I just bought a 7100 CIH grain drill with 10 in. Spacings and I’m curious if I’ll be able to use it as a no till drill or I’ve I’ll have to work the ground prior to seeding. I would love an input about them. Thank you.
The main thing a no till drill has is a set of little blades to cut up and loosen the small width of soil immediately before the disc cuts a groove. Then the seed gets dropped and the mini cultivator covers it up. That's your basic no till setup.
So with a regular drill you're missing the first step and that means if your ground is hard yeah you'll cut the groove with the disc but then the ground is going to be clumps of hard soil instead of nicely cultivated soil covering your seed. That's not going to be as efficient.
It's possible to get away with it if your soil is very moist after a rain. Or depends on where you are at. In most cases the answer will be no and it goes against convention.
Your drill is not inexpensive equipment so if you want to do no till, invest in the no till equipment to reap the full benefits of no till farming. That's my advice
I think a hoe drill with shank tips should be a decent option but if you wind up breaking shanks it's gonna get expensive. Again it's gonna depend on exactly what you're planting, what climate, location, e.t.c. If you have more specifics I give a couple additional cents of opinions.