One of the more heated debates throughout the course of the last month on No-Till Farmer’s Online Forum has been what is the best kind of no-till drill to purchase. Not all exchanges in the forum are debated, as sometimes no-tillers just offer their advice, as in the case of the Iowa no-tiller who was having a problem with lodging beans.

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More Money Equals Better Drill?

I have a chance to buy a used Tye 2015 no-till drill with 1-by-13-inch press wheels and coulter cart (13 wave) for wheat and soybeans no-tilled into heavy corn trash on a sandy loam soil and a small amount of clay loam. My Great Plains dealer says his no-till drill is far better.

My agronomist told me that the Great Plains drill is not worth the extra dollars.

—Dave,

horyan68@magna.ca

There’s not much difference between the two. You should instead consider a used 750 Deere that should be in about the same price range. I’d rather have a Sunflower than a Tye or Great Plains no-till drill, but the Deere is a far better no-till drill. I’ve no-tilled over 8,000 acres with mine.

—Jeff

I’d agree on getting the John Deere. I was not impressed with our Great Plains no-till drill during the 3 years we owned it. The Tye no-till drill doesn’t look that great either.

—Del

In our part of the country…