Hey guys, I'm branching out my business into small pasture management ( 2 acre horse paddocks etc) Ive been looking at the aeravator UA 60 as i have a New Holland Boomer 40 so cant buy anything too big. I know next to bugger all about them can anyone shed some light on whether im headed down the right track or not? The aeravator aerates and over seeds in one pass without messing up the paddock so thought it was a pretty good bit of kit. I already have an earavator Ae 60 which has no seed box and it seems to work well. Any other models brands i should consider. Basically my business will be soil test, aerate, spread lime then over seed. Thanks
Looks like an overpriced seed box to me. If you're not putting the seed in a slot/furrow, just spreading it on top, then I'd really want a roller behind the seed spreader. Here, people will buy an old 10' grain drill, cut it in half, and sell each half for four times the original price of the whole drill, for food plot or horsey people. A grass box off an old grain drill would do a better job, but you'd still want a roller/cultipacker. Maybe a brillion "surestand" style would be better? that is the ultimate small seed hay/pasture seeder, it would work on a well tilled seedbed, and would be better than any "overseeder" that doesn't drill into the soil.
Have to start backwards. What feeds (fescues, grasses etc) grows in your area best that is best for the horses? What conditions does the feed require at planting - pH, moisture, soil density, soil nutrient levels, planting depth, planting spacing etc. What are the horse land owners/ renters/ graziers prepared to pay for? Perhaps ask some manufacturers like Tobin whether their units are suitable for your conditions. You might only need a few new units or modify the tornado units slightly for your use - smaller diameter discs for the smaller tractor etc. (rather than buying an ancient connor shea drill that should be in a museum) Plenty of tobin and other australasian and aus drill/ planter vids to go through. (tobin vid) Some of small vineyard narrow drills might suit your use.
Thanks for the input. I will look into the brands mentioned above. The aeravator does have a roller on the rear but undeestood when you say the seed sits on top. To do my own paddocks i just aerated with my AE60 then spread the seed with a hand spreader than went back over it with the aeravator but with the pto not engaged so basically just rolling the seed in. It actually worked pretty good and i got a good coverage but im sure theres much better ways of doing it as mentioned laying them in a furrow. I just used the local Norco horse pasture summer seed mix that they advised i cant quite remember the exact make up, 15% millet, some fescue and i think it was kentucky blue grass. I see Kubota make a seeder which is nearly half the price of the UA60 any thoughts on those?
No problem with overseeding, the roller is critical for a good job especially if the seed is dropped on top, but even if it's drilled. I wasn't impressed with the seed box on the first model. there are any number of antique seed boxes that could be added to your aerovator to do the same thing, better. The Kubota looks like the same concept as the brillion sure stand, one roller in front, then drop the seed then another roller.
Probably should have mentioned to my tipper is 2.2 m wide and plant trailer 2.0 so looking for something small enough to cart around and max lift on the new holland is 980kg at the ball ends. I was thinking no till as it doesnt make aa mess on existing paddocks and can also be used on sports fields etc. As mentioned im definately no expert in this field im currently studying pasture management but have alot of experience on aall types of machinery aand pretty handy on the tools