ATV Seed Spreader?

We’re looking ahead to next year already. Looks like we’ll be able to foot plot in a few new places, 3 acres, 1 acre, 1.25 acre. What atv spreader would be good to get for these sizes? We’ve got a boom sprayer, so we’re good on that. I just want to get a good spreader.

Thanks.

I use my handheld bag spreader the most but want to get a 12 volt to mount on the front of an atv. I want to mount it on the front so I can easily see what I’m spreading and how it’s spreading. Stay away from the pull behind. They rock back and forth and tip easily. Also hard to see behind the atv.
DT

I’ve been through 4 ATV spreaders and here are the things I found are key with spreaders:

1. Capacity – the size of plots you are doing requires BIG capacity. Not for seed necessarily, but for spreading fertilizer, lime, and if you choose to do grain seedings. You need at least 125 pounds or it will take forever.

2. Stability – When loaded, most “lawn and garden” spreaders are WAY too tippy, they are top heavy when loaded and roll over very easily. This was a huge issue for me, the first two spreaders I bought were both too tippy.

3. Durability – Most spreaders are made for somebody to do their lawn 2x a year. The gearbox especially has to be durable enough to do plots for hours.

I ended up finally buying what I wish I would have bought in the first place. The 185 pound Agri-Fab spreadyer:

http://www.agri-fab.com/Products/Spreaders/185-lb-tow-spreader.aspx

This spreder has the capacity, it doesn’t tip, and the gearbox has held up for the 4 years I’ve ownd it so far. I’ve spread tons and tons of lime and fertilizer, no issues, like I said I wish I’d have bought this one several spreaders ago.

BTW, I also tried an electric rack-monted ATV spreader. Capacity was too small, too hard to load because it sat too high, and not enough precision.

For seeding operations, I recommend seeding fine seed only with a shoulder bag seeder. Clover and alfalfa especially, tow-behinds don’t have enough precision in the gate openings to meter this sugar-fine seed precisely. The result is over-seeding which is expensive and counter-productive. Brassicas also will never forgive you if you over-plant it.

Shoulder bag seeders just have much better precision and metering.

Grouse

I have the Fimco spreader and for the money, it is worth it. I spread seed, fertilizer and pelletized lime with it and it works great.

Lely makes a good spreader. Probably more than you want to spend. We use them for golf course applications. They hold about 500 pounds.

Grouse, the Agri-Fab is a pull behind spreader that spreads only by spinning the wheels, correct? I assumed a motorized spreader would provide a more consistent spread. How do you control your spread with the AgriFab?

fishinfreaks wrote:

Grouse, the Agri-Fab is a pull behind spreader that spreads only by spinning the wheels, correct? I assumed a motorized spreader would provide a more consistent spread. How do you control your spread with the AgriFab?

Yes, it’s a ground-driven spreader, the wheels drive the broadcast plate.

What I found out the hard way is the consistency of the spread is almost all down to the precision of the mechanisim that controls the opening and closing of the gate.

What I found on 2 of the spreaders I bought is that there was so much slop and play in the gate opening that even using the same setting, the opening would vary by up to 1/8 of an inch just because of the flex/slop in the mechanism.

Speed isn’t as critical as I thought, just be as consistent as you can. If you go faster, so does the auger and the plate, so you spread faster to compensate for covering more ground. If you go slower, everything slows down so you spread about the same volume per acre. The spread swath is regulated by the height of the plate to the ground, so going really fast does not make it spread a wider swath.

The electric spreader IMO was more prone to variance because it does not speed up or slow down to compensate for variations in ATV speed. It’s throwing the same amount of product regardless of speed, so if you go faster, you get less per acre, etc. Also, the electric spreader I had was by far the worst in terms of gate size opening variation.

The biggest thing is to first measure your plot size precisely with a GPS tool.

Then section off a 1/4 of an acre areas and use these to calibrate the material you’re spreading. Say you’re trying to put 100 pounds per acre of fertilizer down. OK, so that’s 25 pounds per 1/4 acre, measure out half a bag and use the seeder’s guide to pick the setting let’s say it’s a 5.

My “spreading speed on my polaris is 2700 RPM in low gear, so I try to maintain that speed.

So you cover that 1/4 acre and then check the bin. Product left over? Cange setting to a 6. Not enough product, change down to a 4. Use the next quarter acre to verify.

Then write the settings down with a sharpie on a piece of tape on the spreader! Product / Rate / Speed. This info is like gold and once you figure it all out, it allows efficient one pass spreading.

BTW as DT says above, the shoulder bag seeder is the only way to go when it comes to spreading seed. I still use mine for all seeding with the exception of grain.

Grouse

Having the wheeler in low gear is a great point. I do the same otherwise when pulling the spreader there is a lot of jerking back and forth.
DT