Tillage Unit Converted To Cover Crop Seeder

Tillage Unit Converted To Cover Crop Seeder CULTIVATORS The Verti-Seed Cart from Suplee Hollow Machine turns field cultivators disks and other tillage toolbars into cover crop seeders     “A local farmer came to me with the idea ” says David Stoltzfus Suplee Hollow Machine “He had used a drill for his cover crops for a number of years When he went to vertical tillage he wanted to till and seed in one pass ”     Working with his customer Stoltzfus came up with the Verti-Seed Cart Its 100-bu cart trails the tillage system A manifold and distribution system is bolted to the tillage unit toolbar It can be removed without modification to the tillage tool     “Our prototype was developed for a 20-ft Salford vertical tillage system ” says Stoltzfus “With the 100-bu hopper my customer could vertical till and seed cover crops for most of the day without stopping to refill ”     The Verti-Seed prototype manifold has 12 hoses with seed deflectors on their ends The hoses are mounted across the length of the toolbar ahead of the first set of discs Stoltzfus says the design can be easily adapted to larger or smaller tillage units     A hydraulic motor-driven pneumatic system is mounted on the cart as is a scale An on-board controller provides automated calibration and instant adjustment An auger on the cart delivers material into the 6-in dia airflow tube that carries material to the manifold     Calibration mode involves weighing the material in the hopper before and after a set number of auger turns The weight difference is used to calibrate how much material is used per auger turn which in turn is matched to ground speed     “It doesn’t matter what material you have ” says Stoltzfus “Any density can be calibrated in the field in a 3-min process ”     Stoltzfus notes that the Verti-Seed system would work as well for fertilizer as it does for cover crop seed The current design has a 5 600-lb capacity However it could be built lighter or heavier to adapt to a customer’s need While the prototype has a poly tank future tanks will be stainless steel     “We are now building a second Verti-Seed Cart for more testing this fall ” says Stoltzfus     While prices may vary according to steel and other component prices Stoltzfus suggests a base machine with cart and distribution system would run in the $20 000 range “With all the bells and whistles the Verti-Seed Cart is in the $40 000 range ” says Stoltzfus “That would include the rate controller calibration system and mounting kit ”     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Verti-Seed 255 Buchanan Rd Honey Brook Penn ph 610 469-4169

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