"Orange Shank" Gives Fixed-Shank Seeders Row-by-Row Depth Control

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A farmer from Niverville, Manitoba, has designed a product that can give older seeding equipment some of the seed placement precision of newer seeding technology.

John Gehrer, who together with his wife Angelika also designed and sell the “Never Spill Spout” bin alarm, is now making what he calls the “Orange Shank.” It was one of the entries in the Innovation Showcase at the 2015 Farm Progress Show in Regina.

20150619 orange shankAs he describes in this video, the shank and packer wheel replace the traditional fixed C-shank to provide row-by-row depth control on any seeder with an open frame design.

“The packer wheel rides up and down on the uneven ground, raising up the shank, which raises the seed opener, so each shank will follow the contour of the soil and seed at the right depth,” he explains.

A rubber spring mounting system gives the shank downward pressure, while the existing C-shank and opener are cut and mounted onto the Orange Shank, simplifying the retrofit, notes Gehrer.

“Farmers know what works for them in the opener department. I don’t want to start recommending all kinds of openers,” he says.

At a cost of $400 per shank, a 40 shank machine can be converted for less than $20,000, notes Gehrer.

Watch more from the 2015 Farm Progress Show

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