Getting good seed-to-soil contact is critical in ensuring a high germination rate when seeding. On most air drills with independent row openers, the job of ensuring that contact happens falls to the trailing packer wheel. But there are some conditions which can cause a fixed packer wheel to run slightly off the seed row, such as in corners, according to Norbert Beaujot, president of SeedMaster.
To eliminate that problem on its drills, SeedMaster has introduced a new optional pivoting arm design that allows the packer wheel to trail naturally in the seed-row trench.
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“Instead of trying to figure out that exact lateral location, we’ve added a pivot to the arm that allows the packer wheel to continue follow that best location within the breakout pattern,” he explained. ”Even on moderate curves, as the furrows don’t follow a straight line with the tractor, you’ll see it continually adjust.”
“In hard soils it’s particularly important, because it doesn’t take much of a shoulder, if the packer wheel is riding on that shoulder, it’s not going to dent down and pack the seed properly.”
The pivoting opener arm can be ordered as an option on drills for the 2017 season.
