Home Built 16 Row Soybean Planter

Home built 16 row soybean planter PLANTERS Planters 15-2-31 An Ontario farmer who built his own 16-row planter saved the cost of a new $30,000 planter and accomplished his goal of getting better depth control than with drilled beans. Mike Koricina already owned nine IH 295 planter row units when he decided to build the big planter. He bought seven more row units at a cost of $180 each. He built the toolbar out of 5 in. sq. tubing. Six units mount on each wing with 4 in the center. Row spacing is 15 in. with 24-in. rows behind the tractor tires, It plants a total width of 21 1/2 ft. "The toughest part was mounting the cylinders on the wings because they have to float when it is planting and hang down below center to allow the wings to drop on uneven ground. I mounted a depth control wheel on each wing and there are two swiveling lift assist wheels mounted directly behind the tractor wheels which help lift the planter for transport," says Koricina. He used hydraulic row markers from an IH 400 Cyclo 8-row planter. They're tied into the hydraulics on the lift assist wheels so that when he raises the planter wheels the markers operate also. He uses the same control switch for both markers and assist wheels. One marker mounts ahead of the frame and one to the rear so they miss each other when folded. He also mounted an acre meter on one of the press wheels. "I've used it for 2 years now without a problem. It does an outstanding job planting and it's very compact for transport or storage," says Koricina. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Koricina, Rt. 2, Ailsa Craig, Ontario NOM 1AO Canada (ph 519 293-3191).

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