corn pickers

Charlie M

Well-known Member
In the days of doing ear corn and the old tow behind corn pickers was any bodies picker considered better than others? I know lots of guys like the NI pickers and I have a NI 323 that I can't complain about. I also have a IH 1PR picker and between the two I like the IH picker better. I think it shells less corn and has a better elevator to the wagon. I can get through the mud better with the NI picker.
 
You've hit on a couple of them already. The 1PR was a good one,Oliver number 5,New Ideas were popular with some folks,cursed by others on the early ones because of all the moving parts.
 
Most IH guys seemed to prefer the New Ideas here. There used to be a fair amount of Minneapolis Moline pickers sitting around.
 
In the 1950's and early 1960's most mid-west states had corn picking contests. The winner would go to the national contest.

I'm not going to look up the winners, but I remember the New Idea one row winning the most contests. The Moline Uni-Harvester won a lot of the two row contests. There were several Moline two row pull type, Oliver one row pull type and two row mounted, and Ford mounted one and two row pickers that were winners.

Never see any John Deere, Case, Allis Chalmers, or Massey Harris pickers that were winners in the 50's. I don't remember any Internationals being a national winner, but they may have won a state title or two. In the 1960's Allis Chalmers came out with new mounted pickers and they won several contests,

Shelled corn was becoming popular in the 60's and Gleaner self propelled combines and the Moline Uni-Shellers were about the only winners. I don't know when they stopped the contests. I am guessing in about 1966.
 
I remember the neighbor having a mounted Ford picker & I remember that when you drove by his place & saw the ears in his wire crib there were a lot of shucks on it compared to our 234 IH picker.
 
neighbor of mine picked in SD mechanical contests and went to the national contest at least once as an alternate, IH pickers were notorious corn butchers whereas a Case would save the smaller ears but Case never improved their design from the 30's on, many including my dad considered the MM to be the best until they came out with the bronze snooted 250, the 6A New Idea was also good except when the key ways got worn, the 324 NI became the king of the hill and stayed there,jd never did make much of a picker except maybe the 300,the older ac's picked dirty, I used an Oliver 83 once and wasn't impressed much, it also was hard on the corn.
 
Interesting. In my area there were hundreds of 227 corn pickers mounted on other brand tractors. New Idea pickers were mounted on many tractors as well. Hardly any other brands of pickers around. Many people that didn't have any other Deere machinery had a Deere corn planter and a Deere corn picker. Mike
 
Around here, northwest Ouio it wasNew Idea, Oliver, John Deere, Allis Chalmers, Wood Bros., GI, Belle City, in single row pickers, NO IHC, MH or MM pickers. 2 row some MM in the line but there were no IHC single row pickers around and IHC McCormick was second to Deere for everything else. If I have ever seen a single row McCormick pull type it was at a show. They just did not exist on the farms here.
 
I have two IH 1PRs, and have owned New Ideas also. The New Idea is a great machine, and the most popular in my area. But, I preffer the 1PR, it is simple , rugged, and compact. It wont husk as well unless everything is right, including the corn itself, moisture, and weather. I hit it just right this year, and there are almost no husks in the crib at all. It will shell off the butt of the cob too much also if the corn is too dry.
 
one of the reasons many liked the #7 NI one row for contests was that they have 6 husking rolls whereas most two rows of the day had 8 rolls
 
maybe a regional thing around here the die hard jd guys had a jd picker otherwise most ran something else, jd never seemed to get all of the good traits combined into one model
 

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