Do you have concerns with a particular piece of equipment used in your no-till operation? Do you have comments, questions or suggestions on other topics of interest to no-till farmers?

If so, visit our No-Till Farmer sponsored Web site Bulletin Board. No-tillers can discuss ideas and techniques 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.no-tillfarmer.com, reaching hundreds if not thousands of fellow no-tillers.

Recently, a discussion about the Crustbuster 4030 All Plant drill appeared on the bulletin board. Here’s what no-tillers had to say about this no-till drill.

Not Pleased At All

I purchased a 30-foot Crustbuster 4030 All Plant drill last spring to no-till milo into wheat stubble, but am not pleased with its performance. While it could have been the result of setting something incorrectly, the stand was extremely poor. Even where there was no straw to contend with, I had very poor seed placement.

Accurate seed drop is supposedly Crustbuster’s “claim to fame.” I could have gotten a better stand if I would have planted with my worn out Great Plains drill.

I was running about 6 to 6 1/2 mph. The slot width was 3/16 inch, the derailer was set on 18/30, with 24/44 on the gears. The Crustbuster should have put on 3 1/2 to 4 pounds of milo seed per acre. If I got that amount, I must have buried it.

I checked a few times and the depth was between 3/4 inch and 1 inch, which should have been about right…