GRATIOT CONSERVATION DISTRICT
  • Home
  • About
    • Services >
      • Wildlife Habitat Seeds
      • Equipment Rental
    • Annual Reports >
      • GCD History
    • Donate >
      • List of Sponsors
    • Our Team >
      • Join Our Team
      • The GCD Board
      • Partners >
        • NRCS
  • Events
    • Education & Workshops >
      • Forest Hill Nature Area
      • Water Quality
      • Septic Programs
  • Wildlife Habitat
    • Wildlife >
      • Hunting & Access
      • U.S. Fish and Wildflife
    • Habitat >
      • Invasive Species
      • Native Landscaping
      • Habitat Restoration Projects
  • Farming
    • What is Regen Ag?
    • MAEAP >
      • Farmstead System
      • Forest, Wetlands & Habitat System
    • NSP Pollution
  • Watersheds
    • Bad River Watershed
    • Maple River Watershed
    • Pine River Watershed
  • Contact

Equipment Rental

Rent our No-till Drills!

Have you made plans yet for your spring or fall plantings?
​If not, now is the time to start thinking about setting up an appointment to rent one of our speedy no-till drills.


Gratiot CD has a 15’ no-till drill available for producers to rent, as well as a 6’ native grass drill (sponsored by the MDNR) for planting warm and cool season grasses. 

Lease Rates:
  • 15' No-till Drill (John Deere): $20/acre w/$175 minimum due at the time of rental
  • 6' Native Grass Drill (Truax Flex II): Minimum $135, due at the time of rental. Any acreage planted in excess of 10 acres will be charged a rate of $6 per acre.​

Click on the Drill Rental Request button below to fill out GCD's rental form.  ​
Drill Rental Request

How to use the Truax Flex II No-till Drill

No-Till Farming Basics

​No-till farming is a conservation technique that began about 40 years ago with the intention that minimal soil disturbance was an effective way of holding the soil in place. But conserving soil is not the only reason to use no-till farming. Profitability is a quantifiable benefit. Because the drill only requires one pass over the field with a smaller tractor, the most immediate financial benefit is in fuel cost as well as labor and machinery costs.

Other benefits include reduced soil compaction and soil erosion, an increase in organic matter, better infiltration, and improved soil structure. Although the ground stays cooler later into the spring because of the layer of residue that covers the field acting as an insulator, the day/night fluctuations are less extreme and the field rapidly makes up the difference in growth rate as the weather turns warm. Also, during summers that are hot and dry, no-till farming yields are higher than those of traditional plowed ground.
Green John Deere tractor pulling green no-till drill in green field planting seeds

See No-Till Drilling working!

Check out this cool super-quick video about the differences between soil that has been tilled for farming (disturbed) and soil that has been left alone for many years (un-disturbed).

It illustrates a prime example of why no-till farming can really improve the quality of your soil, i.e. the quality of the crops you grow! Take a minute (literally one minute!) and see for yourself!

Contact GCD

  • Home
  • About
    • Services >
      • Wildlife Habitat Seeds
      • Equipment Rental
    • Annual Reports >
      • GCD History
    • Donate >
      • List of Sponsors
    • Our Team >
      • Join Our Team
      • The GCD Board
      • Partners >
        • NRCS
  • Events
    • Education & Workshops >
      • Forest Hill Nature Area
      • Water Quality
      • Septic Programs
  • Wildlife Habitat
    • Wildlife >
      • Hunting & Access
      • U.S. Fish and Wildflife
    • Habitat >
      • Invasive Species
      • Native Landscaping
      • Habitat Restoration Projects
  • Farming
    • What is Regen Ag?
    • MAEAP >
      • Farmstead System
      • Forest, Wetlands & Habitat System
    • NSP Pollution
  • Watersheds
    • Bad River Watershed
    • Maple River Watershed
    • Pine River Watershed
  • Contact