The ability to follow the contours of a field sets the Case 500 drill apart from its competitors, but while it cuts the soil well, this unit could do a better job closing the soil.
That’s according to Phil Needham of Needham Ag Technologies, who assesses the pros and cons of the Case 500T drill as part of the video below (click here to view an earlier video where Needham discusses down pressure and lack of a firming wheel on this same drill.)
“The biggest advantage to the Case 500 is the amount of terrain-following ability as a result of the parallel linkage,” he explains.
The Case drill features an 18 inch disc blade set at at a 7 degree angle to create a seed slot wide enough to place seed into.
Related: How Does Disc Wheel Diameter Impact Seeding?
When compared with John Deere’s closest model, Needham says they’ve found the Case 500 does a better job cutting the soil.
“We found the Case definitely cuts better. It hairpins less because of the vertical orientation of the blade. It cuts better in harder soils and heavy residue,” he says. “But with the benefit of better cutting, it tends to disturb more soil.”
Needham says there’s also room for improvement in the Case 500’s ability to close the seed slot.
“We saw that even though the seeder was making a clearly defined seed slot and placing seeds fairly well, the closing wheel tended to be dropping loose soil in,” he says, noting seed slot closure will depend on soil moisture conditions.
“In a nutshell, it’s a good seeder, with good cutting and a lot of terrain-following ability, but it needs a seed firmer and in certain conditions, a better closing system,” says Needham.
Or listen to Needham’s take on the Case 500:
