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Hi Dave, I feel your pain on your planter situation as I have some experience, felt like we corrected it, but who knows. I'll give you an idea of what I went through. In my particular area of central IL, we didn't have an IH dealer anywhere close, so we had nothing but green. So first, I am gonna hit your John Deere 1780 planter situation. We started with a typical 7000 12-30 planter and a 750 15' drill, both Deere of course. Trust me when I say you can never get any worse than a 750 Deere drill when it comes to spacing and depth. That thing was the most worthless item Deere ever made for our ground in central IL, but we didn't have much choice. With one closing wheel, the seed would be dropped and then the closing wheel would close the furrow all the while shoving the seed into the sidewall of the furrow. In our sandy soil, as it would dry, the furrow would open right up. Also, we could have 30 seeds within a 20" area and then nothing for the next 8 feet. Not good although covered by canopy but looks horendous to a landlord at postemergence and harvest. We traded both of those in on a JD 1780 12/23 split. We had to get the larger/wider floater tires on it as well. It was like going from a Pinto to a Limo, yes that much better. We had great seed placement, knew we were gonna get a good stand because planting in rows helps the emergence. We used the planter in standing stalks with no till beans, no till corn, both corn and beans through worked ground in a variety of soil types. We really never had any trouble with trash in stalks because our 2388 Case IH combine (I know I know, contrary to what I said before and later on) does a great job in taking care of stalks. Yes, if you have worked the soil, because of the weight of the planter, you better have the floatation tires on the planter or you will sink in dry soil as well as wet. The Friesen bar is very heavy along with (23) 3-bushel boxes of beans. We found it is best to have 200 hp and FWA to do the best. A turned up JD 4640 with 20 front weights got the job done the first year but with some struggles. We really liked it because of familiar seed units and functionality, etc (color). Then the farm accident, the sale, and dissolve of the farm. I moved and now work for a large Case-IH New Holland dealer where I have been for 3 years as a salesman and parts. We have 12 stores across the midwest. To be honest, the 1200 planter came out 5 years too late. Case/IH used and abused the 800 series planter technology for too long. Of course it went to the 900, 950, then to the 955. I personally like the IH planter ground units a lot better. However, IH Cyclo planter history will tell you that 12 rows were ok, but 16 were really tough and encountered the trouble you are having on the outside (4) rows. Even the two parts guys at my store who have been there 32 and 35 years respectively will tell you the same thing. I say this not because I work for Case, but because of experience with both; if I had my choice of planters to this day, I would take a Case-IH 1200 head over heals above any other. We currently have (20) 12 & 16 row planters out and now have 12 split row planters out. They have been anywhere from 6-24 rows and on anything from an 5088 to a STX275 Accusteer. We actually have deals currently going on 8 more. I can honestly say we have only had trouble with (1) individual unit. We have had great luck with them. One farmer went from a 16-30 row 800 front parallel fold to a 1200 16-30 row. He has been farming for 40+ years and has said its the best machine he has ever owned. You know where the seed is at at all times, how many in a foot, ect. So far, its been the closest thing to a guarentee without stating it. On trades, its been almost an even split between Case/IH and Deere/Kinze/White. I've yet to have anyone go back from a 1200 nor have I heard any negative comments from it. More than anything, the neighbors of these owners are more impressed. As one stated, "its the best looking corn in a 20 mile radius, and I wish it was mine. You can count everything and the stand is marvelous." Grant it, we may just be lucky and others not, but I truly don't know where to start to discuss problems because I honestly don't know of any major ones. This may not be what you are looking for but let me tell you this one last thing. Having neighbors and relatives at home with an 800 series planters, I vowed as a young man I would never own an IH/Case-IH planter. I must say, I can't say that now. I realize cost, your local parts department, service department, etc all play into what you would buy, but I would honestly go for a 1200 series planter. Why? I know a lot about them, I have got a good parts and service department where I am currently located, and I am faithful to my local dealer. If I was still living at home and farming, I honestly would own our old John Deere 1780 12/23 split. Why? I don't want to spend over an hour to get a part when I can drive 5 minutes for a green one. I know and trust my local parts and service departments as well as faithfullness. Its a judgement call on your behalf. Both planters are heavy, require a lot of horsepower, and functionally very good. I honestly can't give a preference either way on planting population accuracy, depth, and stand as they both are very good. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to contact me at [email protected] Thanks for your time.
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