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| Lorne and Shawn Mullen of Strathmore, Alberta, Canada |
| Lorne and Shawn have embraced the independent seed depth approach for consistent seed placement. They were extremely pleased with their first year with the 3310 Paralink™ Hoe Drill. |
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Lorne talks about the packing characteristics he found with the 3310 PHD™. "We have all kinds of conditions here so that one of the things, when we’re trying to pick a seeder, we have to be able to operate in really dry or really wet conditions. We also are very spread out so we have all kinds of soil types from the nicest soil to the stuff that really probably shouldn’t even be farmed. So the packing is a real concern. In the mud we couldn’t believe it [the 3310]. We ended up doing all the wet spots with the 3310 because it pulled easy and did not plug up. It just literally comes out of water and it’s just packing again."
Lorne also points out the consistency of seed placement by the PHD. "Because it was so wet the tractors were definitely pressing down on the ground with the tires, but the individual depth control allowed the openers to contour, including spinning ruts. With our other [air hoe] drill, we could definitely see where the tractor was a lot more than with the 3310. There’s just no comparison and it seems like almost every seed grew, even right behind the tractor." Shawn adds his observations about consistency, "Consistency remained the same, from 4-1/2 to 6-1/2 m.p.h. Speed didn’t vary the seed depth like the old drills, where they would ride out of the ground as your speed increased. Any time I checked that seed was right where I set the seed placement." Lorne continues regarding seeding consistency, "The consistency with which the crop came up was what surprised us. We’re kind of glad we had the two drills come right up against each other because you can really compare when you see how much quicker the germination was behind the 3310, and how much more consistent it was. We were actually surprised. We didn’t realize we were doing that bad a job with the other drill."
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The Mullens were asked to comment on the residue clearance of the 3310. Shawn noted, "We had a big straw crop last year, I don’t think we could have more straw than last year. It was cut fine and run through the rotor combines." Lorne adds, "And with those wet conditions, if we were ever to have any trouble [seeding], it’s going to be this spring. The fact was the packers never plugged, [the 3310] just let us seed right through it." Shawn talks on speed ranges again, "We increased our seeding speed from 4-1/2 to 6 m.p.h. and dirt flowed nicely around the small opener and the packer did its job. We thought the increase in speed was going to be one of our big issues but it wasn't. The field finish was beautiful, the nicest field finish we’ve had. We swathed canola this week where we ran both our seed drills on the same field. We were able to swath the canola a mile an hour faster behind the Bourgault Paralink Drill compared to the [air hoe] drill."
Lorne and Shawn purchased the 3310 with Mid Row Banders. Lorne explains why, "We’ve watched it for a while on other units that you have out so we’ve been quite convinced that it’s working quite well. We wanted to make sure that the crop wasn’t having trouble finding the nitrogen. With MRBs, we don’t have to compromise the seed bed at all as you do when placing nitrogen off to the side, and they pulled really easily. It’s only the first year but it certainly went smoothly. Shawn outlines the benefits he sees with MRBs, "Just getting that anhydrous away from your seed. Even when I'm working on a boot, I'm not as exposed to the anhydrous. Mid row banding allows us to run a small [seed] boot, we don’t have to spread seed out."
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