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Iowa | Hello all...
It is time for us to trade planters and I thought that I had better come ask the experts. I have read back through the archived threads and have learned a lot of information there. However, a lot of the in-depth discussion on this topic seems to have taken place last winter, so I was hoping that you all would have some more insights to add based upon your 2007 planting experiences.
We are in a corn/soybean rotation in Southwest Iowa and currently have a Kinze 3600 16/31 row finger pickup that has run 5 seasons and served us very well. We want to remain in 15" row soybeans, are ready to make the switch to a bulk-fill system, and would probably like a 16/32 setup so we can stop running our tractor tires on top of standing corn stalks in our no-till beans. We are pretty much colorblind, so the brand doesn't mean much to us. We are open to either finger meters or a vac system. The fingers have planted very well for us in the past, in fact, our district seed man has commented that we have the best spacing of anyone in his 3 county territory. However, I will admit that all of the annual maintenance we have to do on our finger units makes a low-maintenance vac system look pretty attractive (at least to an outsider looking in).
As I mentioned, we have been very satisfied with our Kinze products; however, we do not like the looks of their current "drill box style" bulk system on their 3650 16/31 row planters. We are especially concerned with the appoximately 8 bushels it takes to prime the mechanical distribution system. We are seed dealers and have to do a lot of plot work, side by side comparisons and cleanout in the field. Eight bushels is too much to clean out frequently. Kinze has told us that they are coming out with a 16/31 row planter that utilizes the "pod" style hoppers currently available on their 24 row planters, but it will NOT be widely available for the 2008 planting season.
We are less familiar with the CIH 1200 planter. Most of what I have heard about the metering system is very positive, but there are some things about the design of the row unit and closing system that do not excite us. However, in previous discussions on this board, among CIH, Kinze, and JD bulk owners, CIH owners seem to have the best things to say about their planters. Perhaps we could be swayed.
I know even less about White planters, but posters seem to have a high opinion of them. I am not aware that they have a 16/32 option. And, if I remember correctly, their transport width is quite wide. But I am willing to be educated.
I'll admit that we were leaning the direction of a JD 1790. The 1/16 bushel per row prime/cleanout looked very attractive to us. Of course, that was until we started reading the threads on here from last winter and you all scared the crap out of us. This is where I would especially like to hear some of your 2007 experiences. Have the issues with Proshaft binding been resolved? What about seed spacing? Are e-Sets the way to go? (I had thought so based on what I had heard, but a neighbor put them in this year and had a terribly erratic drop with them. Never did get the issue resolved). Has anyone had experience with the JD 40 cell Sweet Corn Disk with the Double Eliminator Knockout? I have heard that this is JD answer to the e-Set. What is your opinion? I know that hydraulic requirements have been a concern. We will be pulling with a JD 9120, so hopefully we should have plenty of capacity. Any and all experiences will be appreciated.
I respect the info posted here and thank you all for your input. The advice I got here helped us decide on a sprayer tractor last winter. We ended up with a AGCO 155A Powermaxx CVT with the new style hood and the redesigned Hydramaxx front axle. It is a fantastic machine that we couldn't be happier with. Your input helped us with that decision and I thank you all for it.
Looking forward to your replies
Chocgopher
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Planter Discussion Revisited
