Food plot science has been evolving for a several decades now. What started as simply scratching some ground up and throwing winter wheat seed down has turned into a full-fledge farming operation. The more you plant like a farmer, the more deer and turkey you’ll attract to your hunting land, the more the wildlife will benefit from the nutrients provided and the more efficient you’ll be in your planting operation.
I recently traveled to Milner, Georgia to see first hand what kind of equipment Ranew’s Outdoor Equipment builds. Ranew is responsible for building the Firminator — a food plot implement that discs, breaks up and smooths the ground; plants a wide variety of seed and covers the seed to enable excellent seed-to-soil contact (this is critical for good germination).
The Firminator is not a substitute for a soil test to determine when and how much lime and fertilizer your plots need. If your not doing these basic steps, then your plots are probably not attracting as many deer and turkeys as they can and you’re possibly wasting money on more fertilizer than your crops are able to use.
During a demo at Mr. Ranew’s farm, I saw the Firminator bust up a grass-filled food plot, smooth it out and plant it with a mutli-seed blend all without having to use any another implement to get the job done. The guy’s from Ranew’s Outdoors build an extremely solid piece of equipment, too. They didn’t baby the units used during the demo, too. I anxiously watched as they slammed the equipment to the earth while lowering it for another pass through the field. This Firminator plows over roots, stumps, etc. It’s an incredible piece of equipment and I walked away from south Georgia totally impressed.
The Firminator comes in several models (4, 5, 6, 8 and 12-foot models) that attach to ATVs on up to more than 100 horsepower tractors. Each model is made from heavy-gauge steel, has adjustable disc settings, option for hydraulic lift and much more.
Another beneficial aspect of the Firminator is its Accu-Seed System. It handles seeds of all sizes — from the tiniest of clovers up to corn, soybeans, peas, sunflowers and everything in between. It can plant seed blends with tiny clover seed and larger oat or wheat seed at the same time, too. It’s this versatility that makes it an excellent choice for todays land managers. The system is ground driven so the seed is metered out relative to the speed you are traveling. When the Firminator stops rolling, the seed stops falling. An indicator on the handle shows the seed size selections in one-sixteenth inch graduations. Simply set the size for the largest seed in the hopper, and the metering system will dispense the seed at the generally accepted rate.
Check out the video to see the Firminator in action and learn more about it
