Darrick Rains owns a chisel plow, disc and field cultivator to support his cow-calf operation in north-central Oklahoma, but he says his 40-foot no-till drill is what made it possible to double the number of animal units he markets each year for a handsome economic advantage.

While the fourth-generation farmer/stockman prefers conventional farming methods to prepare winter wheat pasture on his tighter, heavier fields near Stillwater, his leased land just north of the Cimarron River is naturally very sandy and blows easily if left unprotected. 

That’s where he uses his Great Plains 3S4000 drill, set up without coulters, on 7.5-inch spacing to overseed rented crabgrass pastures with winter wheat. He says the practice is a vital component of his beef operation. 

“The proceeds of my operation come totally from ‘on-hoof’ sales,” he explains. “While my family was always in crop production, I don’t sell a bag of grain. My farm income all comes from what moves through the sale barn.”

Farming a Patchwork

Rains is a co-owner, with two partners, of the Payne County Stockyards near Perkins, on the same highway as a pair of the leased crabgrass sections he farms. 

While all his cattle transactions go through the sale business, he assures all three partners pay the same commissions and fees as his customers, but the auction barn provides flexibility of a regular local pool of cattle to purchase from, and an active sale at market time. 

Overall, the operation covers about 3,000 acres and spreads from near the…