Cover Story

A Simple wav to Calibrate Your Grain Drill

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"Our seeding rates for wheat vary de­ pending on the seed count per pound for the seed we plant. Recommended seed­ ing rates for wheat are 1.2 to 1.5 million seeds per acre. Clean seed varies widely in seed count per pound, so the only way to be sure ofa drill's seeding rate is to (1) do a seed count per pound for each lot to be planted to determine the seeding rate and (2) check the drill's calibration with the seed to be used. This calibration is done in the yard for each seed lot using a simple machine built several years ago. This machine, an elec­ tric motor turning a rubber wheel that, held against the drill's press wheels, turns the feed rolls. By turning the press wheels a certain

ordon Ramstad, who farms with his brother Glenn near Ada, MN, says the device they use to calibrate their grain drill is no big deal. "This simple machine just niakes it easier for us in the way we like to do cali­ bration," he says. That's the beauty ofit. University of Minnesota Small Grains Specialist Jochum Wiersma stresses the need for proper drill calibration, as seed size and weight of wheat varieties will differ compared to the standardized "one size fits all" seeding rate tables found in your operator's manual or on the inside of the seed hopper lid. Here's how the Ramstad brothers do it, in Gordon's own words:

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The Ramstad Brothers of Ada calibrate seed with a device that hooks on the drill frame behind the press wheels. Via pul­ leys a small motor turns a shaft-mounted boat trailer roller that rotates the press wheels until the proper number of revolu­ tions have been made for the calibration check.

number of times, the distance, thus the area is known. Weighing the seed dropped by the feed rolls gives the amount seeded, so knowing area and weight, the pounds per acre at a certain drill setting is deter­ mined. Our drill has an end transport so it is convenient to put a tarp or piece of card­ board under a section to collect the seed. For a 10-foot section ofour drill, the press wheels need to be turned about 610 revo­ lutions to equal one acre. We usually run only 1/4 to 1/2 an acre but that's still 152 or 305 revolutions, a lot of turning by hand! That's the reason for having the machine to do the turning, so all we do is mark a spot on the press wheels and count with a counter until the proper number of revolutions have been made for the cali­ bration check. The machine we use is a 1/4 HP 1725 RPM electric motor that turns a shaft on which is mounted a boat trailer roller. Continued on Page 30