[AT] old corn planters

jtchall at nc.rr.com jtchall at nc.rr.com
Sat Feb 23 04:56:30 PST 2013


I'm probably going to stick with a plate type planter, trying to keep cost 
minimal for now. We have worn out a couple 4 row Deeres in the past.  About 
time the last one got parked, commodity prices had gotten so low that we 
couldn't compete--Our area yields nothing like the eastern part of the state 
or the Midwest. I need to get back into corn since we can no longer grow 
soybeans due to deer pressure.  I see the 7000 series planters for sale at 
decent prices but I want to start small (cheap) to see how this goes. Even 
with higher prices, corn is still the most risky thing we can grow. If it 
goes well I may go for one of them. Deere dealers are more common and their 
products hold value better around here.  Are the row widths adjustable on 
the 7000 series?

We used to mix diesel and motor oil together and blow it on the fertilizer 
hoppers on both the corn planter and the grain drill. That still doesn't 
stop the rust though! I think the last planter had the fertilizer boxes 
replaced one time and I had patched them up with Bondo. I recently passed up 
a 1240 as the fertilizer had literally corroded the fertilizer boots to the 
point you could break chunks off of them. It was a good machine other than 
the fertilizer system. Same story with an IH machine about 10 miles from 
here. Fiberglass hoppers were a great idea!

John



-----Original Message----- 
From: David Steinich
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2013 7:23 AM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] old corn planters

John,
What type of corn are you going to grow? How much, and what are you going
to do with it? What type of tractor will you use to plant? Row spacing on
the planter needs to match that of the picker/combine. Also best if the
number of rows matches between the two machines. (But you can pick more
rows than you plant at a time IF you are good at keeping your row spacing
even between planter passes.)  With the older AC and JD planters you need
to match the seed shape/size with the plates you use. If you jump up to the
1970s vintage, the finger pickup units on the JD 7000 series planters will
plant "any" corn seed. Around here (southern WI), you can pick them up
fairly reasonable.
(Some times with no-til setups.) It's also fairly easy to adjust them to
the number of rows and row spacing you prefer. We see a lot of the cut down
to two rows and listed as "deer plot" planters. Of course that label comes
with a premium price,,, Another consideration is if you would benefit from
using a starter fertilizer at planting time. Dry is easy to work with in
smaller quantities, but you need to clean the planter and use some form of
rust protection or it will destroy that part of the planter,,,
Dave

On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 10:33 PM, Dean VP <deanvp at att.net> wrote:

> John,
>
> I don't know what your soil conditions are where you live but my Dad used
> a JD 490 4 row planter tow behind in NW Iowa many years(40's to 60's) with
> extremely good luck. One of the most desirable JD collector implements is 
> a
> two row version of that (JD 290) either tow behind or three point hitch
> version.  They are very good planters.  He only used the split wedge type
> shoe on the planter head, which I think you are calling the sword type. 
> New
> replacement shoes are still available.  The only time I remember him 
> having
> any kind of trouble with these type shoes is if an old cornstalk got stuck
> in the shoe which wasn't very often. I vaguely remember a finger that was
> placed directly ahead of the shoe to brush aside any trash.  I suppose a
> really dirty field might require something that cut up the trash but they
> would have to be really sharp to work very well.  PS: This is why my Dad
> was so fussy about making sure we covered up all the trash when we plowed
> oh so deep  :-) .
>
> If you find something like this of interest I can email you a Parts
> Catalog for these types of JD Planters.  Obviously there are newer 
> versions
> of these two row planters but they might be even more expensive.
>
> Dean VP
> Apache Junction, AZ 85120
>
> "A picture is worth a 1,000 words, but it uses up to 12,000 times the
> memory"
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:
> at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of jtchall at nc.rr.com
> Sent: Friday, February 22, 2013 5:27 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: [AT] old corn planters
>
> I am looking into planting some corn this year. I’ve got a fellow that can
> plant it for me, if my fields are ready when he is in the neighborhood 
> with
> his rig. Ideally, I would rather have my own planter. I prefer a 2 row so
> it will free up duties on the 2 tractors that I would use with a 4-row.
> Besides, it would take up much less shed space.
>
> I’ve seen a lot of 2 row Ford 3pt planters (model 309 I think) on
> Craigslist. The only thing I don’t like is they are a sword type planter
> instead of disc row openers. I’ve also seen a couple 2 row AC planters 
> that
> appeared to be tow behind units. Anybody had any experience with these
> small planters or have one you would recommend? I wouldn’t mind having
> no-till but those aren’t very cheap.
>
> Thoughts on the matter?
>
> John Hall
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