For a crawler, it is important to get the weight off the dead axle. Being able to carry the weight on the drill wheels and openers rather than the dead axle, allows it to be pulled with a crawler. This year, we seeded a majority of our spring and fall crop with this drill with good success. The tracks really made the difference in holding the drill on the hills. At the same time we wanted to cut costs and build soil quality.
Erosion is very expensive.
We not only lose the top soil, but the water it takes to move it. That translates into moisture that could have been used to grow the crop. Also, ditches made by the erosion are hard on equipment. Bouncing sprayers, cultivators, combines, and trucks through ditches takes its toll. After a lot of looking, reading, and trying, returning the residue back to the soil with as little cultivation as possible, has come to us to be the most practical option - both from the side of economics and from the side of soil stewardship.