Peanut Planting/Harvesting on Small Acreage with Compact Tractor

[perdurabo]

I'd like to try my hand at planting a small peanut field (6-7 acres) to produce peanuts for hay, fertilizer and for personal oil pressing (not for resale, I don't intend to sell for a profit). However, it looks like just about all the equipment for peanut planting and harvesting I've seen is either large vastly expensive purpose built self-driven combine machinery or PTO driven but intended for 140HP+ large tractors. Obviously such equipment isn't worth it for such small acreage.

Are there any implements out there in the US market for planting and harvesting peanuts with a compact category I tractor (~34HP)? I see various implements for small tractors in the Indian and Chinese market where there are still a lot of small producers with smaller tractors, but here is the US all I can see are huge machines for large commercial outfits. The red tape and expense of importing this equipment to the US seems nowhere near worth it though. How did small time farmers plant and harvest peanuts 60-70 years ago when most tractors were small? Were there implements for this or did they still do most of the harvesting by hand with pickers?

I should note that I'm in no way interested in hiring someone else to plant/harvest for me or borrowing equipment. I'm only interested in doing this if I can purchase and keep the equipment myself affordably.

 

[sweettractors]

The Covington will plant the peanuts. We sell the 1 row with 4 seed plates and fertilizer box and cultivator for $1395 + shipping. 20 HP minimum required. Ken Sweet

 

[sweettractors]

Here is a picture of the 1 row Covington. Ken Sweet

 

[Taylortractornut]

I planted about 10 rows of peanuts last year with my Covington. Several years ago before my time an old man Im friends with farmed about 500 acres of them. I saw some old pics of a one row digger/shaker. WHen he was small he would dig them and take them to a combine with the reel off and feed the vines into the header. after they dried to shell them. Then he would bale the hay. I think his shakers were Mclennyh towaro

 

[Tritonman]

You can look for an old John Deeere Flex planter Model 71 for planting the peantus.

 

[perdurabo]

What about digging/turning/harvesting peanuts? A combine would be too expensive. Could you use some kind of stationary thresher?

 

[JoeinTX]

Definitely not a peanut expert here (other than eating them) but peanuts aren't like wheat or oats. Even if you could thresh them via a stationary machine or any modified semi-modern combine.........how are you going to get them out of the ground? You gotta dig 'em up first, en masse, and then move them to your processing machine.

It seems that I use to see older pull-type peanut combines occasionally advertised for sale, Long or KMC is what I recall, that were older smaller HP units probably built in the 1960s/70s. I haven't seen one though in years and years.

Here's a couple of links that might help you out:

Georgia Peanut Farm Show

Pearman Corporation -- Manufacturer of Farm Equipment and Peanut Machinery

First might lead you to some small-time players in peanut farming tech. Most peanuts in the U.S. are grown on less than 100 acre operations. Second, Pearman, they seem to have to some small ops tools and processing equipment. Bit dated, though......

 

[sweettractors]

You can look for an old John Deeere Flex planter Model 71 for planting the peantus.

We just happen to have a used 2 row 71 JD flex planter at $795 if anyone needs one? Ken Sweet

 

[randyjinla]

i have an old book on growing peanuts printed in the 30's. they showed digging them with a horse draw potato digger.

 

[smstonypoint]

The state-wide yield in Georgia last year was over 3,500 pounds per acre.
Improved varieties improve peanut yields

If you only average 2,000 pounds per acre, you would be harvesting 6 to 7 tons. "That's not peanuts."

Way back when I was a wee lad, our neighbors grew a row or two in their garden. I think they used a potato plow to turn the peanuts out of the ground. I'm hazy on the details, but I think they left them to sun dry before shaking off the soil by hand.

Steve