Pull behind corn harvester

[firefighter9208]

I've been knocking around the idea of planting my grandfather's land in corn. He has 160 acres with about 50-60 of those acres tillable. Can't use a combine, because the land is set up in parallel terraces. I want to plant 2-3 acres the first year (feed it to the goats) to get my feet wet and then if all goes well Grandad has told me to plant all the acreage I want (he's 81).

I would like to buy a pull behind combine or corn harvester (one or two row) that I can pull behind my Kubota M4800. I've looked at several on Used Tractors at TractorHouse.com: John Deere Tractors, used farm tractors and farm equipment, Case IH, New Holland, Agco, Caterpillar. , but don't know if I'm looking at the right thing.

Here are some examples I see:

JOHN DEERE 38 Forage For Sale At TractorHouse.com

NEW HOLLAND 890 Forage For Sale At TractorHouse.com

Yesterday's Tractors - View Antique Tractor Photo Ads

OK, I assume you pull a wagon behind these?

Do they shell the corn like a combine or what????

We used to grow corn for the hogs, when I was a kid, but we used the manual picker. A bunch of use with hampers dumping in a trailer. Then we took it to the corn crib and scooped it out with a shovel. The we shucked the corn by hand and ran it through a manual sheller.

I could do this on 2-3 acres, but not 40-50.

We have a covington 1 or 2 row planter that we have always used.

Covington Planter: TP-46

I know that the "big boys" are using huge multi-row planters with GPS etc.... And they are doing no till. Can I use a seed drill to plant corn??? I have access to one. Or do I need to go conventional and till the land and plant with the covington. What about row spacing???

I know I have a lot of questions.

I would like to keep the investment minimal on the equipment side. We pretty much have everything we need to row crop. Subsoiler, turning plow, discs, covington planter, tractors, Farmall 140, etc....

I work at a school and am off work from about May 23 until Aug. 5. I have the time to do this, I just have never really done corn. We do sweet corn and about every possible veg. their is, but I haven't done "field corn" on this large a scale before.

Any help would be appreciated.

Chris

 

[MFRED]

Those forage harvesters are going to cut the corn,stalk and all into little pieces. That sounds like what you want to do. I think a two row would be pushing it hp wise with your tractor, especially if you want to pull a wagon behind it. We used to ohave a 140hp International to chop with our 2 row chopper & dump wagon. You could chop into a truck following behind.

 

[firefighter9208]

Those forage harvesters are going to cut the corn,stalk and all into little pieces. That sounds like what you want to do. I think a two row would be pushing it hp wise with your tractor, especially if you want to pull a wagon behind it. We used to ohave a 140hp International to chop with our 2 row chopper & dump wagon. You could chop into a truck following behind.

OK, not what I'm wanting to do. Basically I want the shelled corn, like with a combine, but w/o having to run a combine. Make sense?

Chris

 

[Farmwithjunk]

As mentioned, the models you've singled out are SILAGE choppers. They chop the entire plant, stalks, ears, ect, and blow them into a wagon or truck.

Your choices for a pull-behind unit are somewhat limited.

A PICKER will pick whole ear corn. They are still around. There's a couple variations. One picks ears with husk still intact. More common, they'll have husking rolls that remove the husk, leaving ears with exposed kernals.

You MAY find a picker with a sheller attachment. Sorta rare.

SOME older pull-type combines were capable of shelling corn, but the heads are VERY UNcommon.

Older self-propelled combines aren't all that expensive. Not uncommon to find one cheaper than a GOOD pull-type picker.

 

[zionview]

New Idea made picker-shellers that did a good job on corn. We had a 2-row narrow model 325 wiith a sheller that we used for years. We also had a 325 with a husking bed for ear corn. We pulled the sheller witrh a 170 Allis Chalmers, which is 54 HP, and it handled it well. Hopefully, I attached a pic of one with the hsking bed. You can trail a gravity wagon or dump wagon behind these.

 

[JDeerekid]

I believe what you want is something like the last link you have, which is a picker sheller. If you are going to sell the corn you need it shelled. If you are just using it to feed to your animals and not selling it you can use a chopper like the first links. Choppers take alot more hp than the pickers.
Some things to remember are if you are are planning on growing lots of corn you have to have storage for it. It must be dried also.

Also why cant you use a small self propelled combine?? If you can use a pull behind set up why can't you use a regualer combine. They can be bought for very little money, even 4 whell drive units. You wont need wagons and worry about pulling a train behind your tractor.

What ever you decide I am interested on how it turns out for you, please post updates.

 

[zionview]

Another alternative to on-farm storage is renting storage. I rented out a spare grain bin one year for four cents/bushel/month. Another idea is selling out of the field. Got any livestock farmers in your area? That can solve more problems, like having the buyer haul it for himself. Both of these ideas keep you from investing in drier and storage facilities(BIG $$). Since you are going to be growing an ever-changing amount of grain until you settle on acreage and crop mix, I would definitely consider these alternatives, at least for now. If commodity prices fluxuate much, profits might be pretty thin some years- not good if you are trying to expand acreage.

 

[firefighter9208]

Jdeerekid,

I'm not sure that I couldn't use a small 4WD combine, but many areas are really steep. I'll attach images from google earth. All of the land is parallel terraces.

Photo 1: Basically everything you see is part of his land. The open areas haven't been tilled in several years, but most of it is fairly steep.

Photo 2: In this photo you can basically see the lay of the land. The squiggly lines are the tops of the terraces. Some of this is almost too steep to plow with the Farmall 140. You have to really use the tractor brakes.

Photo 3: Is a better photo of the "backplace" He owns 80 acres here. What I have outlined is his open field. Pretty steep in some places. You can almost make out the parallel terraces.

Photo 4: Is of our property. You can really tell the parallel terraces in it. Look to the right of our pond and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Photo 5: Shows the outline of a terrace. Not something those corn farmers out west have to deal with.

Chris

 

[gfd_703]

It was a long time ago, but we use to pick corn with a pull behind. Of all the brands New Idea was the best. Just remember you are going to knock down 2 rows around the field with a pull type. It also takes a lot of room to turn a tractor, picker and trailer around. If the ground gets the least bit soft you do not have enough tractor to pull a loaded wagon through the field either.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Jdeerekid,

I'm not sure that I couldn't use a small 4WD combine, but many areas are really steep. I'll attach images from google earth. All of the land is parallel terraces.

Not something those corn farmers out west have to deal with.

Chris

Way out west they harvest crops on the sides of mountains every year. You can do just about anything you want to now so all you have to do is decide just what you want to do and what your budget is.

I personally would rather run a side hill harvester on steep land then pull a picker and wagon. On steep land if you get any amount of moisture you could be in for one heck of a fight.