Grain drill for Farmall S-MTA

[Farmall_S-MTA]

We recently purchesed 15 acres of land. I am looking to maintain and farm it on a small scale myself. I currently own a Farmall S-MTA, an Oliver Rooster Comb plow, and soon a disk.
The next thing I believe I am in need of is a grain drill. (No I don't mean a planter.) The field was no-tilled since for sure the early 2000s and I have no intrest of continuing that. So I'd like to just plant it down in some clover and grass hay mix for a couple of years and then maybe tear that up and plant some corn.
Anyway I don't really know what to look for when buying a grain drill. I did some research but couldn't find much.

As an example these are some of the grain drills I have found, but don't know if any hold much potential. I don't want to break the bank purchasing something, but I also don't want to have to repair it all the time. I plan on expanding my operation in the future so if I could get just a few years out of something before I sold it or made it a show piece that would be fine.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1688689758835528/

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2369937423363658/

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1093381180286424/ (this one says pending)

https://www.tractorhouse.com/listin...-superior-64f-grain-drills-planting-equipment

https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/north-english-grain-drill/mz5GU8kbGum921aV6eun5D

Antique IH international grain seed drill. Rolls and in good shape. Hoppers not rusted.

Antique grain drill In good shape. Yard art or some tlc it could be used. 8’ wide. 50” tall steel wheels. Can sell just The wheels $200 for the pair

www.facebook.com

Thanks for your time.

 

[DanielW]

As an alternative thought: For only 15 acres total, I wouldn't bother with a drill. Especially if primarily hay where you're only going to break up the land every 5 years (at most) or for small grains. At our Northern farm where we really only do hay and small grains for the cattle up there, we probably break up a different 10-20 acre block of hay land every year (to be seeded into small grains and underseeded with a new hay mix), and we haven't had a drill on that farm for about two decades. And even before we got rid of it, we hadn't used it in several years prior to that.

Just not worth having a drill for our pokey little cattle operation feeding a few dozen head. We don't spray at that farm, so it's all plowed. Once your seed bed is prep'd and smooth, just broadcast the seed and harrow it in. Sometimes for pasture where I'm not picky and in a rush I've just broadcast directly over the plowed furrows (admittedly a very rough ride) and let the discing pass work it in. For hay, I definitely wouldn't bother with a drill. Even down at our Southern farm or for a lot of larger operators where they have drills, they'll likely say the same: Often easier and just as good for hay to broadcast and work it in. Getting the grass box set and regulated right on a conventional drill can be a little tricky sometimes. And even for our own small grains (primarily oats), we don't notice any appreciable difference in yield nor stand quality since we stopped using a drill. Just broadcast at a little higher rate to account for it not germinating quite as good as with a drill. Grain seed is cheap. For the sake of a few extra bags at $20/bag, it's not worth the trouble/maintenance/shed-space to have a drill kicking around.

But if you are looking for a conventional, old-fashioned drill, I'd recommend the McCormick/IH 10, 510, 5100, or Massey 33. Very common drills, usually can find them dirt cheap now that everyone's going to no-till. Most parts still readily available. But don't get hung up on make/model: Condition is far more important. Check inside the boxes for rust, make sure the tubes are all good and present, make sure the mechanism all rolls over well. I see a couple of your links showed wooden box drills on steel. I definitely wouldn't bother with those, unless you really want the fun of restoring and using an antique drill. A more modern steel-box drill on rubber will be far less trouble, and still readily found for a couple hundred $$.

 

[paul]

Those are some nice antique drills for a fairly high price.

Locally the McCormick drills by IHC were the gold standard built in the 1950s, or so. Nicer ones on rubber tires, certainly useable but not as great on big steel wheels. Could buy them for $300-500 usually.

Double disc openers are much preferred in our soil, most that you showed are single disc. They might work well in different soil types than we have I don’t know. Hardly ever see single disc openers here.

JD drills are also popular, folk like JD just because.

With a drill you need to look inside and see that the bottom of the box is clean. Typically someone in the past 50 years left it sit outside with seed in it and rusted it, bad deal. Bottom of the box needs to look great; the seed meters and shaft needs to turn easy and free.

Also see that the disc blades are in good condition, not worn down or the bearings loose. These old things need lots of grease, or more likely thick oil daily, folks skip that and the old sleeve bearings wear out.

The seed tubes probably are the next thing to check, hard to find the metal type any more, usually can adapt a rubber version to work now.

Lots of seed tubes or disk blades or trying to repair bearings no longer available will quickly cost more than whatever you paid for the drill.

Any of the drills you pictured will plant fine if the above stuff is working great. Really don’t care at all what the outside of the drill looks like, are the meters clean and loose, are the disks working, are the seed tubes in good shape. They all plant then.

Some have a fertilizer box also. That is really nice, but fertilizer rusts the heck out of things and on an 80 year old item, well…. Hard to find one intact.

Most have, and you probably want, a small seed box. It is identical to the grain box just everything smaller. This meters out alfalfa, clover, turnips, and other small round seeds. It’s often called the grass seed box, but actually doesn’t plant seed with wings on it very well.

There is a small seed box that has fluted, or picker style meters that can plant grass seed. The bottom of the box is different than the big grain box, the meters are designed to handle fluffy winged grass seeds. (Without this style of box, you just mix the right amount of grass seed with oats and plant the mix with the grain box. The winged grass seeds stay in the proper mix and the oats is a nice companion crop. It’s more difficult to mix clover or alfalfa seed with oats, as you bounce down the field the heavy small seeds settle quickly to the bottom and won’t stay nicely mixed.)

Paul

 

[Farmall_S-MTA]

As an alternative thought: For only 15 acres total, I wouldn't bother with a drill. Especially if primarily hay where you're only going to break up the land every 5 years (at most) or for small grains. At our Northern farm where we really only do hay and small grains for the cattle up there, we probably break up a different 10-20 acre block of hay land every year (to be seeded into small grains and underseeded with a new hay mix), and we haven't had a drill on that farm for about two decades. And even before we got rid of it, we hadn't used it in several years prior to that.

Just not worth having a drill for our pokey little cattle operation feeding a few dozen head. We don't spray at that farm, so it's all plowed. Once your seed bed is prep'd and smooth, just broadcast the seed and harrow it in. Sometimes for pasture where I'm not picky and in a rush I've just broadcast directly over the plowed furrows (admittedly a very rough ride) and let the discing pass work it in. For hay, I definitely wouldn't bother with a drill. Even down at our Southern farm or for a lot of larger operators where they have drills, they'll likely say the same: Often easier and just as good for hay to broadcast and work it in. Getting the grass box set and regulated right on a conventional drill can be a little tricky sometimes. And even for our own small grains (primarily oats), we don't notice any appreciable difference in yield nor stand quality since we stopped using a drill. Just broadcast at a little higher rate to account for it not germinating quite as good as with a drill. Grain seed is cheap. For the sake of a few extra bags at $20/bag, it's not worth the trouble/maintenance/shed-space to have a drill kicking around.

Thanks for the tips.
What do you use for broadcasting the seed?

But if you are looking for a conventional, old-fashioned drill, I'd recommend the McCormick/IH 10, 510, 5100, or Massey 33. Very common drills, usually can find them dirt cheap now that everyone's going to no-till. Most parts still readily available. But don't get hung up on make/model: Condition is far more important. Check inside the boxes for rust, make sure the tubes are all good and present, make sure the mechanism all rolls over well. I see a couple of your links showed wooden box drills on steel. I definitely wouldn't bother with those, unless you really want the fun of restoring and using an antique drill. A more modern steel-box drill on rubber will be far less trouble, and still readily found for a couple hundred $$.

Thanks. I’ll take a look at those models.

 

[Farmall_S-MTA]

Those are some nice antique drills for a fairly high price.

Locally the McCormick drills by IHC were the gold standard built in the 1950s, or so. Nicer ones on rubber tires, certainly useable but not as great on big steel wheels. Could buy them for $300-500 usually.

I’m having trouble finding ones that look decent for less than $600. I’m not the most interested in the wooden box ones.

Lots of seed tubes or disk blades or trying to repair bearings no longer available will quickly cost more than whatever you paid for the drill.

Any of the drills you pictured will plant fine if the above stuff is working great. Really don’t care at all what the outside of the drill looks like, are the meters clean and loose, are the disks working, are the seed tubes in good shape. They all plant then.

Some have a fertilizer box also. That is really nice, but fertilizer rusts the heck out of things and on an 80 year old item, well…. Hard to find one intact.

Most have, and you probably want, a small seed box. It is identical to the grain box just everything smaller. This meters out alfalfa, clover, turnips, and other small round seeds. It’s often called the grass seed box, but actually doesn’t plant seed with wings on it very well.

There is a small seed box that has fluted, or picker style meters that can plant grass seed. The bottom of the box is different than the big grain box, the meters are designed to handle fluffy winged grass seeds. (Without this style of box, you just mix the right amount of grass seed with oats and plant the mix with the grain box. The winged grass seeds stay in the proper mix and the oats is a nice companion crop. It’s more difficult to mix clover or alfalfa seed with oats, as you bounce down the field the heavy small seeds settle quickly to the bottom and won’t stay nicely mixed.)

Paul

Thanks. I’ll keep all of this in mind when I look at them.

 

[DanielW]

Thanks for the tips.
What do you use for broadcasting the seed?

Just your basic, three-point broadcast spreader. Not sure if your Super M has a three-point or not, but if not you can always get a smaller pull-type one. You may likely want one for fertilizer or similar at some point, so not a bad thing to find one regardless. Should be plenty around in the $100 - $300 price range. Your small seeds like clover, timothy, alfalfa, etc. won't work if put in on their own, as they're so small they leak out of everywhere and spread inconsistently if on their own. But we (and most other folks) get around that by just mixing the small seed with a few bags of fertilizer or mixing it into your grain if you're over-seeding with a small grain.

 

[Timmycornpicker]

Those are some nice antique drills for a fairly high price.

Locally the McCormick drills by IHC were the gold standard built in the 1950s, or so. Nicer ones on rubber tires, certainly useable but not as great on big steel wheels. Could buy them for $300-500 usually.

Double disc openers are much preferred in our soil, most that you showed are single disc. They might work well in different soil types than we have I don’t know. Hardly ever see single disc openers here.

JD drills are also popular, folk like JD just because.

With a drill you need to look inside and see that the bottom of the box is clean. Typically someone in the past 50 years left it sit outside with seed in it and rusted it, bad deal. Bottom of the box needs to look great; the seed meters and shaft needs to turn easy and free.

Also see that the disc blades are in good condition, not worn down or the bearings loose. These old things need lots of grease, or more likely thick oil daily, folks skip that and the old sleeve bearings wear out.

The seed tubes probably are the next thing to check, hard to find the metal type any more, usually can adapt a rubber version to work now.

Lots of seed tubes or disk blades or trying to repair bearings no longer available will quickly cost more than whatever you paid for the drill.

Any of the drills you pictured will plant fine if the above stuff is working great. Really don’t care at all what the outside of the drill looks like, are the meters clean and loose, are the disks working, are the seed tubes in good shape. They all plant then.

Some have a fertilizer box also. That is really nice, but fertilizer rusts the heck out of things and on an 80 year old item, well…. Hard to find one intact.

Most have, and you probably want, a small seed box. It is identical to the grain box just everything smaller. This meters out alfalfa, clover, turnips, and other small round seeds. It’s often called the grass seed box, but actually doesn’t plant seed with wings on it very well.

There is a small seed box that has fluted, or picker style meters that can plant grass seed. The bottom of the box is different than the big grain box, the meters are designed to handle fluffy winged grass seeds. (Without this style of box, you just mix the right amount of grass seed with oats and plant the mix with the grain box. The winged grass seeds stay in the proper mix and the oats is a nice companion crop. It’s more difficult to mix clover or alfalfa seed with oats, as you bounce down the field the heavy small seeds settle quickly to the bottom and won’t stay nicely mixed.)

Paul

I've noticed the past few years around here that any old drill in decent shape is listed with 'vintage', 'collectible', 'antique' or 'food plot' somewhere in the title and/or description and it is priced way high for what it is. The old farms in this part of NJ are pretty much all cleaned out, so the auction bargains don't come along like they used to, either.

 

[Timmycornpicker]

Just your basic, three-point broadcast spreader. Not sure if your Super M has a three-point or not, but if not you can always get a smaller pull-type one. You may likely want one for fertilizer or similar at some point, so not a bad thing to find one regardless. Should be plenty around in the $100 - $300 price range. Your small seeds like clover, timothy, alfalfa, etc. won't work if put in on their own, as they're so small they leak out of everywhere and spread inconsistently if on their own. But we (and most other folks) get around that by just mixing the small seed with a few bags of fertilizer or mixing it into your grain if you're over-seeding with a small grain.

Herd and Worksaver both used to make broadcasters that would bolt to the drawbar on non-3-point tractors. They came with a PTO shaft extension that had a pulley on the end and used a v-belt up to the shaft on the broadcaster itself. I'm sure there's one out there waiting to be found yet.

 

[Timmycornpicker]

We recently purchesed 15 acres of land. I am looking to maintain and farm it on a small scale myself. I currently own a Farmall S-MTA, an Oliver Rooster Comb plow, and soon a disk.
The next thing I believe I am in need of is a grain drill. (No I don't mean a planter.) The field was no-tilled since for sure the early 2000s and I have no intrest of continuing that. So I'd like to just plant it down in some clover and grass hay mix for a couple of years and then maybe tear that up and plant some corn.
Anyway I don't really know what to look for when buying a grain drill. I did some research but couldn't find much.

As an example these are some of the grain drills I have found, but don't know if any hold much potential. I don't want to break the bank purchasing something, but I also don't want to have to repair it all the time. I plan on expanding my operation in the future so if I could get just a few years out of something before I sold it or made it a show piece that would be fine.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1688689758835528/

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2369937423363658/

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1093381180286424/ (this one says pending)

https://www.tractorhouse.com/listin...-superior-64f-grain-drills-planting-equipment

https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/north-english-grain-drill/mz5GU8kbGum921aV6eun5D

Antique IH international grain seed drill. Rolls and in good shape. Hoppers not rusted.

Antique grain drill In good shape. Yard art or some tlc it could be used. 8’ wide. 50” tall steel wheels. Can sell just The wheels $200 for the pair

www.facebook.com

Thanks for your time.

Another thought: 20 years ago I used to have a 10 foot wide New Idea drop spreader that had a factory small-seed box on the front, and a hitch on the back. I mostly used it to drop fluffy grass seed mixes through the big box while putting smaller seed like timothy or clover in the small box, with a cultipacker towed behind. I did use this setup a few times to drop clover seed out of the small box and oats out of the big box. The oats weren't as deep as they would have been if planted with a drill, but did OK for what I was doing. The drop spreader is more accurate than a broadcaster and you could also use it to spread lime without having a cloud of white dust blowing to the neighbors. Finding one with a small-seed box might be a challenge, though.

 

[MoMike2]

The Oliver drills are probably the best and most accurate as far as seeding accuracy. The biggest problem would be finding parts if something breaks. The IH and JD models would be easier to get parts for. In your shoes as much as I would love the Oliver 64 I think I'd look for either a IH or JD model.

 

[Scott 730]

P-3 Moline drills seem to show up occasionally on Marketplace and Craigslist "here". I have had a double disc P-3 20x6 for 40 years. Does what I need it to do.

 

[Brendon-KS]

Location likely makes a difference but here in Kansas the older end-wheel drills sell dirt cheap at auctions. 6 or 7 years ago I bought a field-ready Deere 8350 20x8 with a non-leaky hydraulic cylinder and good hoses for $650 and I've seen a number of similar drills since go for well under a grand. If you have to get down roads with traffic I'd suggest a 10-ft model - the 13-ft drills like mine are pretty wide (15ish feet) to transport and with the wheels at the ends they can be awkward to get off the road if the ditches are steep.

A grass seed attachment would add to the appeal and value if you're wanting to sow grass and having press wheels is nice if you're in a drier climate. (Virtually all drills here in Kansas have press wheels, even the old ones.)

 

[rrlund]

Just your basic, three-point broadcast spreader. Not sure if your Super M has a three-point or not, but if not you can always get a smaller pull-type one. You may likely want one for fertilizer or similar at some point, so not a bad thing to find one regardless. Should be plenty around in the $100 - $300 price range. Your small seeds like clover, timothy, alfalfa, etc. won't work if put in on their own, as they're so small they leak out of everywhere and spread inconsistently if on their own. But we (and most other folks) get around that by just mixing the small seed with a few bags of fertilizer or mixing it into your grain if you're over-seeding with a small grain.

If he's spreading small seed like alfalfa, clover, timothy, I'd use a drill. It's way too hard to get a broadcast spreader set right so small seed doesn't puke out and go on way too heavy. He could waste the price if a drill in too much seed in just a few minutes.

 

[DanielW]

If he's spreading small seed like alfalfa, clover, timothy, I'd use a drill. It's way too hard to get a broadcast spreader set right so small seed doesn't puke out and go on way too heavy. He could waste the price if a drill in too much seed in just a few minutes.

True, I should have combined my two replies into one. But I think I cover that in my second reply: You can't spread fine seed in a typical broadcast spreader straight, but mix it in with a few bags of fertiziler or grain and it does just fine. Got rid of our IH 510 drill decades ago because it's just faster and easier to broadcast like that (especially for larger tracts) and we haven't noticed any difference nor ever had any desire to go back to drilling hay ground.

 

[tom upton]

For both fine and coarse hay seed it is very hard to beat a brillion seeder with both a fine and coarse seed box. Problem is even a decent used one is going to be pricey for just 15 acres. I have used 3 different drills with seed boxes and have tried broadcasting with fertilizer. I believe most fertilizer outlets will even mix it in with the fertilizer if you want? Problem I had with broadcasting was probably a combination of dry weather after, and I went over it after with harrows and roller probably getting a lot of seed too deep? In the heavy clay soil we have here planting too deep tends to noticeably lessen your catch, but may be okish in lighter land? I have had reasonable germination with my old Oliver drill and roller behind it, but by far the best 1st year stands of hay were applied with Brillion seeder. This year I extended the tounge on the brillion and put some spike tooth harrows in front of seeder to eliminate wheel tracks. The big bonus with the brillion is it leaves field as smooth as a babys bottom which is really nice for future operations. All that being said what works for some doesnt nessasarily work for others. Probably the best advice would be to talk to some local long time farmers and get there opinion of what works well in your area and type of ground. Oh and one last comment if you do buy a drill try to find one with the seed box on the back. I have a 21 run IH that has the fine seed box up front and it is not only a pain to load, but seed is supposed to travel thru plastic tubes and out the back. Fine in theory but those tubes will plug and you dont know it till the seed is spilling out the top of tube instead of the bottom.

 

[Farmall_S-MTA]

Just your basic, three-point broadcast spreader. Not sure if your Super M has a three-point or not, but if not you can always get a smaller pull-type one. You may likely want one for fertilizer or similar at some point, so not a bad thing to find one regardless. Should be plenty around in the $100 - $300 price range. Your small seeds like clover, timothy, alfalfa, etc. won't work if put in on their own, as they're so small they leak out of everywhere and spread inconsistently if on their own. But we (and most other folks) get around that by just mixing the small seed with a few bags of fertilizer or mixing it into your grain if you're over-seeding with a small grain.

My tractor is not equipped with a three point. So I will have to look for a pull type.
Thanks for the advice on how to use it.

 

[Farmall_S-MTA]

I've noticed the past few years around here that any old drill in decent shape is listed with 'vintage', 'collectible', 'antique' or 'food plot' somewhere in the title and/or description and it is priced way high for what it is. The old farms in this part of NJ are pretty much all cleaned out, so the auction bargains don't come along like they used to, either.

Same problem here. Yard art is another thing they get used for.

Herd and Worksaver both used to make broadcasters that would bolt to the drawbar on non-3-point tractors. They came with a PTO shaft extension that had a pulley on the end and used a v-belt up to the shaft on the broadcaster itself. I'm sure there's one out there waiting to be found yet.

Thanks I’ll take a look around and see what I find.

Another thought: 20 years ago I used to have a 10 foot wide New Idea drop spreader that had a factory small-seed box on the front, and a hitch on the back. I mostly used it to drop fluffy grass seed mixes through the big box while putting smaller seed like timothy or clover in the small box, with a cultipacker towed behind. I did use this setup a few times to drop clover seed out of the small box and oats out of the big box. The oats weren't as deep as they would have been if planted with a drill, but did OK for what I was doing. The drop spreader is more accurate than a broadcaster and you could also use it to spread lime without having a cloud of white dust blowing to the neighbors. Finding one with a small-seed box might be a challenge, though.

All of this older equipment is getting harder to find. Always saddened when I go to the scrapyard and see old stuff that looks like it has potential being melted down.

 

[Farmall_S-MTA]

The Oliver drills are probably the best and most accurate as far as seeding accuracy. The biggest problem would be finding parts if something breaks. The IH and JD models would be easier to get parts for. In your shoes as much as I would love the Oliver 64 I think I'd look for either a IH or JD model.

Thanks for the advice.
Is there any place that actually still supplies parts for these old drills?
Or is eBay, boneyards, auctions, etc. the only hopes?

 

[Farmall_S-MTA]

Probably the best advice would be to talk to some local long time farmers and get there opinion of what works well in your area and type of ground.

I have talked to some and it’s pretty varied. Although, none of them use a broadcaster that I am aware of.

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

We recently purchesed 15 acres of land. I am looking to maintain and farm it on a small scale myself. I currently own a Farmall S-MTA, an Oliver Rooster Comb plow, and soon a disk.
The next thing I believe I am in need of is a grain drill. (No I don't mean a planter.) The field was no-tilled since for sure the early 2000s and I have no intrest of continuing that. So I'd like to just plant it down in some clover and grass hay mix for a couple of years and then maybe tear that up and plant some corn.
Anyway I don't really know what to look for when buying a grain drill. I did some research but couldn't find much.

As an example these are some of the grain drills I have found, but don't know if any hold much potential. I don't want to break the bank purchasing something, but I also don't want to have to repair it all the time. I plan on expanding my operation in the future so if I could get just a few years out of something before I sold it or made it a show piece that would be fine.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1688689758835528/

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2369937423363658/

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1093381180286424/ (this one says pending)

https://www.tractorhouse.com/listin...-superior-64f-grain-drills-planting-equipment

https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/north-english-grain-drill/mz5GU8kbGum921aV6eun5D

Antique IH international grain seed drill. Rolls and in good shape. Hoppers not rusted.

Antique grain drill In good shape. Yard art or some tlc it could be used. 8’ wide. 50” tall steel wheels. Can sell just The wheels $200 for the pair

www.facebook.com

Thanks for your time.

The IH drill is missing parts. A lot of important ones (openers, hangars, seed tubes, etc.).

The yellow Superior drill is waaay overpriced. Cool looking unit though.

Same with the two for $950.

The Oliver for $125 has good potential.

The wood-wheeled drill looks good, but if the wheels are loose..... rebuilding them will not be cheap (I have two McCormicks awaiting a rebuild & know that to be fact!!).

Parts will be your biggest hangup. IH & Deere would be the easiest to find parts for. The concept of "easiest" still being a bit of a stretch for that vintage of equipment. Not impossible though.

Good luck!!

Mike