So I have been doing some research and looking at some different planters, mostly online and used not new ones. Anyway I am looking to purchase a planter possibly this year if not definitely next. I am going to be adding some acres in the next year to my "hobby farm" and I stress that is what it is just a hobby right now, I have a full time job and other comment's also. I just like to use the tractors and equipment we have and have restored. So I am looking to my upgrade my planting operation, but I am not sure what to look for exactly. I just have an old 2 row plate planter that I use now to plant sweet corn. What I am looking for is a 4 row finger style planter with dry fertlizer and set to 30" rows to plant field corn. I have been looking at JD 7000 series planters. Them seem to be very popular and parts avaiablity seems to be good. I see a few for sale but there are on 36" rows, like I said I want to go for 30" rows because I will probably have to hire a local guy to combine my first few years of harvest and most everyone around here uses 30" rows. So now I guess my questions are: 1- If I find a good planter that I can afford such as a JD-7000 and it is set to 36" spacing how hard would it be to narrow it down to 30" spacing? 2- I will be doing conventional till, If I found a no till or conservation planter can I use it when doing conventional tillage? Or is there alot of things that would have to be changed over? I guess that's it for now, thanks in advance.
- Thread starter NYOlivers
- Start date
A conservation jd 7000 is kinda rare in 4 row, it has everything bolted to the main beam and you can slide it together easily to 30 inch.
A normal 7000 4 row has a rock shaft with set wheel spacing, you have to do some torch and welding to move the wheels in.
Then, the markers are a bit too long, you likely have to set them for the front wheel to follow, instead of the center of the tractor.
Short answer, others have done it and will have better answers.
Paul
A normal 7000 4 row has a rock shaft with set wheel spacing, you have to do some torch and welding to move the wheels in.
Then, the markers are a bit too long, you likely have to set them for the front wheel to follow, instead of the center of the tractor.
Short answer, others have done it and will have better answers.
Paul
Unless you enjoy wrenching and metal working you are not going to enjoy refitting a wide row drawn (rock shaft lift) 7000 to a narrow row. I also don't see that many wide row 4 row 7000 planters selling for way under what a narrow row sells for. I would also offer that there is a 4 row narrow 7000 for sale of Craigslist over in Hamburg which is south of Buffalo for cheap money. Yep, she needs work but the Shoup catalog just came in the mail so you can figure what it is going to take to make it functional. There also are places to grab used parts such as fertilizer boxes and tanks. She ain't pretty but I would rather spend time and money wire brushing plus painting than rehabbing but that is just me. If you don't care about pretty I am sure it would plant sweet corn once you went through it.
NEMOfarmkid
Member
I made the mistake of not getting a 7000 to use. Narrow row versions of the 7000 can be had for 750 dollars a row around me (northeast Missouri). A 7000 is light years ahead of a 494 Deere or 540 Oliver.
The 1240 was made several years ahead of the 7000 and was plateless. You can have a 494A and I'll still prefer a 7000. I wish Coonie Minnie was around as he had a good story about the 7000 and his relatives. In short it took a lot of convincing to get his older relatives interested in making a change from older equipment and practices to something new. Shortly after the 7000 came out one of his uncles drove past a neighboring field that had been planted by a 7000. His uncles had a new 7000 for the following spring.
kenny kabat
Member
Personally I would strongly consider a 6 row 30 inch. They are cheaper, because everyone wants 4 rows for food plots. With a 6 row you will match it up with a small combine with a 3 row head. Gleaner k, John Deere 3300, etc. Then with the same planter the switch to a 6 row machine is easy.
Yea, the 7000 is about as good a planter as there is. The improvements since are to handle bigger, faster, more acres more seed.
There are lots of attachments to add or modify a 7000 into whatever a person wants for their situation. They aren?t the perfect notill planter, but they work great out of the box and can easily be modified to do anything else special you want on a small or medium size patch of dirt.
Gerald J is the one who posted some pics here I think, and over on the big Ag site, of modifying his 38 inch to a 30 inch planter. I thought I posted a link here yesterday, maybe I dreamed that or maybe the moderators don?t like being compared tot he other site....
I?ll try posting Gerald?s pics, but of late pic posting doesnt always work right for me either......
Paul
There are lots of attachments to add or modify a 7000 into whatever a person wants for their situation. They aren?t the perfect notill planter, but they work great out of the box and can easily be modified to do anything else special you want on a small or medium size patch of dirt.
Gerald J is the one who posted some pics here I think, and over on the big Ag site, of modifying his 38 inch to a 30 inch planter. I thought I posted a link here yesterday, maybe I dreamed that or maybe the moderators don?t like being compared tot he other site....
I?ll try posting Gerald?s pics, but of late pic posting doesnt always work right for me either......
Paul
Yea, my 6-30 was right near $10,000 a few years ago, around here you are biddding against exporters that are selling to Mexico and Ukraine, you won?t find any bargains of these machines ?here.?
The 4 row wide tend to go 2500 bucks in good shape, $1500 if it was out in the fence row for a while and no fertilizer and some Fiberglass busted up.
A good point is that they probably need some work, so getting one that you can see needs some work and go ahead and buy replacement parts isn?t such a bad idea. The pivot holes get wallowed out and the row units will wobble up and down, need new holes drilled and bushings put in. The corn meters wear and rust, a good upgrade is to not bother with them and get the Presition Planting meters and seed tubes they are a tad more accurate.
Of course for a food plot or 10 acres a person can fix them up a lot cheaper and accept a little slop drive slower, it depends what it is you want to do, hoping yield real cropping or just doing some small scale farming. Drive slower and most of the issues don?t show up much. Not trying to suggest anyone spend too much for small results.
Paul
The 4 row wide tend to go 2500 bucks in good shape, $1500 if it was out in the fence row for a while and no fertilizer and some Fiberglass busted up.
A good point is that they probably need some work, so getting one that you can see needs some work and go ahead and buy replacement parts isn?t such a bad idea. The pivot holes get wallowed out and the row units will wobble up and down, need new holes drilled and bushings put in. The corn meters wear and rust, a good upgrade is to not bother with them and get the Presition Planting meters and seed tubes they are a tad more accurate.
Of course for a food plot or 10 acres a person can fix them up a lot cheaper and accept a little slop drive slower, it depends what it is you want to do, hoping yield real cropping or just doing some small scale farming. Drive slower and most of the issues don?t show up much. Not trying to suggest anyone spend too much for small results.
Paul
A 7000 4 row narrow in good shape will bring at least 2,750- 3,000 dollars and if mint close to 4,000 dollars. The last 7000 4 row wide I saw sell was around 2,300 dollars and for sure needed some fixing. I just don't think it is worth it to cut a 4 row wide down into a narrow planter unless you really enjoy metalworking for would could only be a few hundred dollars difference. The Mennonites here drive prices on these planters. I heard of an instance where a well to do fellow bought a 7000 4 row narrow to collect because his dad had one when he was a kid.
The smaller dairy folk held onto wide rows the longest around here. Often they have combine picker, and forage chopper, gets expensive to change so many machines. As well they grow fewer soybeans, and wide row soybeans are the real losers. 38 inch corn really isn?t all that bad a deal for yields.
It?s getting harder to find help with spraying or harvest tho.
For a time the push was on to go to 20 or 15 inch rows for corn and beans, but a lot have returned to 30 inch. White mold on beans, and the rather low yield bump vs the cost of the equipment put many back to 30 inch.
Paul
It?s getting harder to find help with spraying or harvest tho.
For a time the push was on to go to 20 or 15 inch rows for corn and beans, but a lot have returned to 30 inch. White mold on beans, and the rather low yield bump vs the cost of the equipment put many back to 30 inch.
Paul
I agree, get a 6 row 30", they are much more common than a four row and you will plant 50% more with each pass. I am a firm believe in the 7000, as it is a reliable planter that is easy to work on. It is way too much work to narrow a planter when you can get one at the correct width pretty easily.
Bob Bancroft
Well-known Member
- Location
- Aurora NY
What combine/header might be harvesting your corn? 4-6-8 row? Can you plant carefully enough so that the planter and header don't need to be the same number of rows?
tomstractorsandtoys
Well-known Member
I bought a 7000 4 row wide and had it cut down to 30 inch rows. Local welding shop charged $400. He removed the two rockshaft saddles and rewelded them in further. Then shortened the rockshaft itself on each side. He also cut some off each end and moved the ends in. Local Amish shop gave me all the measurements as he has done dozens of them but was to busy to do mine at that time. He even said how to shorten the markers up so they work as well. I did not do that as I was use to planting with a pipe on the front of the tractor and a drag chain ( This was how the Allis Chalmers planters worked).I paid $1500 for the 7000 planter with dry fertlizer and a newer moniter. I removed the fertlizer and added row cleaners notill coulters and heavy duty down pressure springs as well as radial soybean meters. I have a 7200 4 row wide that we use for corn and wanted the 30 inch row for beans. The reason for not going to all 30 inch rows was that I have a good all poly 4 row corn head for the combine as well as good 2 row chopper head, two row wide corn picker and cultivaters. I average over 200 bu corn in wide rows so not sure there is much to gain by changing. The 7000-7200 planters are great as there are so many aftermarket parts and attachments to be had. I had a 494A Deere then several different Allis Chalmers planters before the 7000-7200 Deere and would never go back. Tom
Hey guys sorry for not reposting earlier, it's been a busy weekend. Thanks for all the responses and advice to my post. I am not sure exactly what I am going to do yet. I hope to find a good 4 row set at 30", even if I found a planter that needs some work I am ok with that. All though I would be willing to spend more on a planter that is in good condition, then one that needs alot of work to be ready to go. I have enough projects right now. To answer a few of your guys questions: Bob Bancroft- there are 2 farmers close to me that do some custom combining, the better of the two( the one I would like to hire) runs a 6 row head.
NY986- I don't mind doing fabrication work and redoing a piece of equipment. I remember seeing that CL ad for that planter, I know who the person is selling all that JD equipment there is a reason most of it is still for sale, that's all I am going to say. One of his farms is 2 minutes down the road from where I work.
As for a 6 row planter I never really gave it any thought honestly. I guess I would have to figure how wide it is, more because of storage space more than anything. The overhead doors on my storage building are only 12ft wide, I hope to put a lean-to on the backside in the next few years. I would really not like to store planting equipment outside if possible. On another note I should be able to use a 6 row planter, one of my fields is very narrow but long.
NY986- I don't mind doing fabrication work and redoing a piece of equipment. I remember seeing that CL ad for that planter, I know who the person is selling all that JD equipment there is a reason most of it is still for sale, that's all I am going to say. One of his farms is 2 minutes down the road from where I work.
As for a 6 row planter I never really gave it any thought honestly. I guess I would have to figure how wide it is, more because of storage space more than anything. The overhead doors on my storage building are only 12ft wide, I hope to put a lean-to on the backside in the next few years. I would really not like to store planting equipment outside if possible. On another note I should be able to use a 6 row planter, one of my fields is very narrow but long.
A 6 row 30" will be about 18' wide. Even a 4 row you should have 14' to get it in. 3 30" =10' plus markers. 6 row is 15' + markers. My 494A was set for 30" rows and the barn door was 14' and to get it in had to pull the markers by hand to get in the door. And I ran a 3 roe corn head for years behind that 4 row planter. Just have to be able to set markers correctly and then follow them when planting. I had times the marker track would not show.
Don?t think you will get either 4 row planter in a 12 foot wide door. There is a fair amount of frame to either side. My 17 foot wide door I had to lock the markers up straight and watch careful to get the 4-38 in. Maybe make it with a 4-30, but it would be tight for sure.
Paul
Paul
povertyknob
Member
I don't know what you have for power, but have you thought about an 8 row with end wise transport? Around "here" SEIA 8 row planters can be had cheaper than 4 rows because they get you out of the food plotters
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