Case IH is out with its latest series of air drills, the Precision Disk Drill 500 and 500T. The latest redesign includes an onboard bulk seed tank in 25 -, 30 -, 40 – foot working widths with the 500T and the Precision Disk 500 in 30 – and 40 – foot sizes, which are paired with a tow – between or tow – behind air cart.
There are a number of great advantages to this piece of equipment starting with it having multiple working widths to fit any farms size and style, which will work well when seeding several different crops (such as soybeans wheat, canola, etc). The wider widths also come with a pull behind or pull between air cart making it possible to seed more acres without having to reload and the ability to place fertilizer down with the seed.
The consistent seed to soil contact allows for better emergence which helps against different soil types. The double edged closing wheels apply consistent pressure to ensure good soil to seed contact at higher operating speeds and in different soil conditions. What a lot of farmers are going to like is there are no tools necessary to change the depth of seed with a wide range of settings over small adjustable increments. It has the ability to go from no-till to conventional planting without time consuming changeovers, which means less time in the shop and more time making dust in the field. The latest models allow for increased field speed while still having accurate rates and depths which allows for more acres per hour. This is complimented by constant flow measurement to ensure right population without having to physically check with the built in on board flow meters. The biggest cost savings from the 500 and 500T will come from the ability to manually shut off or automated shutoff sections using GPS, reducing overlap and wasting seed.
The Precision Disk Drill 500 and 500T have the ability to slice through residue due to higher yields from the previous year which means it will not have an effect on the current year’s germination and a more even seed pattern then one would normally get. Individual spring pressure on each opener allows for varying residue and soil conditions not to cause an effect on the seed depth and placement and it also has the ability to change down pressure from the cab making it possible to adjust on the fly.
When it’s time to head to the next field the 500 and 500T are both road savvy, with the ability to quickly change from field to transport, and narrow transport widths making it fast and easy to move from field to field minimizing down time. A mounted seed tank allows for more acres per load reducing amount of times needed to fill.
Stephen Lester has agriculture in his DNA. He is a fourth generation farmer and resides in Rolling Hills, Alberta. He has an in-depth knowledge of farm equipment having serviced equipment ever since he was first able to carry a grease gun. He is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Engineering program and brings a hands-on approach to everything he does. In his down time on the farm, he enjoys taking equipment apart and putting it back together to help optimize its performance and watching equipment demonstrations first hand or on You-Tube.
