ]

I also live north of Edmonton(between Westlock & Barrhead) and have used a 750 several times. The neighbour has one who rents it out. I have not been overly impressed with it. It seems to work ok when you have good moisture. Sometimes what ever is there keeps the seed crowded out.(seeding into hayland barley or forage to add silage value)I am not the expert on these machines but why have there value gone from $80,000 to around $40,000 about 5 yrs later? richjack@west-teq.net