The science and method of direct seeding is now pretty well established in a lot of areas of Saskatchewan, but has only been embraced by about 30% of farmers on a low disturbance basis. Part of the cause for not direct seeding, as identified by farmers is the cost of new machines, sometimes placing the farm under capital stress, and endangering the ability to manage risk on the individual farm.
You don't have to buy new
There are plenty of good used machines out there, often lying in the "boneyard" out along the back fence, that can either be used as a direct seeding machine "as is" or with a few low cost modifications. The average farmer that owns one of these doesn't have to be told how to use the machine, but all he or she does need is an understanding of the systems approach to direct seeding. In other words, he needs to know that he has to cut his stubble to the proper height to enable him to directly seed into that stubble without plugging the machine, or having the machine act as a rake. He also realizes very quickly that he has to spread the chaff over as much of the width of cut as he can. With a pre-seeding burn off of Roundup to replace the pre-working of the land, he is then pretty much ready to adopt direct seeding as his method of choice to the management of his land.
Retro-fit parts available
There are a number of manufacturers that supply good quality replacement parts just for the purpose of making a better seeding job with a machine from a well recognized manufacturer. These include opener points, seed boots, shanks, packer units, seed distribution systems to fit on cultivators, or air seeders (high disturbance machines). If a person really thinks they have or have seen a good idea that they can make for themselves in their own shop over the slow season, then more power to them to try it. It often will save a lot of money, or at least will pay the enterprising farmer quite well for his shop time. Complete seeding units have been built by either an individual farmer or two people working together in a shop over the winter.
Example
Just to show what can be done, I point to an implement agency that has taken the idea of doing a retro-fit on an old Morris Seed-Rites. He has bought some of these units at farmer auction sales, hauled them back to his shop, and gone to work on them. He first removes the dead rod from the back and takes off the mounted harrows. He also installs the packer sections from the old Morris M-10 or M-11 drills to fit the spacing on the Seed-Rite and get this, he doesn't have to fashion new brackets, because they "happen" to fit, with no extra welding. He then goes to a company like Atom-Jet Industries in Brandon MB and purchases new openers for the drill. Now, the farmer who is buying this unit doesn't have to pay very much to get into direct seeding, using this newly retro-fitted machine. It will do a perfectly good job, if he cuts his stubble to the right height and remembers to spread his chaff adequately.
If the farmer after a year or two, finds that he doesn't like stopping to fill a lot, he will then go back to that dealer and likely price out an air tank delivery system. The dealer, then takes the seed boxes off and fits the air tank to the perfectly good field unit. Meanwhile the dealer sets the seed boxes out behind his shop for storage. After another year or two, the farmer again returns to the dealer and says he would like to make the field unit bigger, to which the action taken by the dealer is to price out an air drill field unit. He then takes back the retro-fit Seed-Rite, replaces the stored seed boxes and sell it to the next "smaller" farmer, to begin the learning process for direct seeding.
The farmer gets used to the system approach for direct seeding, at an affordable budget. The dealer continues to develop a clientele for machinery at an affordable cost and introduces newer machinery to the farmers at a rate that they can afford.
Many individual farmers have adopted a lot of perfectly good machines in just a like manner, to allow them to direct seed on their own farm.
Pass The Word
The SSCA is interested in identifying all the farmers who have been successful in retro-fitting machines to allow direct seeding. If you as a reader, know of someone who has a retro-fit, please pass the name of that person along to Bob Linnell or anyone at the SSCA, so that we may contact them, and in that way, be able to help farmers who wish to begin direct seeding. Conversely, if you require the list of after market manufacturers that sell parts for the purpose of retro-fitting machines you can get help out of any SSCA staff member, or by calling the 1-800-213-4287. If you plan to attend our annual Direct Seeding conference coming up on Feb 9th and 10th, 2000 in Regina, you will find a display board there, inviting you to list people that have completed a retro-fit on their farm to allow them to direct seed at a lower budget.