Flaman Rentals Blog

Seed Tenders: A Seeding Efficiency Game Changer

Posted by Jeff Brown Mar 28, 2023

Seed tenders were invented to reduce your transport time, lower labour costs, keep your work concentrated in the field, and enable you to seed more acres. Flaman offers several innovative models that meet those marks with remarkable efficiency.



Commercial Seed Tenders
The Convey-All CST-1550 Seed Tender is one of the largest seed tenders available today. Its 1550 cubic feet of storage and attached conveyor save you time and money while providing a new level of convenience. You can load it from either side at your bins, station it at your optimum fill site, and save multiple trips between home and field.


 
Designed to prevent cross-contamination, this tender’s six stainless-steel, epoxy-coated compartments can carry different seed types along with fertilizer in the same load.

 
The CST-1550 is a manpower saver. Remote control gives a single user command of a 25' conveyor, powered by a 50HP diesel engine and fully contained hydraulic system. As master of the conveyor’s 144-degree swing range and two-tons per-minute unload rate, you can fill air seeders and trucks precisely and evenly. There’s no need to bring extra help to reposition anything and you can fill both tanks of your air seeder so they both empty at the same time.

 
Users say those advanced features yield impressive numbers. They’ve reported saving 30 minutes each time you fill your drill. Multiply that by four or five fills a day, and you’re gaining an extra 2.5 seeding hours per day. A 76’ drill seeding 34 acres/hour can use that time to add 68 to 85 extra acres to your daily total. Over 10 days, you could seed an entire extra section.
 
Side-Draw Solutions
If you already have a conveyor (and there are plenty of good ones), the Convey-All CSC-1545 Seed Cart is a good choice.



Instead of a conveyor, the CSC-1545 utilizes a side-drop chute system, offering stainless-steel slopes and gates. Otherwise, it provides comparable features to the CST-1550, including six separate stainless steel-lined, epoxy/polyurethane-coated compartments and an overall capacity of 1,525 cubic feet.



Flaman also offers two excellent Side Draw Seed Tenders from Haul All Industries.

"The Haul All Side Draw Seed Tender is like a Swiss army knife. It can be used to load air drills, clean seed with, and it can also be used as a harvest surge trailer."

The four-hopper Haul All 1580NT features a 1260-bushel capacity and rides on a 40-foot tri-axle frame. The slightly smaller Haul All 1185NT model carries up to 945 bushels in three hoppers mounted on a 30-foot tandem trailer. Like Convey-All, Haul All builds its hoppers with stainless steel.



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Our seed tender experts can help you find the seed tender that best serves your operation. We have 11 Flaman dealers located across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Drop by the one nearest you, and let’s talk about your optimum grain-handling solution. 

Posted in Product Information | Tagged with seed tender seed cart side draw seeding Convey-All Haul All | More articles by Jeff Brown

6 Reasons to Use a Riteway 7-Bar Harrow This Year

Posted by Mitch Flaman May 06, 2022

When it’s time to get your fields prepped for seeding, there are a few different equipment options to choose from. 

For many years, harrows have been used to prepare fields in different capacities. Whether you are levelling off ruts, busting up hardpan, or removing trash before seeding, both the Riteway 5-bar and 7-bar harrows have a specific purpose in the tillage cycle. With low-till or zero-tillage farming practices gaining popularity in the last decade, you need a way to create ideal seedbeds for your crop.


Riteway 5-Bar Heavy Harrow in use

Heavy harrows, often known as 5-bar harrows, are very common and do a great job moving dirt, even in wet conditions. The Riteway 7-bar harrow is lighter than a traditional heavy harrow and has twice as many tines, offering you the flexibility you need to deal with excess straw post-harvest and residue management before seeding.


Riteway 7-Bar Harrow

We put together six reasons why you should consider using a Riteway 7-bar harrow this year.

1. Trash and Residue Removal

“At its most basic point: if you’re looking to move soil – stick with your 5-bar, but if you’re looking for trash management there’s no better way to go than the 7-bar harrow.”
Brad Grass, Territory Sales Manager at Riteway Manufacturing

Think about how you use a large fan rake to clean up all the leaves in the fall. You go over the surface of your lawn, gently collecting the leaves and removing them. When using a garden rake, you collect everything from the roots of your grass – eliminating everything that protects the soil.

7-bar harrows work much the same as a large leaf rake, cleaning up and breaking down straw residue, while leaving the soil mildly agitated. Featuring twice as many tines as a heavy harrow, the 7-bar’s ½” tines provide better agitation as the harrow floats over the field – allowing for greater trash removal and distribution.

24" long 1/2" tines on the Riteway 7-Bar Harrow

2. Moisture Retention

The smaller diameter tines on the 7-bar harrow provide greater agitation while disturbing less ground. By only mixing up the top layer of the soil, it allows the moisture to stay in the ground. The goal is to remove extra trash on the surface, not dry out the soil. 
 

3. Less Soil Compaction

The 82’ Riteway 7-bar harrow weighs 19,900 lbs and is the heaviest and strongest 7-bar in its class. Despite its weight, the 7-bar won’t compact the soil down as much as a heavy harrow because it floats over the topsoil instead of digging down. Less compaction, combined with better moisture retention, creates a better environment for plant development. 


Riteway 7-Bar Harrow in use

4. Seed Bed Prep

Remove all the trash and debris left from harvest and prepare your seedbeds without removing soil. This allows the seed drills to move easily through the field with less straw build-up around the knife. After using a 7-bar harrow, you’ll end up with a nice, clean surface for a fresh start in the spring.


Riteway 7-Bar Harrow field demo

5. Herbicide Application

As some weeds become resistant to certain herbicides, older chemicals are making a comeback. Because granular herbicide mixes well with topsoil, the 7-bar harrow can effectively protect your crops from invasive weeds. The 7-bar helps introduce the granular chemical into the soil just enough so that it can be evenly distributed throughout the field.
 

6. Mechanical Weed Removal

The 7-bar’s lightweight spring tines help manage weeds that start to thrive in your field after harvest. By damaging these weeds enough so they stop growing, your crops have less competition for nutrients in the soil.

Spring Pressure Kit on the Riteway 7-Bar Harrow

As you can see, there are many advantages to using a Riteway 7-bar harrow to prepare your fields for seeding and manage the crop residue after harvest.


Brad, Riteway Manufacturing, walks through the features on the 7-Bar Harrow

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If you have any questions about our Riteway 7-Bar, Heavy, or Rotary Harrows, or any of our other tillage equipment, contact us or visit your nearest Flaman location.

Posted in Product Information | Tagged with Riteway harrow 7-bar heavy harrow tillage field prep seeding | More articles by Mitch Flaman