Planting Hay Field with no till seed drill - Alfalfa & Grass mixture

We are finally planting our 3 acre field in a mix of alfalfa and grass hay. We went to the USDA extension office and rented a no till seed drill to plant the field. We are planting a mixture of orchard grass, timothy grass and alfalfa. We plan on using this hay to feed the livestock on the homestead.
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#countryviewacres

[@colleenb3810]

I love your tractor and your videos.

[@nativeindian8672]

Man I remember the day I started out with a no cab tractor it took me about 2 hrs and I was looking for a cab tractor and so I tryed a lot of tractors new untill I got smart and went with a john deere 5525 cab tractor I purchased new in 2007 and haven't had any issues still runs like new worth the money on a small farm. Have a good day I enjoy watching you work.

[@nickc7320]

Being able to rent that is pretty awesome. Rather than buying a bunch of used stuff, getting it a good working order and planting it in a less efficient manner is a big $ saver. Thanks for the good idea.

[@richardgreen5602]

Your a hard worker and really stick-to-it >..........Good fortune.

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Thanks for sharing Evan and Rebecca, hope your hard work pays off in lots of hay and grass growing. Good luck with the extension office and the amount of time it took you with all the time on the planter. Stay safe and keep up the fun around there. Fred.

[@terrypomatto907]

It is less expensive to rent the planter than to try and purchase one. Usually you don't plant hay fields but about every five years. Good to see you looking at the long range plan.

[@myjeepzia]

It's so interesting, hoping this and other videos give me a boost to do something on the 10 acres farm land I got . Thanks to KZbin and you for sharing.

[@arkiefyler]

You probably don't read comments on your older vids but... There's a reason farmers wear wide brim (straw) hats! Especially if you don't have tractors with cabs!! ;+) Enjoying your vids, great to see a couple working so successfully together on their dreams!

[@ericheise4051]

Looks like you were putting all your seed in the small seed hopper alfalfa,clover etc . Large seed like orchard grass goes in the larger seed hopper . Good luck grass hopper .

[@garywaxler7866]

When your hooking up the hydraulics to a tractor, shut the tractor off & wiggle the handle all the way forward & all the way back. That'll relieve pressure on the lines & make it easier to hook up. If your still having issues, hit the center of the connection on your hydraulic hose & that'll relieve pressure there also. But just to be warned, prepare for a possible spray of hydraulic fluid when you hit the center of the connection. Shut the tractor off & wiggle the handle when you unhook & it'll make that easier as well.

[@wesleyhuckabay5968]

Did a good job Evan. Looks like you could use a weed whacker around your house.

[@jerryhill681]

Spread straw on the grass seeding around the house. Holds moisture and prevents erosion. Really helps.

[@d.j.robinson9424]

those bugs love you, you must smell Purdy. 👍💛👍🌱🌱🌱🌱

[@batpherlangkharkrang7976]

Hi...... Thank you for sharing your video homestead 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 🎥👍👍👍

[@robertpayne2717]

Just an idea you can buy a small electric concrete mixer from Harbor freight its light and portable... great for making concrete fence post or mixing small batches of seed... I used mine for mixing wet feed for my hogs...and making fence post. .I fed my hogs wheat middling would put the mixer close to my pen troughs and fill what I needed and added water turned it on and soaked the feed & mixed

[@olberarosa2346]

AWESOME VIDEO

[@anijohnson8082]

I don't know much about renting machinery...but I expected you to be charged so much more to rent it. Just now starting to watch your videos...Enjoying them very much!! Pretty home and land!!

[@truethought369]

Nip down to your local builders merchants, and buy a small electric cement Mixer. this if kept clean, could be useful for all sorts of ideas! Have a great day.

[@ralphstrucking]

That drill has different compartment for each type of seeds and you can adjust each kind.

[@CountryViewAcres]

The way I understand it, each compartment is for different size seeds. And the rear compartment had all of my seed types listed on its lid.

[@crystalpowell293]

There are to comeartments one fertilizer one seed

[@Nightowl5454]

​@@CountryViewAcreshow does the county know how many acres that you used the seed drill on and how much to charge you?

[@claylueckemeyer6591]

I like hearing that old equipment while it is working, not so much the music. Good video though....

[@michael-ze2li]

Really enjoy your videos. Keep up the great work.. 👍

[@coldouglas1475]

We used an old hand turn cement mixer on the farm planting legumes on the hills. Worked well.

[@remushaynes2693]

greetings; when i was game hunting, i used avon "skin so soft" astringent. it worked very well and smelled as such that deer did not spook. the only problem was if you are working hard and sweating profusely, you have to reapply as it will dilute. the gnats and mosquitos will still fly around but will not light on you. be sure your wife knows what you are doing so you do not create any suspicion......g

[@jasonbennett499]

Great they have the drill for rent, clover helps with nitrogen.

[@anthonyjohnramsey]

cement mixer pretty good

[@danacrook4203]

Tape the lid on can and roll it around.

[@ericbarritt304]

Just wondering, if you have a sanitary pipe running underground to your pond, you may find it hard to grow grass over it. If that's the case, covering your sanitary line with 2" of foam board insulation, may solve the problem.

[@brianlb78]

How did this turn out? Also did you pull that drill down the hwy/road w/your truck? Didn't know they put hwy tires on them, that the same for balers too?

[@fredhart7904]

Far better to have to go over field twice rather than running out of seed when you only covered 1/2 the field Wonder how I know this!

[@fredhart7904]

Question did you ever get the steering fixed on the case tractor? Enjoy watching your videos

[@CountryViewAcres]

No the belt still squalls and slips. I want to rebuild the power steering pump.

[@jamesmoore1743]

I was wondering why you didn't use your concrete mixer the same way you made your feed up in or use a top and spread it out and kept on folding it over each other

[@CountryViewAcres]

I didn't think of it back then.

[@jamesmoore1743]

@@CountryViewAcres thanks for your reply I respect everything going on on your homestead

[@hxFubar]

So when you where done did you get back to the 85% setting mark it was on when you got it or higher? Good news is if you use it again you now know where to set it to do it in one pass.

[@CountryViewAcres]

At 100% it wasn't enough, but I least I know.

[@tim7409]

Put the alfalfa in the small box in back like you did & the grasses in the big box. 1 trip and you're done.

[@fifieldfarmllc8544]

Always shut the tractor off and relieve the pressure before hooking up hydraulic hoses!

[@robertpayne2717]

The small seed hopper on the drill should handle the various grasses and alfalfa just fine. The only problem is the various densities of the different seeds.... The densest seed you have is the alfalfa

[@lawrencerowe6440]

That's interesting. How do you, if at all, account for that?

[@ohhpaul7364]

When you rent those pieces of equipment, you most often should do some maintenance when you first get them to your house; it wont be any major repairs but you want to check all of the seed metering cups and the drop tubes to make sure none of them are clogged with old seed or have nests from wasps or other bugs in them that can keep the seed from flowing out. That seed drill looked like it had hoppers for 3 different types of seed, 2 large grain bins and 1 small seed bin. Part of your problem with getting the seed down is you were using large grain in the small grain bin. It will go down, but it may have crushed some seed- I honestly don't know there. you probably could have put each of those seeds in its own bin hopper and run it like that. The problem most people end up having with those machines is they put down too much seed before they check it the first time and have emptied everything for 5 acres on 1 acre. Look for a local farmer who plants a wheat field to and ask them if they can show you how to do the maintenance and set up on one of those machines if you can ever catch one of them. The couple hours you spend with them will save you a ton of money and you may make a friend.

[@wendy54321]

How many square bales of hay can you get from three acres? Does depend on the climate,as to how many cuts you can get from a field ?

[@CountryViewAcres]

I did clean the drill out, blew out the tubes and metering gears, etc. I tried to make sure it was ready to go, but apparently everyone has trouble with it.

[@CountryViewAcres]

This will be my first time bailing hay. so I have no idea how much hay I will get off 3 acres. I know around here, people get 3 to 4 cuts in a year. But considering this field was just planted, I may be lucky to get one cut this year.

[@jerrycattau97]

i hope it all gos well for you

[@CountryViewAcres]

It has been 9 days now since I planted. Today I started seeing grass popping up. So it is looking promising.

[@kevinpoland566]

Are you putting any type of started fertilizer or nitrogen on the seed after put it down?

[@vernonvest9927]

Can you use your cement mixer to mix your Grass.

[@joycemcintyre5543]

I use a vanilla extract and water mixture to keep the gnats away.

[@CountryViewAcres]

The buggins natural bug spray is made from vanilla and mint. And is made for gnats. That was I normally use.

[@juliobernal5104]

do you use talc for lubrication? do you treat your seed for early immersion/germination

[@lawrencerowe6440]

Can you lay too much seed? If so, how does that manifest?

[@ModernMountainMan]

How did that mixture work out for you?

[@genecarr4568]

Might consider using a concrete mixer to mix the seeds.

[@marksimonar1550]

Try a cement mixer !

[@cslapler007]

What HP tractor is that? I am wondering how much HP is required to drive one of these.

[@CountryViewAcres]

It is around 55 horsepower

[@simbagato1980]

Is the drill only for big tractors or can it be used on a 3032 John deer also? Thank you

[@CountryViewAcres]

I was told to have a 50 horsepower tractor to pull it.

[@doniedewgotstrikesagain2082]

Put it in the back of your pickup and stir it with a shovel.

[@tprdx8496]

What kind of seed do you plant

[@johnhamilton3987]

Get a mosquito magnet it’s a great thing works for more then mosquitoes

[@TimBinns68]

do you have a video on how this turned out

[@CountryViewAcres]

Yes there is a playlist on everything that we did.

[@Smacker3801]

Buy replanting several times over the top of already planted seed, wouldn't the disks damage your previous work???

[@CountryViewAcres]

It may have buried the seed deeper. Definitely possible.

[@charminghollowforge1109]

Unfortunately these ag extension rental drills are not maintained as well as they should be which may be a lot of the reason it was a problem getting seed drop performance

[@deanmagnuson2993]

Learn to Dre’s we used to be on the tractor 14 to 16 hrs

[@harrydavis4250]

I thought you had a cement mixer.

[@brianmahern6699]

So was the cost of the seed drill 3x as much as you thought since you ran it 3x over field?

[@CountryViewAcres]

No, it was by the acre, they knew people had issues with it. The rental needed up being $60

[@brianmahern6699]

Did the seed take well?

[@CountryViewAcres]

We got around 8 inches of rain the week afterwards. The middle if the field was thin, the rest was thick. Not sure if that was the rain or if I didnt get enough seed dropped in the middle. Some people think the drill was placing seed to deep.

[@aidanmorgan6291]

@@CountryViewAcres who did you contact to rent the drill?

[@CountryViewAcres]

@@aidanmorgan6291 , the NRCS office. It is usually a part of the USDA office. Each county usually has an office.

[@lorineidtinytoadplot744]

I use a wheelbarrow and a shovel, or my hand. To mix seed. At first I was scratching my head thinking, why would they charge per acre, well if you have to go over it 6 times 😂😂😂

[@CountryViewAcres]

I rented it from the USDA office. So it is a government owned drill and service. It ended up costing me $60, so fairly cheap rental. I just wished it worked better. Not sure if I will rent it again. We will wait and see the results.

[@tprdx8496]

Where did you buy alfalfa, orchard grass, Timothy grass, rye grass, Bermuda grass sir

[@CountryViewAcres]

From I guy that sells seed for Byron Seeds.

[@dcct1905]

I know this is an older video but every time my friend rented a drill it needed some checking out before use. The drops tended to get clogged. That might be your problem.

[@CountryViewAcres]

That could be the problem. I also wondered if the depth was set to low. But we ended up replanting this. And a drop seeder with a cultipacker had much better results.

[@ntharp2270]

try using a concrete mixer..

[@tprdx8496]

How much for 1 bag of alfalfa and how much for 1 bag of orchard grass sir please tell me and please tell me where do you buy it sir

[@mayscooper6395]

mays u cooper for the nats...get you one of the smelly things that the wife put in dryer with clothes..place it under your baseball or other cap with a little protruding out. nats dont come around. It works for me and friends...enjoy your programs.

[@vernonvest9927]

If the setting is not right then they need to make adjustments on the payment.

[@jeffperry9274]

I would let it reseed it's self the first year and not cut it until late fall.

[@Forest_Actual]

Get some frogs for those gnats! LOL

[@kevinarmstrong3125]

Use Avon skin so soft dry oil stops the gnats

[@bammbamm1961]

Sooooooooooooo - what was the result after a year?

[@CountryViewAcres]

This planting didn't go well. Ended up replanting in the Fall with a drop seeder.

[@michaelflores9796]

Cement mixer if you have one

[@augustreil]

Any starter fertilizer ? Thanks.

[@CountryViewAcres]

No fertilizer was used.

[@augustreil]

@@CountryViewAcres, Thanks, can I ask why not ?

[@CountryViewAcres]

@@augustreil the soil test came back good. They said I didn't need to fertilize. But maybe I should have around the house.

[@augustreil]

@@CountryViewAcres, I'm sorry, I completely forgot about that. My bad ! I'm just so used to using starter with grass seed, I brainfarted I guess ! lol.

[@Robert-nf1di]

Man that thing is little I work for a man that had a 20foot one now that was a drill I would go around and no till land for people and that land you burn off I would had drill it if you would have seen some hills I been you would day I am crazy but that drill is to have to turn over when it is down so go drill it.

[@justinshute5726]

That’s antique farming. Planting orchard grass with alfalfa means in a couple years you’ll have a field of orchard grass. Sure after this time you realized that. Also no till, no thanks

[@jenverhelst6477]

You might have benefited from a dust mask.

[@raywhite1442]

Well do something

[@stephaniewilson3955]

The rental for that drill is LOW. Try buying one and you will realise what a bargain it is.

[@buzzherring8646]

Lol.you do realize it separates back out in drill .you can mix till your arms fall off

[@jenverhelst6477]

Covering grass up with soil I’m told is counter productive as grass seed needs sunlight to germinate. I stand to be corrected on this.

[@davidbredthauer2524]

Did coke sponsor your video?

[@mayscooper6395]

mays cooper

[@forrestchauncey2853]

I rented one what a piece of shit up down side to side still not enough seed

[@frostythesnowdragon3170]

you should’ve just fertilized your field

[@tomduane7320]

you are spending far to much money to plant your hay field after all its only three acres ,I would just get whats called a muck spreader and use your compost on the field use what you got from your animals .