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Southeast North Dakota | I just bought a nice 16 row 22" Case-IH 955 planter for no-tilling soybeans. I have been running White 6000 and 8000 Series planters for corn and also a JD 7200 and really like the even stand they all have produced. I know singulation in corn is critical which is why I have stayed with the Whites and Deeres. I know the population spacing isn't as critical when planting soybeans so I bought the 955 because of the central-fill system and the offset opener disks for no-tilling the soybeans into corn stalks. Here's my question: Would the 955 do a good enough job planting corn that I could sell my JD 7200? Everyone in my area went away from Cyclo planters and switched to White, Kinze, and Deere because of their near picket-fence planting ability, so would I be foolish to use the 955 for corn with the technology it had? I appreciate your response and look forward to reading comments. Thank you. |
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Tuscola, IL | We have excellent spacing with our cyclo. No, it's not perfect. But it is beyond acceptable. There are several things you can do to vastly improve the metering. Keeping the drum drive chains tight and lubricated, driving fast enough to keep planter from rocking back and forth at the hitch, not letting seed tubes chatter back and forth which causes seed to spiral down the tube instead of sliding. The row unit can't be beat, especially for no tilling. We went from a 7000 JD to a cyclo and the spacing is nearly as good, if not as good, and the emergence is far better and quicker than the Deere. I wouldn't hesitate to plant your corn with the cyclo. |
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swohio | Here is my take. Have used White 5100, and 6100 for last almost 30 years. Great planters. Wanted to go to 12 row and couldn't find a front fold 6100 I could afford. So looked into a Cyclo. Have a friend that had had one for a long time and had turned it into a 20" row planted and was again very happy with it. I found a 900 RHF that was only about 13' wide in transport, big plus for me. Rebuilt everything. Put the weather strips on the drums, took off insecticide boxes, chains and kept only enough shaft from transmission to hoppers. Run some starter fert. with electric pumps, so no drag there. Have been using med. round seed with some Pioneer PDR"s this year and as it will never be as good as the spacing with the White, it is very good. Have no doubles, and yes there is 2 plants that will be close. But for me, I walked a lot of my corn last year and even when 2 plants were somewhat close, ears were the same. I have looked at a lot of corn planted with different planters this year, you would be hard pressed to know mine was planted with a Cyclo. I love the two boxes, how it no-tills. If you like you can e-mail me. Can tell you more about what I did. |
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| I've got a 950 and my spacing is just fine. Main thing is to use the new style drums with the dummy dimples or do what I did, which is to lay strips of body molding in between the seed holes on the drum to stop the cut off wheels from bouncing. Otherwise, they are a very good planter. |
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Western illinois | I wouldn't be scared at all to plant corn with it. It'll plant about any seed size. Adjust the brush and keep the cutoff wheels centered and in good shape. I had a 900 that didn't do too bad at all spacing corn. Do the drums have the adhesive strips between the rows of holes? They help the drum rotate a little smoother. One of the simplest planters ever made. |
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Central Illinois | I used to have a 955 PFF planter. Took a new 12R-30 and converted it to a 15R-18. With the hopper mounting location on the 955, I thought the hose length were about ideal as you could get. Very happy with the seed spacing. The trans was using all standard roller chain and the drums had the extra dimples so they ran smoother. Really needed a MFD tractor because of the negative tongue weight in field position. Backing into corners could get interesting at times. steve |
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KY | I don't buy the picket-fence spacing being as critical as people say. If it truly was as important as what the self-called experts say, then why do we all plant different populations, even within the same field sometimes. Each time you move population, your spacing is different, so what is the occasional 1/2 inch going to hurt? I digress. Anyhow, I am bordered by 7000 and 7200 Deere's and a couple Kinzes as well. Be willing to bet it'd be hard to tell any of them from another. If I guy has an 80,000 planter, sets the sprockets and goes to the field and never checks a thing, he can do no better than a guy with a cheap planter who takes the time to set it and check it periodically. That being said, a cyclo, when given the proper attention, can plant with excellent results in corn. As far as I've ever seen, you'll find no better in no-till situations, beans or corn, right out of the box. I bought coulters, planted two acres and took them off and sold them the following year. No need for them. A 955 drum has the best fix built in, the spaces between the seed holes are raised, which made the skips drop by large numbers. I personally think it would take a very long time to pay to maintain another machine vs. what you could make by keeping it for corn. That's just my .02 worth anyhow. I realize they won't do what electric drive, adjust on the fly 6-digit machines will do, but I also realize that those planters might not be pushing the yield as high as those who are selling that stuff would like you to believe. |
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| IMO, the very best value in used planters. Good purchase. You will be happy with your ROI. |
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n.c.iowa | the worst problem with a cyclo planter is that they could do a passable job when entirely worn out. and believe you me it's pretty hard to hold my tongue when somebody was complaining about their cyclo planter performance, when it was known for a fact that there wasn't a dime spent on it in the last 3-5 years. seen a lot of things over the years. holes in seed tubes fixed with tape, opening discs worn beyond worn, busted closing springs not replaced, chains so tight and rusty they'd stand up in the corner, bearings out or going out. there were a couple planters that I know of that the drive shaft for the herbicide/insecticide boxes, was twisted so bad that they had to replace the shaft and all the bearings together. the owner was at a loss as why this would affect seeding accuracy.
they are a pretty easy planter to operate, but they have to be taken care |
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sw corner ia. | they won't plant corn any better when everything is new.
excellent bean meter, pathetic in corn and it cannot be made better with 15' long seed tubes. ran one quite a while and never could get the corn spaced so it wouldn't either compete with itself or try to fill a huge gap. |
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Paxton, IL | I don't think the picket fence stand is as important as everyone says either. We planted with cyclos for years until we switched to a 1200 in 2005. The 1200 does a much better job for sure, but I can't tell you there was any significant difference in yield. There were a few times we had both planters in the same field, but never did any actual tests to check for sure, but you couldn't pick out either planter from the yield maps.
I'm not saying that spacing isn't important, but it's not the weakest link in the chain that's going to make all the difference. Maybe it's just a "here" thing, but I'd worry much more about consistent depth, and good seed to soil contact.
Bottom line, IMO a properly maintained cyclo planter is more than adequate to get corn planted. |
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NC Kansas | what's your location Versatile Farmer? I'll second all the comments on spacing and the 900 series is not a nightmare that people make them out be when maintained. We're out in NC Kansas and our top top top end yield goal is only about 150-165 with populations in the low 20K range, and that is entirely dependant on rain. Spacing has very little to do with our corn making a good crop out here. I "guess" i can see all ther rage for better singulation and spacing in high yield/high population areas...but again, a properly maintained cyclo and a good operator will make one go toe to toe with the fanciest deere's out there. |
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n.c.iowa | maybe in the hills of sw iowa, they don't work well. idk. there are several in our area, while I would be lying to say that they are good as a finger meter, they are almost as good as any vac meter, if they are properly tuned up. and if the operator wants to take the time to set things properly. I hear what you are saying about a 15' tube and agree, there is inherently going to be some problems with that, no doubt about it. but brush settings, air pressure, speed, trueness of the drum, drum to firewall square, drum to manifold clearances, cutoff wheel alignment, drum gasket, hopper gasket, air leaks, all have bearing on how they will perform, they will still plant with some of these things not right, but not real good. |
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Western Ky. | I have an 800 which will plant corn fine. Have harvested 259BPA on a 3 acre measured national corn production plot. Regularly harvest 200+ BPA corn planted with this 1985 planter.
Becks research showed that poor spacing only resulted in a 3 to 4 BPA yield reduction that could not be replicated in all cases. If there is any yield reduction because of a Cyclos spacing, it will be more than offset by the Cyclos even emergence, higher stand count, and reduced sidewall compaction in notill conditions. For me, if I had the choice between my 1985 Cyclo planter with its Early Riser opener system or a brand new latest and greatest 2014 John Deere, White, or Kinze planter that tries to push the gauge wheels, opens the seed trench by up to .400 more than my Early Riser, doesn't have offset disk openers and has no RID gauge wheels in my 100% notill conditions, I'll keep my Cyclo. You will be fine notilling corn with your 955. ( Check that, you will be better off with the 955 as I have no doubt your yields will go up!)
Edited by Gro-Mor Farms 7/9/2014 17:27
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Remsen, Iowa | Next spring would be a great time to do a side by side. I did one a number of years ago with a 500 and a 7000. The 500 had 2 BPA higher yield then the 7000. So don't believe all the negative things you hear with the cyclo's. I believe one thing that make people think there new planter is giving them higher yields, is that with their new planters, they are getting a higher yield average over the years. Well. with my crappy 955 my yield is also going up over the years also. Maybe it has to do with the corn that you put in the planter more so than the planter itself (assuming you have a well maintained planter). |
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Tuscola, IL | Good point. Just because your yields were lower from 1990-1995 when you had a cyclo than they have been since 2009 with the latest and greatest, doesn't necessarily mean the planter is increasing your yields.
From what I've seen with our cyclo, Areas where we have some crowded plants don't show up in the ear. We do have very good soil which makes a difference. But in our area, the cyclo will yield with anything else out there. |
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Central Iowa | Where were all you guys when Deere and Kinze were preaching "picket fence" ? |
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Tuscola, IL | Out planting while their (P)icket fence (P)arts were being installed! :) |
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Remsen, Iowa | Planting with my 500, then later on a 955. |
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sw corner ia. | you should not believe all the slick paper bs they spewed about that wonderful row unit and pathetic seed delivery system.
I ran several cyclo's for way too many years to know that the "early riser" unit will not in any way produce a quicker nor more even stand than just about any other planter for sale today. It is obvious to me that the kinze I have now works much better in all conditions. the finger pickup unit which so many love to hate is still the best bang per buck. the red unit will compact seed slot sidewalls just as bad as any other unit if you can't stop yourself from planting when it is too wet.
If one really believes having corn strewn along the row as if you threw it down is the way to top yields, then one should be in hog heaven.
took me a while to get back here. |
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C-IH 955 Planter Questions
