Hugh Barton from Conquest, Sask. is the developer of the Barton angle disc opener sold by Flexi-coil. This disc appears to hairpin less than most disc drills and does not require the additional weight to force it into the ground because of the angle of the disc it will suck itself in. The Bartons were still not completely satisfied with seeding operation in heavy cereal residues.
In the fall of 1996 they purchased a stripper header to harvest their cereals. They tried to use it on chickpeas as well but they were unsuccessful and had to return to the flex header for all their pulse crops. Harvest speed was increased with the stripper header and Barton stated "we could fill a 200 bushel grain tank on the combine in 8 to 10 min."
With this tall stubble that was left in the field they have trapped more snow this winter and there is very little frost in the ground so they expect the snow melt to move into the soil and not run off.
In the spring of 1997 Bartons will be seeding lentils into these fields, that have 30 in. high stubble, with the Barton disc. They feel the soil will warm up just as quick if not quicker than other fields because there is no residue on the surface of the soil. The sun will be able to warm the soil because when you look down from the top there is black soil between the stalks. They feel the evaporative loss will be reduced since there will be no wind at the soil surface.
The disc seeder should be able to seed through this stubble and have no hairpinning problems. There is no way you could seed through that high of stubble if you are using a hoe or sweep type of seeder.
These fields are on highway #15 east of Outlook. If you are traveling that direction this summer have a look and see what you think. I know I will be watching to see how it works.