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advice on corn planters

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turning grass into beef

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I know that a lot of you don't like iron. I'm not fond of it either. But we are going to try to plant some corn for winter grazing and we have no idea what to look for in a corn planter. I have never even seen one other than pictures. Very little corn has been grown in this part of the world but it is becoming more prevelant. We checked out what it would cost to get it custom seeded and it seems like a no brainer to buy an older, smaller planter that is in good condition and plant the corn ouselves.
So my question is what types (make, model, configuration, etc) do you like and why? What areas of the machine should we be paying close attention to when looking at a used planter? What extras (row cleaners, ??????, etc) do you need and what extras are just nice but not an absolute must have? Are corn planters a no till machine or does the land have to be pre worked (or are there some of both)?
Any and all information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
Need a lot more info... Are you just going to graze it? Harvest then graze the stalks? How much moisture you get will determine you plant population. Are you going to no-till? How many acres?

My opinion, and I haven't been around corn in 15 years, would be an old JD 7000 series planter. On a clean field you won't need row cleaners. They are more to clean just right in front of the opener.
There have been so many advances made since I got away from iron, that my thoughts are probably WAY OUT DATED!! With the price of seed corn, you need to get every kernel you can to grow.
 
LazyWP said:
Need a lot more info... Are you just going to graze it? Harvest then graze the stalks? How much moisture you get will determine you plant population. Are you going to no-till? How many acres?

My opinion, and I haven't been around corn in 15 years, would be an old JD 7000 series planter. On a clean field you won't need row cleaners. They are more to clean just right in front of the opener.
There have been so many advances made since I got away from iron, that my thoughts are probably WAY OUT DATED!! With the price of seed corn, you need to get every kernel you can to grow.
Click to expand...

JD 7000 or Case IH 900 would work well enough and are fairly cheap. You can get super nice ones for $1000 a row.
 
LazyWP said:
Need a lot more info... Are you just going to graze it? Harvest then graze the stalks? How much moisture you get will determine you plant population. Are you going to no-till? How many acres?

My opinion, and I haven't been around corn in 15 years, would be an old JD 7000 series planter. On a clean field you won't need row cleaners. They are more to clean just right in front of the opener.
There have been so many advances made since I got away from iron, that my thoughts are probably WAY OUT DATED!! With the price of seed corn, you need to get every kernel you can to grow.
Click to expand...

We are just going to graze it. I don't know if no till is a possibility with a JD7000 or comparable model. Just 100 acres for the first year but if this works i could see us doing 250 acre per year in the future. The only guy in the area that I know of wants $22/acre to custom seed with his corn planter.
 
turning grass into beef said:
LazyWP said:
Need a lot more info... Are you just going to graze it? Harvest then graze the stalks? How much moisture you get will determine you plant population. Are you going to no-till? How many acres?

My opinion, and I haven't been around corn in 15 years, would be an old JD 7000 series planter. On a clean field you won't need row cleaners. They are more to clean just right in front of the opener.
There have been so many advances made since I got away from iron, that my thoughts are probably WAY OUT DATED!! With the price of seed corn, you need to get every kernel you can to grow.
Click to expand...

We are just going to graze it. I don't know if no till is a possibility with a JD7000 or comparable model. Just 100 acres for the first year but if this works i could see us doing 250 acre per year in the future. The only guy in the area that I know of wants $22/acre to custom seed with his corn planter.
Click to expand...

I don't know nothin bout plantin corn---but i hate being under the gun on stuff i know nothin about, buying something in a hurry that turns out not to be what i want and 'teach yourself learning' can be expensive---if this guy does a good job---could be worth it, then could see if it works, learn all you can and got a yr+ to shop and learn
 
You really need to talk to RSL..... has some experience. was all gung ho a couple of years ago and after talking to him changed my mind ... neighbor a few miles away grew some for winter graze,early snow storm with lot's of wind filled it in to the heighth of the corn. another neighbor seed's some and turns cow's into it when he's off harvesting,seem's to work for him.both places just used their air seeder to seed with.
 
New to this forum but I couldnt help but reply. We are in the corn seed business mostly for grazing in east central Sask.
I have lots of experience with corn planters as we have been in the rental business for planters for years. At the risk of getting peed on for trying to sell something on here if someone could explain how to private message I would be glad to help out.
First off 22$/ acre is something I would dream of asking. I charge $6.50/acre anddeliver and pick up the machine and set it up. It is a 30ft 12 row machine. I stay within 75 miles of home
I have bought several used machines in the USA over the years and have rebuilt them more than once the last time was this winter. At 1500 to 2000 acres on high wear rental machines that is common. Let me know if you want to know more be glad to help and not interested in selling you anything machines are booked solid and can't get any more seed this year anyway.
I have also written a book on corn grazing in Western Canada that will be available this spring.
 
IH 400 four row can be bought here for $500 I have a IH 12 row paid 2750 for it about 5 years ago they are plentiful around the area for that $3000 to $5000 range.
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The 3 outside rows on each side fold up to haul them you need a 32' flatbed and take off those two rear wheels and the tube their mounted on.These planters are heavy so you'll need a tractor with some heft to it.
 
Hayguy. I am in the proscess of getting it up on Amazon as both a digital and hardcopy book. Right now we are trying to get it on Amazon.ca but have to go thru Amazon.com to do this and if only stay on Amazon.com can't use Canadian credit card to buy it. As soon as this gets sorted out it's a go soon i hope. It's been two years in the making so am getting excited. If it's allowed on here I will let everyone know when.
 
We use a white 6100 in our rental business. The machine is light folds up like a cultivator and easily transported with a pickup truck. We threw out the PTO pump and installed a hydraulic flow control direct driven off tractor hydraulics. This allows any tractor to be used on it. Add hi speed implement tires on centre frame and she tows at 70 km/hr.
The machine is very accurate and easily set. We seed corn for grazing at 26-27000 seeds/acre and have several sets of discs fr different size seed although most low CHU varieties suitable fr grazing are small seeded..the 6100 has a complete monitoring system but in another life a part was lost. If anyone knows of a Dickey John series 3000 radar gun I would be your friend for life.
 
Denny's picture of that IH400 would be perfect for what you are wanting to do. I dont want to start a war here but if you buy green paint you are going to pay more for even a used piece and I am a JD guy. But you are going to get what you pay for.
 
tenbach79 said:
Denny's picture of that IH400 would be perfect for what you are wanting to do. I dont want to start a war here but if you buy green paint you are going to pay more for even a used piece and I am a JD guy. But you are going to get what you pay for.
Click to expand...


This planter is an 800 the 400 is a 4 row model I had before this one but not alot of differance.
 
I would go with the Deere 7000, or Kinze 3100 same basic machine easy to learn on, easy to work on, they work great in our area not sure about where you are. Hope you have good luck whatever you get.
 
One thing to remember. Most smaller older planters are 3PH. Not a big deal farther south. In my part of the world 100 to 120 hp 3PH tractors are not common. If you have one then it opens up a lot more planters that will work for you for 100 to 250 acres
 
We have a 120 hp tractor with a 3 pt. hitch. Also have other bigger 2WD tractors. The $22/acre is for the neighbor to do all the work (custom seed it).
We won't seed it until June so we have some time to look for one.
 
If you have 3PH and its not leaving the farm I would look for a Deere. They are a good finger planter Simple strong and easy to repair and get repairs. Lots of them in southern Manitoba closer to home than USA
 
What parts of the planter would you pay close attention to when looking at it? Where would the areas to look at to see if it was taken care of or if it was abused? Where would you look to tell if it was worn out, or if it still had some acres left in it before a major overhaul? How big is to big for a 120 hp tractor?
 
If you are just going to graze it, using a grain drill will benefit you the most. You can plant a little bit thicker and get finer stems, because of the narrower row spacing and population increase. Look up on universty websites. I cant remember which one but i just read an article on it in some magizine.
 

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