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Farmers needed to test cover crop harvest seeding tech

Montag and Red Barn Solutions are offering a free trial of the Harvest Seeder this fall for Missouri soybean growers.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

April 5, 2024

2 Min Read
The Harvest Seeder from Red Barn Solutions and Montag
ALL IN ONE: The Harvest Seeder from Red Barn Solutions and Montag allows farmers to make one pass across the field at harvest to combine soybeans and plant cover crops.Photos by Red Barn Solutions

Putting cover crop seed down at harvest may be easier than you think.

The Harvest Seeder from Red Barn Solutions uses Montag’s 2108 air seeder to evenly seed cover crops at harvest. With one pass, farmers can provide seed-to-soil contact, along with chaff mulching that improves seed germination.

After testing the Harvest Seeder last fall at Missouri Soybeans Bay Farm Research Facility, company officials are offering it to Missouri farmers for the upcoming fall seeding season.

During a cover crops field day, Mark Bloom, territory manager for Montag, announced that the company — along with product developer Red Barn Solutions — is extending the opportunity for soybean growers to test out a Harvest Seeder on their own farm this fall.

“It is available at no cost, no obligation,” he said. “You can run over as many acres as you wish this coming fall. We want you to decide what is the best method of cover crops seeding on [the] farm and most economical.”

Red Barn Solutions - Close up of hoses and shield mount on the back of a soybean header

Bloom says farmers should look at the coverage and the cost of cover crop seeding. His breakdown finds:

  • custom application — from $14 to $19 per acre

  • farmer-owned box drill — (fuel, labor and maintenance) $10 per acre

  • Montag Harvest Seeder — 47 cents per acre

“There’s your opportunity,” Bloom adds.

Related:What does future of cover crop seeding look like?

Company representatives will deliver and install the system, and even remove it when seeding is complete.

One caveat: Farmers must have a John Deere S combine.

If you are interested in this free trial, contact Bloom, Montag territory manager, at [email protected] or 712-298-0397, or Mark Trapolino, Red Barn Solutions, at 712-790-0029. The number of growers in Missouri is limited.

About the Author(s)

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

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