I can remember when the most common corn planter was a 4 row wide. Lots of fellow still used a two row three point planter. Then slowly six row narrow planters came about. About 20 years ago twelve row planters starter selling around here. Now the serious farmers are all 16 row or 24 row around here. The big 36 and 48 row planters are not around me yet. The side draft on the hills is a limiting factor so far.
I was just walking through the shed earlier today. Two sixteen rows setting ready to go. Another sixteen row in the shop getting dressed up for this season.
I bought it a year and a half ago to resell. It was a early fall auction with perfect weather and the combines running. A JD 1770 16 x 30 planter with seed star, liquid fertilizer and individual row shut offs. I gave $13,500 for it. When I got it home I found an invoice in with the monitor showing how the prior owner had spent $25K one year before that on the planter. We got to looking and it was in better shape than one of our planters. So we kept it as a backup until the one planter is worn out and we will sell it. Well last year the weather got wet late so getting the soybeans planted needed to happen fast so I hooked the "spare" planter up without any of the GPS stuff hooked up to it. Soybeans aren't as fussy about over laps on point rows. So my son found the stuff they needed to make it match the other two planters, used online for pennies on the dollar. So what was going to be a summer project got turned into a snowy April one. LOL
We have rented a tractor and bought another finisher. When the weather breaks we can get every thing planted in under a week if the ground is right to plant.
With this modern equipment is hard to believe the amount of acres that can be covered in a short period of time.
I was just walking through the shed earlier today. Two sixteen rows setting ready to go. Another sixteen row in the shop getting dressed up for this season.
I bought it a year and a half ago to resell. It was a early fall auction with perfect weather and the combines running. A JD 1770 16 x 30 planter with seed star, liquid fertilizer and individual row shut offs. I gave $13,500 for it. When I got it home I found an invoice in with the monitor showing how the prior owner had spent $25K one year before that on the planter. We got to looking and it was in better shape than one of our planters. So we kept it as a backup until the one planter is worn out and we will sell it. Well last year the weather got wet late so getting the soybeans planted needed to happen fast so I hooked the "spare" planter up without any of the GPS stuff hooked up to it. Soybeans aren't as fussy about over laps on point rows. So my son found the stuff they needed to make it match the other two planters, used online for pennies on the dollar. So what was going to be a summer project got turned into a snowy April one. LOL
We have rented a tractor and bought another finisher. When the weather breaks we can get every thing planted in under a week if the ground is right to plant.
With this modern equipment is hard to believe the amount of acres that can be covered in a short period of time.