Who has a corn picker?

firefighter9208 · Mar 10, 2009

I'm looking at a New Idea 309 one row corn picker. I'm planning on planting about 2 acres of Pioneer Field corn to pick and feed to my goats, chickens, and maybe a pig and steer. I may also sell some ear corn. If the ear corn sells well I might expand and plant more acreage in the future.

The New Idea 309 doesn't have a husking bed, but here in Alabama if you wait until late Oct or early Nov. to pick there really isn't a problem with storing ear corn in a crib with the shucks on.

List what type of picker you have and pictures of your picker. Also, action picks would be nice.

Chris
Hill Farm Boer Goats

firefighter9208 · Mar 11, 2009

Well here are some pictures of the New Idea 309 that the guy has for sale. Yall let me know what you think??? He wants $800.00. I think I might offer him $500.00???

NH-Rob · Mar 11, 2009

we used a sweet corn picker for a few years. They work real good. The one we used was a self powered unit with a conveyer on the back to load a wagon. Sorry no pics they brought it up to one of are other farms last year.
Rob

schmism · Mar 11, 2009

based on what i see that just picks correct?

no de-husk or de-kern-ing?

so thats what you want right just the ears of corn (as you would buy them from a sweetcorn stand)?

lrunge · Mar 12, 2009

I have an older New Idea 323 picker that looks in about the shape of the one in your pictures. It does husk the corn. I paid about $800 for it about a year ago. It did a good job of picking about 2 acres of corn. It needs some work to fix some rust areas. It appears yours has some metal and cone points replaced. I've seen a few other 323 sell in the $750 to 900 range. If they are in really good shape they go for $1250 to 2500 range.
Make him the offer as see if he will deal.

firefighter9208 · Mar 12, 2009

schmism said:
based on what i see that just picks correct?

no de-husk or de-kern-ing?

so thats what you want right just the ears of corn (as you would buy them from a sweetcorn stand)?

Yeah, I wouldn't mind having one that shucked the corn, but here in the south if you wait until late Oct or early Nov. to pick the corn it's dry anyway. So all you really have to do is shuck it and shell it. I plan to shell with a hand sheller.

We also have been looking for a feed grinder and may buy one and just grind the corn (shucks, cobs, and all) for feed.

Chris

firefighter9208 · Mar 12, 2009

lrunge said:
I have an older New Idea 323 picker that looks in about the shape of the one in your pictures. It does husk the corn. I paid about $800 for it about a year ago. It did a good job of picking about 2 acres of corn. It needs some work to fix some rust areas. It appears yours has some metal and cone points replaced. I've seen a few other 323 sell in the $750 to 900 range. If they are in really good shape they go for $1250 to 2500 range.
Make him the offer as see if he will deal.

I would really like to have a 323, but haven't seen any in this area for sale. Not as much corn grown here as there is in other areas of the country. I did talk to one guy in Tennesse that has a picker for sale. He said that he didn't like one that shucks the corn, because it leaves too many of the kernals in the field.

What's your opinion on this??? I guess being in the south where it's really hot the corn is drier when you pick it and you loose more of the kernals.

Do you know of any other 323's that are for sale in the $500 to $1000 range. I wouldn't mind driving if it was a decent picker. Every 323 that I find is either 800-1000 miles away or $2000.00. I don't want to spend that much and by the time I pulled a trailer on a 1500-2000 mile round trip it wouldn't be worth it.

On Edit: Got any pics???

Chris
Hill Farm Boer Goats