This is a YT forum, right?

Dave H (MI)

Well-known Member
Reason I ask is, and I want to emphasize that I am not trying to be a smart a$$ or beat up on anyone, I was looking at my previous post about the relevance of hours. I was surprised at the number of replies that actually tried to discourage me from buying an older combine. Y = "Yesterday's" and I would think that discouraging the use of yesterday's combines would be somewhat OT. And hiring a small operator to come combine it for me and watching as he pulls an F3 on the place to do it seems to be a little foolish. Only the BTO's around here are using new combines. Anyone I would hire is going to use a much older machine. I would further add that we have 9 tractors on the place and the NEWEST is 1989 and it is way too small to do much with. Our big tractor is from 1979 and it is a fine running, 160 HP tank of a machine. Well maintained by its original owner it came to us well used and ready for more. I don't find it unlikely that I can find a combine from the same era as my tractor (and most of my other equipment) and put her to work doing my small fields. If it breaks I'll fix it...what else is new? Appreciate all the help and I am listening to everyone, including those who say hire it out. Just don't want to do that.
 
I will not say anything bad about older machines as we use a Deere 105 and 2-95's.In my area you can not find anyone to do custom work.The big operaters run 12 row heads and mega platforms and are not inerested in my contour strips.Even if I could hire a combine I do not have the equipment to move the grain away fast enough for them.We cut 25a. small grain,50a. of soybeans and 50-75a. of corn a year.The nice thing with my Deere machines is that most parts interchange so I can take parts off one to put on another in a pinch.We use the 105 for corn and the 95's for wheat or beans.There is nothing wrong with older machines if they have been taken care of,just be careful not to buy wore out junk.
 
Right! The whole point here is to save one old machine from the scrapper, harvest my crop, and not go broke. Hiring a crew to harvest or dropping a lot of money on a new machine does not make sense in my case and is inconsistent with the purpose of these forums. At least in my opinion.
 
My old JD95 has about 4400 hours on it and I plan on keeping it running as long as I can and then some! I have even done some modifications to it to run an AC corn head on it (8x20 inch rows). Not many old combines running around me just the BTO and there new machines. There are good old machines out there to be found it just takes some looking. I am happy to hear you want an older machine to do your own crops with, Too many people would just hire it done cause its easer. I like to run my old girl and she dose as good if not better that the new ones out there. Bandit
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That's all I am trying to accomplish here. Granted I am pushing the long time tenant/BTO off the place by doing it myself but his equipment has outgrown the place and he wants to take down all the big trees...some of which were saplings on the property when it was homesteaded in 1836. I love my trees and really enjoy using the old stuff and fully intend to stay the course. A little hard work and getting greasy doesn't scare me off. The kid who rents from me now is the son of the original tenant. His main interest in his tractors revolves around the on board computers.
 
I try to keep my search limited to where I have an existing relationship with a hauler. I have guys who have hauled equipment for me in the thumb area, north central lower peninsula, and in the Grand Rapids area. All of these places have active farming going on and it is trending toward the few BTO farmers. As these guys swallow up smaller farms the smaller equipment goes up for sale. So to answer your question, I am looking mainly in lower Michigan due to costs of transport. If I find something in SE Michigan, like as not I will drive it home.
 
Its the same way around me, The BTOs come in and take the trees out so they can just roll on. Good trees are needed as wind brakes and I leave them alone, But junk trees are cut out of fence lines and in the woods. Many small farms around me are gone from someone buy it and sells the ground off to build houses on in 4 5 and 10 acre tracks and they end up with a couple acres they want someone to farm and it just cant be done now. The BTO around hear will only go down to a 25 acre field as long as it one solid field and they can get in and out easy or can cut the fence because they have ground around it and its easer to get to this way. I am glad to hear you want to farm and take pride in your place, Not many want to do this anymore. Bandit
 
Neighbor sold his 5000+ hr. M-2 at auction last fall, a better maintained machine than a lot of 2000 hr machines, needed nothing to go to work. Care showed as it was a 1981 model that out sold a lower hr"ed 1987 M-3 that had less than 1/2 the hrs, at the same sale. ( consignment)
 
As long as you know what you are getting into.

Old tractors are pretty straight forward and there are many parts sources.

Combines are a little different, if some parts break they are no longer available, and the. You really need to scramble.... Even if available the parts might be 3-5 days coming.

At a time when your paycheck is being threatened by rain, snow, storms any day now......

Even of farming is just a hobby, it doesn't take many acres to add up to real money on the line these days, easy to have $750 tied up in an acre of crop any more.

So I think the cautions you got were good ones.

My new combine I just got this year is a mid 1980s machine, I'm tickled the air conditioner works, so I'm not out there on the shiny new poly machines myself.

Paul
 
Puts me in mind of my IH 1586. The outside of the cab is a mystery. It is pretty rusty. Inside of the cab looks like it came off the showroom. Best part of the tractor is the way it starts and runs. I actually bought it from a dealer and never met the man who consigned it. But the paint was good on the actual tractor and it started first try. Dealer did not even leave the building. Handed me a key and sent me out to look. Walked around the tractor and every filter had a date written on it in grease pencil. Oil pressure pegged over, charge was good. All my checks proved positive. I could tell I was looking at a good, well maintained machine in spite of whatever rusted the cab exterior. Tried to dicker with the dealer and he just said "nope, it's a plum and worth every nickel." SOLD.
 
I was surprised by the responses, too. Maybe they were just trying to see if you "had what it takes."

My experience has been that while the old ones may take a little creativity to keep going, the newer ones may require that too once you price the parts.

Older ones usually have a lot less plastic and electronics, too. That"s a big bonus in my book. I"d much rather fix something with the welder than be held hostage to the parts man for a plastic circuit board.

If you do buy an older one, go for the best you can afford. Not the shinyest, but the one that looks well maintained- good belts, oily chains, etc.

Come harvest time, they"ll be plenty of posts of old stuff. It gets pretty cool!
 
You won't catch no crap from me about an older combine. I love my 1972 G Gleaner Hydro, Best machine ever made by man. I run a new Gleaner because with my land and my nephew we have to. Got tired of "fair weather" custom cutters that always wanted to load up and go down the road when a rain cloud would show up. Depending on your acreage and how much you want to spend a solid dependable machine from 1970 on up will do fine. Probably be able to pickup a L2 or L3 Gleaner in the $10,000-$15,000 area. transverse for about double that figure.

There are good used machines out there and the best part of your situation is you won't be screwing with computer crap on the engine or cab monitors!
 
Dave, Another reason to have your own combine is that you can start and do your harvest when the crop is ready. Sometimes I just do one gravity box to see what the moisture is, especially if wheat. Also, when you have a nice warm sunshine day, you can combine instead of waiting for days for a custom operator to show up. I combine about 40 acres of wheat & oats on my hobby farm with a JD 4420 because I like to do it myself. As I am retired, it also give me something to do. Al
 
I'm a small operator like you with a job in town, and I'm going the opposite way you are. I'm on 38" rows and want to try 30". Precision AG is the big thing now so I'm having my neighbor plant and combine this year. He has GPS on the planter and every time we change hybrids he will put it in the monitor, and when he comes to combine this fall the combine will know when it gets in a new number and I will know how each number did compared to the others. His combine has a chopping corn head so that will save me another trip over the field. I have been grid sampling and variable rating the fertilizer for 2 years now. After a few years of yield maps should be able to go to the fertilizer dealer and lay the yield maps over the grid maps and start to fine tune the system. My whole life I resisted change and hung on to the old ways. Now I'm going to embrace the new and see if it pays. If it does pay then my IH 1440 combine and my White 5100 planter will be at the local consignment auction in a few years. Not being critical of your choices, just giving another view.
 
I too run old(er) machines.A JD 95 squareback/443 cornhead.Do around 70 acres yearly with no problems.PD $1100 .Also have a 55 roundback as a small grain machine.All my tractors are all '67 and older.Gonna keep it that way,too.They're pd for. And for my 'penny' operation(I farm full time),they're perfect.Dont let ANYONE tell you "old"is bad/junk/obsolete....The new stuff will be junk while the older stuff is still running.
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I would like to know what you are planting and see a breakdown of the costs by category! It doesn't cost me that much to plant. I'll warn you up front, I'm a licensed CPA with a nice private practice and I have run my numbers and looked at those of others. Most of the costs you would list do not apply to me. I own the land and the equipment and most of it I would own if I used it or not. I do most of my own repairs and all the maintenance. Rent lost is an opportunity cost but used for comparison basis, not as a cost of production. I am about as good as it gets at turning black ink into red but I can't hit your number to save my life.

Your point about parts is well taken but not entirely accurate either. If one of my old tractors breaks down I cannot just run to Case/IH and buy everything I need. Those folks will charge you $40 for a new door lock. It is not cost efficient and often the parts are not available. I have to hunt up used parts and I DO wait a long time to get them. Same with my old planter and other equipment. It is all the same. I understand how combines are different, but the older the machine the more are sitting in the parts yard. I have quite a network of parts guys and I get things done surprisingly quickly and cheaply. I always have a back door and a contingency plan.
 
I'm with you. I like stuff I can fix. Gotten fairly handy at it over the years too. I still cut my hay on the back of a Farmall SMTA. People stop down on the road and watch the old tractor with the old equipment. New equipment is only efficient on huge acreage. It loses to the old stuff in every category when you start working on the "back 40" or the vacant 20 acres down the road. Bogs down, can't turn, runs over the same ground twice. The stuff is just not as good as they make it out. When you turn your old JD or Farmall onto a 500 acre field with a 9 foot haybine, yes, it will lose the race. But on my place, it is king.
 
Don't recall seeing an L series Gleaner sell around here but the smaller ones don't bring near that kind of money. We have an auctioneer around here who somehow manages to get retail and then some for used equipment. The F3 with two heads that he sold a few weeks back brought $4800. I looked at it and it seemed pretty nice but I let it go...mostly because of the weather at the time. Not sure why the L would be so much more but, like I said, can't recall seeing a sold one.
 
That is exactly how I have been thinking. I just like the field work. May sound strange to some who have done it for years and tired of it long since, but I even like doing hay. If there is a harder job on the farm than square bales I would like to hear of it...so I can run in the other direction! :)
 
I think once you find a good one and then keep it tuned up and maintained the war is won. Nice machines! I have sat in more combines the past year than I ever thought possible. All kinds and colors. You never realize how many there are til you start looking.
 
No, I understand. You like technology. Unfortunately it is too expensive for you to do yourself so you have to pay someone to farm for you. Then you can sit and look at your charts and maps and, well....good luck with that.

I like to run my own equipment that I maintain with my own hands. I have leased fields for years. It is just not the same.

In my humble opinion, you are on the wrong forums.
 
I have nothing to add to that. I agree 100% and really like your combines even though I don't own a lot of JD stuff. I do have two JD balers. At the time I bought them I really wanted a New Holland as they are the popular machine here. My first JD 224T was sold at auction from inside the shed where it lived. I still use that baler even though it is a tad slow. Cheap to run and maintain. Easy to fix. Most of the time it never breaks but when it does I can usually pull it in the shade and have it up and going in 30 minutes or less. Which I guess proves our point.
 
I guess I had mentioned a Gleaner R50 so you could have a better grain sample and possibility to install some modern threshing updates that are available for them and not have the bugs of the N series as well as decent capacity. But they were built in the late 80s early 90s and the electronics aren"t really anymore advanced than the conventional Gleaners. Best of both worlds if you ask me.

Ive been around a K since we got it in 1988 and have been working at a dealer since 2000 so I have seen whats happening with what machines. Was just sharing my experience.

Right now we are just running a few acres but when the majority of our land comes out of the CRP Im planning on getting a R40 or R50.

Also, will attach a link to auction results. They have been selling reasonable.
R50 auction results
 
I sure appreciate all the comments. I have to plant in the next week or two and that is a bit of a leap of faith...since I haven't bought a combine yet! My tenant likes to brag about his equipment. He is a young guy and his stuff is at least twice the size of mine. He spends roughly $300 for every $1 I spend. He is especially proud of his "on board computer" and all the "cool things" it can tell him. He has been doing well the past few years but I noticed him opening up a new field right down the road from the house I live in. Problem is that I live 20 miles from the farm. I have to wonder what would motivate him to haul/drive all that huge equipment 20 miles just to open up a 15 acre field he can barely turn around in. I suspect the answer is going to be that he is now so heavily leveraged with debt on those big machines that he is starving for cash. I wonder if he can plug THAT into his monitor and get a printout to help him?

Still looking and wondering if maybe I should dust off the corn knives and gunnysacks...we may be going REAL old school next fall.
 
I am also very glad that you are preventing the bull dozing of more trees. Around here it has gotten just terrible for how much land has been cleared so theres a 1/2 acre more land to plant. Theres corn being planted on hills and ditches that should have been left alone. But I guess some guys like their topsoil in the Mississippi.
 
Those are pretty good prices. I don't think I can go five figures on a combine for this year. I put over $20K last year into upgrades on some of my tillage and planting equipment and it just about did me in when I looked at the year end books. I know that seems a modest number to those who think $20K is a down payment, but I am from a different school of thought. I really like the F3 because it is sized to my fields and a few thousand will get the whole package. THEN I can keep it in the background as my backup when I move up to a one such as you are suggesting.

Appreciate the comment on the trees. I have tried but cannot explain to most folk how much I love to walk the lanes along the fence rows and those big oaks, hickories and walnuts really make the place beautiful. There is nothing like rolling farm land broken up with old fence rows and tree lines. People amaze me. If it were ONLY about the money, it would seem a factory job would be a lot easier.

I'll keep an eye on those R Gleaners. I could see one of those in my future.
 
Wouldn't mind having a piece of paradise and being able to farm. Would be nice to pick corn again. Always liked ear corn.
 
I feel blessed. I will tell you, however, that we worked very hard for a very long time do get it and keep it. Still do.

I heard a realtor complaining one time that old man so and so was just "sitting" on a piece of property. This realtor felt that farm land was a waste. There is no such thing as just "sitting" on a piece of property around here. Taxes, insurance, maintenance will eat you up so you really need to work it or rent it. If you rent it you have to be very involved. My tenant likes to plow in the fall right before the rains. Two years ago a lot of my topsoil ended up in the creek. I told him he could continue to plow all fall as long as he planted a cover crop. Now he leaves the stubble till Spring. Even wheat stubble will hold soil for a winter.
 
Fella, some of your commentary here is borderline offensive, and disrespectful. People have given their time and thoughts to respond seriously to your questions given their experience with old and new(er) machines, and modern farming practices. And here you are, telling people what to post and where. Please continue voluminously tooting your own horn, I can ignore that… but there is no reason disrespect people who have freely given you thoughtful advice that is worth considering by telling them they have no business posting here. Good luck to you.
 
Hmmm...I thought I was being very respectful. I guess you can look at a written word and read into it whatever you want. Generally it comes from the perspective of the reader and what he WANTS to hear. A suggestion that maybe a "yesterdays" tractor forum is not necessarily the best forum for discussing computerized monitors is not like being banished from paradise. I appreciated his perspective.

I don't really know what "voluminously tooting your own horn" means. If it is because I respond to people who leave me notes, then so be it. Frankly, I get a little put out with people who ask questions, get answers and don't bother to thank those who respond. I always thought that was rude.

Either way, I am stuck in the office all day because it's been raining like crazy and I have enjoyed talking with the folks here. Don't see how that hurts anything. As opposed to raging at me for heaven knows what reason, maybe you could put that time to better use...like calling your doctor and getting your meds adjusted? Just a thought.
 
Acre of corn:

Seed. 88.00
Fert. 150.00
Weeds 25.00
Land. 250.00
Prop tax. 26.00
Machinery 25.00
Repairs. 20.00
Fuel. 15.00
Labor. 10.00

Puts me at $609.

I'm being quite generous with the seed, many are paying over $140 an acre.

Also being very generous with the land, I could rent mine out for $385 with at most 2 phone calls here.....

Pretty cheap labor rate, or optimistic on the time allowed too...

That would put it over $750 very easily.

Am I double dipping? For some calculations yes of course.

For figuring out what you can make or lose in a year, no?

I can collect a 385 check this spring and pay $26 of taxes and use my other cash and time on other projects for $359 income garenteed.

Or I can spend $609 and if I don't harvest anything I have $75 of fertilizer left (N floats away here in the spring floods...) so I lose $534.

Come December that is a difference of $893 in my checkbook per acre.

I'll probably harvest something somehow and not lose the whole $893, but $750 might describe 1988 pretty closely......

You might have cheaper land, lower yields, whatever, but I didn't say everywhere, I said in some places.

My numbers are conservative for here, and there are places a bit higher 50-60 miles from me....... I know people with $1,100 an acre tied up, don't know if they sleep so well tho.

In any case we both are pretty $$$ conservative and have things paid up and will be here long term, and there are more expensive habits worse for your health than farming. :) just if folks look at the numbers, it is kinda a big hill to look at any more, for me it likely would be better $$$ to rent out and take a town job, even a poor one.

But heck if that happens. ;)

Paul
 
It's not that I like technology or enjoy looking at charts and maps. I have farmed for 35 years and always did whatever I could to keep my costs down. I fixed my machinery,overhauled my tractors,repaired my buildings, if I could do it myself rather than hire it done I did it. But now what used to pay for all my inputs barely covers my cost of seed. Due to school bonds and inflated land values my property taxes are the same as the rent I used to pay my dad when I started farming. I need to start running my farm as a business and to do that I have to make the best decisions possible which requires good information, and that's what my goal is. If I can make the most money doing things myself I will continue to do that. But if I can add to my bottom line by having some custom work done that's ok too.
 
Sorry, misunderstood your situation. If that is working out for you then that is the way to go. For me it just does not work having a tenant on the place. We are always at odds about things and, like I said before, he has a habit of waiting until people are out of town and clear cutting. Won't happen on my place, he understands me pretty well I think. Thanks for not beating me up!
 
(quoted from post at 23:20:42 04/29/14) For me it just does not work having a tenant on the place. We are always at odds about things

After reading thru all these post I'm not surprised. Nitpicky landlords are not a joy for tenants either! I am renting a farm that I am the 3rd generation to farm it and they are going into the 4th generation of owners. Their grandfather told me once "You do as you see fit as you have twice as much at stake as I do".

The word tenant does not mean slave!
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying an older combine. One bit of advice is to go with one you can easily and readily get parts for. By the way, new machines break too. Jim
 
Don't I know it. Sometimes I think new machines break more often than the old ones. Old machines seem to only want regular attention to keep going.
 
Nothing wrong with an old combine. I had an old Massy Harris 35 with a seven foot head that I used to combine with back in the eighties. When I took my wheat to the elevator, the owner looked at the grain and then at me. Got kind of a funny look on his face but never said nothing. The second load I took he did the same thing. I asked him if something was wrong with the load. He said, "No, but this is the cleanest grain that has ever come in here, what do you do to it, clean it?" I told him the old combine had a seed cleaner on it. He said, "I wish everybody had one, it would save me a lot of money." It was a slow machine but it did a good job.
 
Dave H (MI); I've been following a little bit here. Do you know how to open the e/m or contact without putting it out for everyone to see? I don't and am wondering if an 815 would be your vintage machine or not. Just curious. I like your posts. Good luck.
 
That's the way I feel about my baler...but I think I mentioned that. Starting to feel a little nervous about the combine. Nothing like planting with now way to harvest other than ask the tenant...I would hate to do that.
 
Hey there Al! You'll have to forgive me...I don't understand a thing you just said! I read it over and over but I have no idea what it means! :)
 
Dave, I've been thinking about your combine dilemma. You've got a great idea about wanting to buy a older machine in real good condition, it's going to be hard to find and take some time but they're out there. If you're at all like me and I believe our postings on your previous thread sure make us seem somewhat alike you'll know it's the right combine outfit for you when you see it. Don't settle for a mouse-infested ratty interior, etc. machine. The well-cared for ones are out there.
 
I'm the one who mentioned a smaller operator if you did hire it out. I made no direct suggestion to hire it out other than if you did hire it that it might be best to get a local smaller farmer. And watching a 60 yr. old that has owned combines for 35 years pull a nice F3 in to purely combine at $25 to $30/acre may not be that far off money wise. Of course I don't know if you have 80 or 800 acres. But you can get plenty of YT time sitting in your 1586 pulling grain wagons to your bins or town. It takes two to harvest in my opinion and a smaller neighbor farmer gives you both a combine and an experienced operator/hand to be on-site. That was all I meant. IF you hired it. But if you want to get a combine that's great too. And I'm glad to hear you're going to farm your ground.
 
I appreciate that. I am getting a little tired of looking at farm equipment, though. These things do pop up from time to time but it seems like auctions are the best outlet. Craigslist can have some crazy prices on things and dealers add their premium on to equipment they sell, of course, but they don't seem to shop it out any more like they used to. what I do find from time to time is one sitting on the side of the road with a "4 sale" sign on it. I'll just keep plugging along.
 
I don't want you to think I was offended by your idea. It is a very good idea and, if I don't find a machine I am comfortable with, I will probably take the advice. Not sure who I am going to find to do it, but I would ask around. The only farmers besides me in the area now are the BTO's. Some fella who farms along the main road about a mile away keeps driving by in the fall with some very old equipment but I have never met him. I'll have to see if I can get him to stop some day. If I could find an older guy to help me that would probably be close to priceless. Unfortunately, those fellas get scarcer every year.
 
OK, OK....I have to own that one! I do have a short list of rules that the tenant has to follow and I am pretty nitpicky about them:

-No hunting! I have a tenant for that too.
-No removal of anything other than your crop (trees, rock, etc)
-No fall tillage without cover crop.
-No spraying, tillage in areas that are not fields such as lanes, tree lines, etc.
-Lastly, he has to used the approved pass thru areas for getting from field to field.

On the other hand I maintain lanes and pass thrus with good side to side and overhead clearance. Keep up the fences and gates. Clear down trees from the fields without damaging crops. Protect his crops from trespassers. He can also leave a lot of expensive equipment on the place and knows we will look out for it. The thing he comments on as the most helpful is the removal of the trees that fall on the fields.

Every single year the rent check is short and he always has an excuse.

It is a two way street and I give as good as I get, no doubt about that. He is a pleasant enough guy to pass the time with. I guess it could be worse for both of us.
 
Paul - Those are some interesting facts! If I could get $385 rent per acre I would probably keep the tenant and semi-retire. That is almost 8 times what my neighbors get from the same guy who rents from me. He pays me exactly twice what he pays them. Still nowhere near what you could get!

Your costs concur with my own. I budgeted more for seed. Figured as a novice I had better not cheap out on the seed. I hope to be close on fertilizer. Fella I know broadcasts with a cyclone over his field but I repaired the dry fertilizer on my planter and will be putting mine in the row with the seed. I do not figure in land costs, partly because I am an accountant and neither GAAP or IRC allow a write off for land. Plus I would have that cost without regard to whether I plant, lease, or lie fallow. I have no labor...my family helps me gladly. Repairs...oh heck yes! I do them myself but the parts are expensive to find and get. So just looking at the variable costs associated with production, I feel pretty good about the cost picture. Appreciate the breakdown. It helps to know you are thinking along the correct lines.
 
Dave, in 1998 I went back to cutting all my own crops, I only raise small grains here but I have been very happy to again be in control of my harvest as the custom cutter I had been using was only interested in acres not quality samples or saving grain, that said I have enjoyed reading along with this post and feel you never said anything offensive to me and I wish you the best of luck, farming is a gamble but to me its a great life, here is a pic of a few of the machines I run, all are real CASE machines and all do a excellent job for me with few repairs, I also do custom cutting as well several pics above are from my custom run, having my own machines also allows me to raise specialty crops
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Yep, this is Yesterday's Tractor.

We were in the same position as you, we had our crops harvested by a neighbor and wanted to have more control over when it was harvested. We went down the same path you did with searches for machines from the 70s and 80s, but quickly realized that with the value of the crop and changing weather patterns that we needed something with better capacity and reliability.

We found a very nice 1994 Gleaner R52 at a local dealer. We decided on that machine because it had a better more efficient cleaning system, had fewer hours than older machines, should be more reliable, and most importantly it had a better, safer, more comfortable cab.

Do what you want, each of us has the make the best decisions for what we need on our farms.

Jim
 
Those are some great pictures and I appreciate your words! I agree with everything you said. I have been able to raise a couple of great daughters who pitch in without complaint and load bales or anything else I need. We have a stone BBQ in the middle of the place and a picnic table so we have a central meeting area to have lunch and take breaks. Spring-Fall are the best times of the year for us. Granted, I still make more money in the winter and I am grateful for that income when I start gearing up for Spring. I've expanded my search on the combine. I would consider any clean well maintained machine for a starter.
 
I won't lie to you, since the post yesterday about the R## combines I took the time to look them up. I see them on Tractor House for some pretty reasonable prices considering age. I just don't have the budget this year to go 5 figures on a combine and the acreage does not justify it this year either. Honestly, I could probably get by with a pull-type for one year if need be. If one comes along for the right price though, and the condition is good, I'll bring it home and hope it pays me back down the road. I could also get by on a good New Idea picker and just store it on the cob. That too would only be a one year thing though. Just have to see what comes up first. I am a guy with a lot of faith and believe things happen when, if, and where they are supposed to happen. :)
 
I buy a few bags of the name brand corn from a local farmer dealer, that was around $310 a bag.

Most of my seed comes from 20 miles away, a small family owned seed corn company. They have all the traits if you want, but anyhow they have very good yields for me, and are under $200 a bag for just roundup corn.

I buy the expensive stuff to keep a check on yields and plant quality, so I don't fall behind without knowing it. So far the local company out yields the big company, but at times has wetter corn so drying costs more. Anyhow, it works for me but I do keep watching it, not buying seed just because its cheap....

I used to plant 34000 seeds, I've cut back a bit closer to 30,000 and in the dry falls we have had think it has worked out, maybe when I get my soils in better shape I can bump up again.

A common rent here the past 3 years might be $250. You can find good neighbors paying over $300, now that I'm getting my fertility better and much more of my farm tiled it would support that. And the big fellas that come from farther away, I hear of $410-425 in past years, tho rumor, fact its sometimes hard to know..... I heard on the radio this morning rent prices fell $10-24 an acre on average this year.

I'm actually putting $250-300 worth of fertilizer on my corn ground the past few years, dad mined things down pretty low and I was only adding almost enough myself for some time. But I figure $150 goes to this years corn crop, $100 goes to next years bean crops, and $50 goes to building the soil back to where it should be, so I think I am correctly applying $150 worth to the corn crop.

I have the coop spread a variable rate in spring of N,P, K following my 4 acre soil tests. Then I place about 100 lbs of N,P,K,S,Z mix with the planter to give a band 2 inches away of a hot shot to feed the young plants well. I think you will do well with the banding.

I really like the idea of applying less N before planting, and side dressing some when the plants are knee high, spreading out the N application. Seems a person could use a little less, and target the good crop years vs the bad ones a little better. But that is for the future.

Paul
 
Sounds like you have a lot of experience and a good head for this! I don't know how I would get any additional fertilizer down after germination unless I did liquid with my sprayer. How do you side dress the plants at that size? Must be an implement I do not have. Sure do appreciate all the feedback. I am anxious to do well. I have a decent investment in the tools but that is not a big deal. Mostly I just want to try my hand at doing something besides making grass into geometric shapes for horses...although that takes a bit of knowledge too. If nothing else if I could just get the corn down by the road to look good...the part the neighbors see. :)
 
Interesting topic. How many acres are you farming? I don"t believe that has been posted or if it was I missed it. In my opinion that is a big factor in determining what you finally purchase as a combine or use as a planter.

Today"s seed is not what my dad was planting back in the 60s-70s. It has the potential for yielding much higher than the seed back in the day. Due to the advances in genetics the seed will do a lot of that on its own, but the farmer has to plant it accurately and in a timely manner, fertilize, and control weeds and insects to give it the chance to yield to the max. At harvest time he has to harvest when the crop is ready.

The planters my dad used where plenty good for the time; however, I"m pretty sure that if he was farming the same acreage (approx. 600 acres) today he would not be using a planter from that era with seed costing $300.00 a bag. He would still be able to get it planted on time, but those planters just were not as accurate as the newer planters. I know he would be trying to get the most bang for his buck. Now when he quit he was operating a L3 Gleaner. I"m not saying that would not harvest his crop efficiently if she was still in pretty good shape. But I think he would have a newer model Gleaner (he really liked them.) 600 acres is not much in today’s world, but it is not hobby farming and you have to get that crop in the bin in an efficient and timely manner. The L3 would probably still have enough capacity, but downtime due to breakdowns and waiting for parts would be a killer. I don"t know about Michigan, but in Iowa and Illinois a high wind and the corn it knocks down can amount to a large reduction in yield. If that happens while you are tracking down a part for an older machine you might be kicking yourself.

I also would point out that many of the guys on here have run combines for years. I’d bet FordFarmer and CaseNutty can tell from listening/feeling to their machines when something such as a bearing or belt is going bad. Probably not always, but most of the time. That is a skill you do not pick up overnight, it takes time as an operator to do that and it also takes time to learn how to set a combine. 200 bushel corn is great but it only yields that if you put it in the bin. 195 bushel corn is good, but if you leave 5 bushel in the field at $5.00 a bushel you are costing yourself $25.00 an acre. The newer models of any brand from the 80-90s are to my way of thinking easier for a novice to set up if they have some simple monitors and capability to change adjustments on the go.

If I was in your shoes and could afford it my choice would be a JD 9400 or 9500. Parts are available, you can make adjustments from the cab and the electronics are not too fancy. Also newer heads will fit (I think all brands have made big strides in the efficiency of their heads). Gleaners and CASE IHs from that same timeframe will offer the same advantages if you prefer those brands. Dealer support is important at harvest no matter how much you can fix on your own, so that would be a big consideration for me.

After all of this, it gets back to acres. Just a 100 or so get a good old girl. Take care of her. Set her up correctly, get out every now and then to check things and enjoy harvest. Then I’d get a G Gleaner, only because I loved the sound of that Chevy V-8. Any more acres than that I know I’d get something a little newer that is would be easier for a “combine newbie” to operate as efficiently as possible.
 
If parts are available most any older well kept combine will work on a smaller farm..,Not that many years ago I put 550 acres thru a 715 IH in one year and worked a full time job in town...

When they were new I had several neighbors that ran 1200-1600 acres a year thru their 4400 John Deeres.....My F3 Gleaner ran 800 acres a year and could have easily done 200-300 more..
 
Good info Bill, thanks! I have a thing about telling people how much of anything I have...money, land, etc. but I see no harm here. At most, right now I am looking at 110 acres but keep in mind I have a regular hay business going and not all the land I have available to me is going into corn. The other thing is that I am doing one small field this year s sort of a "trial run". That field is about 10 acres. That is why I am not real frantic about the combine. Over the course of several weeks I could pick that by hand if I had to. Don't want to, but I have done crazier things! What I don't pick I'll shoot over during hunting season. The remainder of the farm is in hay or leased to my tenant for one last season. Everything I buy, however, I gear toward the future when I want to do more.
 
The F3 is my favorite so far. Best fit for capacity and price. I would be tickled to find one sooner but we all know they come out of the (barn) woodwork in late summer looking for the best price.
 
I harvested 850 acres / year with a M
-2/3, 4 row cornhead and 15' table, wou;d have handled a 1000 with ease. Highest corn yield was 225, and beans was 72, handled both of those fine.
 
Around here NH3 is very common - aka Anhydrous ammonia.

You can sidedress it into the ground between the rows. It is a gas that seeks out water desperately, so it is dangerous if a hose bursts or the like. Some areas are phasing it out, but it is cheapest N around here.

Liquid is becoming popular. Takes a big volume to get anywhere. I had my neighbor apply a little last year with his rig on a small field.

I know so little, but I keep trying to learn more.

Paul
 
I don't know how the M fits in with the early Gleaner L other than it would be somewhere between an F and an L. I steer away from the Gleaner L because some of the early ones had issues and they were supposed to have fixed those in later production...but how do you know which you are buying? Having said that, I suppose if a Gleaner L is at auction today it was probably one of the better of the lot as it stayed in the game a long time. With my limited knowledge of combines I am being very conservative here but I have to think that any 1979-80's combine still in use today was probably not a problem machine to start with or it was updated long ago to fix the issues.
 
A good F3 with heads is 10,000 machine here, I stole one for $3800 few years ago.

Good M series is near $15,000 with heads.

Lot of F sell for under $2000, but they are gas and or wore out.

Paul
 
I almost hate to admit it, but I was watching those brothers on RFD a couple weeks ago and they were talking about an additive to the tank when spraying roundup, I cannot remember what it was. It was a liquid nitrogen source I think. Supposed to make the roundup more effective and was good for growth. I have grown corn...sweet, field, indian, pop...many times over the years. Most I ever grew was maybe ten 20 ft rows. Easy to make it look good when your whole field is 200 sf!
 

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