Case Corn Harvester....

Bought a 1954 Case Corn Harvester from a friend this summer. Had to replace the gear box but finally got it to work. Picks the ears of corn into one wagon and cuts the stalks and blows them into a wagon beside you.....

Never seen anything like that before Steve, looks like I have have to visit again, Rod.

Oh Man ,, I wanna hear my strait piped DC run that with 2 wagons behind going up and down these knolls i farm in 2nd gear ,,. Or would i have to go 1st gear for the pikers sake in this modern corn ??

You are correct. In todays corn first gear is the speed to go. Dad had a silo filling ring with a DC and C-2 cutter and ran in 2nd gear most times and could slip shift to first in heavy corn.

Case published a 15 page pamphlet about that unit. Dad ordered in two of those heads. He sold one and the other never sold and years later it was scrapped unused.
Case went to great lengths to promoter this concept. Look at the VAC in the second pic with the elevated observation deck built onto it. They must have had two of those to get that pic.
Loren

I have some "C" chopper parts around from the one that Dad ran for years. I will save them for you. DK

Looks like a slick operation. I've seen these before, but don't remember where.

I remember dad using a corn shredder that had snapping rolls on it. When he moved on that farm he couldn't afford to pay someone to pick his corn, or fill his silo. He did have a neighbor that still harvested corn the old fashioned way though. The neighbor first came over to our place with a binder, and put the corn up in shocks. Then he brought up the shredder and set it up near our silo. Then the fun would begin. They would both go out to the field to load the shocks onto wagons. Then bring the loads in and started to feed the corn stalks into the snapping rolls. The rolls would pop the ear off the stalk to be sent up a short conveyor to a wagon, and the stalks into the shredder to be shredded and sent up into the silo. After our farm was done they moved to our neighbors place to harvest his corn. Dad told me that feeding stalks into those snapping rolls was dangerous. He said you had to fight the impulse to hang onto the stalk when the snapping rolls would jerk the stalk out of your hands when you fed them into the machine. I guess a few farmers lost a hand when they didn't let go of the stalk fast enough.

That was the only year they did that. During the next summer they bought a woods one row corn picker at a farm sale. Dad had a good relationship with his neighbor and they both worked together on putting up their crops.

That rig must have made a DC snort. I wonder why they didn't take off? Don

Where are you located? I would like to get some video of that running sometime and we can post it on here for all to hear and see.

That is very interesting. I've never seen another one like it. I'd like to see a video of one in the field.

I have a vid on facebook. Don't know if just anyone can see it.

I met you at Albert City....80 miles north of Sioux Falls SD.

Wish I had known, bought a 220 cutter and the feed roll and coupler and assorted boxings were missing. Have to come look some day.

We picked and cut quite a bit with the machine and a DC doesn't really know it is there. By the time the corn is dry enough to pick the fodder is like fluff. In the lit. Loren shows they blew the cut stalks back on the ground to eliminate cut worms (supposedly) and make it easier to work the stalks back into the soil.

I have that pamphlet and one similar for the machine. Interesting note is that in the big 400 manual I have it shows a 400 picking and cutting corn with a Corn Harvester.

Interesting machine! Was the stover to be used for cattle feed or just for bedding? At the time didn't most livestock farmers run cattle and sometimes hogs into the picked corn fields to forage until the snow got too deep.

Yes, could be used for feed or bedding. Kinda like farmers baling corn stalks today for feed or bedding. Course back in the 50s yields weren't what they are today and the volume of fodder wasn't as great.

My apologies, I forgot. Shoot me an email and we can try to get that video on this forum. Might have to make a trip out your way sometime just to see your collection. I would say of all the rare J.I. Case equipment, your picker/chopper should be the most recorded since they were so few in the first place.

I would think having the stalk and leaves off the field was a tremendous advantage at that time when it came to ploughing.

Bet it was fun to slow down and enjoy this machine that brought in a lot corn crops. Probably brought up memories of your family long since past. Thanks Steve
Dan