Disgruntled Iowa Farmer Sounds Off
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Last spring, when he'd finished his corn-soybean planting, Iowa farmer Louis Rosman, of Harlan, put yellow flags on his 3-year-old Kinze 6-row planter and parked it alongside busy Highway 44 that runs alongside his "Rolling R" farm west of Harlan. He then strung a big sign between the markers, declaring the planter to be a "Downtime Special". To further vent his anger, he placed the following classified ad in Iowa Farming Today:
Kinze 6 x 30 planter. Completely rebuilt, except tires, with little factory or dealer help. "Downtime Special." Don't plan a vacation; with this machine in the family you will still be planting corn. Comes with yellow flags. Check this one out before buying a new one. It may save your neck as well as your wallet. On display along Hwy. 44, West of Harlan. Rolling R. (ph 712 744-3283).
"I'm sounding off to let Kinze Mfg. and the public know that I'm not happy with the way I was treated in getting mechanical problems with the planter corrected. That's what makes my particular planter so unique," says Rosman. "The company tells me it's the only one that has caused any problems. When Kinze copied the Max-Emerge machine, they forgot to copy the reliability.
"We bought the planter new in 1984 and had problems right from the start. The 3 1/2 - in. cylinder wouldn't lift the filled fertilizer boxes. Then, the insecticide box drive chains ran off and wrapped up. The mounting plates had been drilled over-sized. The dealer helped solve this problem by supplying new mounting plates.
"Another major problem was with the dry fertilizer. It wouldn't feed out and plugged the auger flighting. This happened two or three times per 10 acre fill. We'd have to empty the fertilizer box with a gallon can, disassemble the entire mechanism and then chisel out the rock-hard fertilizer. All this was caused by castings which had not been dressed or polished, causing fertilizer to build up on them."
This past spring, welds on the lift frame broke loose, causing the planter to suddenly drop to the ground. Although the planter was now out of warranty, Rosman felt "Kinze Mfg. should have been concerned enough about a serious safety problem to help correct it. Minutes before, two of us had been working under the planter. We could have been killed when it dropped down. We spent the next day getting the disabled planter loaded up and hauled to a welding shop."
Roger Sorensen, owner of Sorensen Ford in Harlan, which sold Rosman his Kinze planter, says neither the roadside display nor the ad has had any adverse effect on his business. "Most people around here who know the full story just kind of laugh and chuckle about the display. I've sold other Kinze planters in the community. The product speaks for itself."
Says Jon Kinzenbaw, owner of Kinze Mfg., headquartered at Williamsburg, Iowa: "We're sorry that Mr. Rosman isn't happy with his Kinze planter, and are disappointed that he felt compelled to take us to task publically. We stood behind our warranty and feel that both the company and our dealer went beyond the call of duty to try to keep Mr. Rosman happy. I'm sure most farmers familiar with Kinze Mfg. and its planters understand and appreciate where the planter market would be today if Kinze Mfg. hadn't stepped in as a major supplier."
Ever since FARM SHOW began 10 years ago, we've invited readers to "tell it like it is" in nominating their "best" and "worst" buys. The single most popular "best buy," by an overwhelming margin, is the Deere Max-Emerge, which Kinze Mfg. copied and sells under the Kinze and New Idea labels. Among more than 100 farmers who have nominated the Max-Emerge (or Kinze), all but about four or five have given it high marks as a "best buy." One disgruntled owner was unhappy because the dealer had improperly set up his newly-purchased Max-Emerge. Another was disappointed with the fertilizer attachment on the Max-Emerge he'd recently purchased. Wisconsin farmer David Frank, of Mondovi, was unhappy with Deere and Co. for "refusing to do anything about the inability of 7000 series Max-Emerge to plant accurately on sideh
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Disgruntled Iowa Farmer Sounds Off PLANTING EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous Last spring when he d finished his corn-soybean planting Iowa farmer Louis Rosman of Harlan put yellow flags on his 3-year-old Kinze 6-row planter and parked it alongside busy Highway 44 that runs alongside his Rolling R farm west of Harlan He then strung a big sign between the markers declaring the planter to be a Downtime Special To further vent his anger he placed the following classified ad in Iowa Farming Today: Kinze 6 x 30 planter Completely rebuilt except tires with little factory or dealer help Downtime Special Don t plan a vacation; with this machine in the family you will still be planting corn Comes with yellow flags Check this one out before buying a new one It may save your neck as well as your wallet On display along Hwy 44 West of Harlan Rolling R ph 712 744-3283 I m sounding off to let Kinze Mfg and the public know that I m not happy with the way I was treated in getting mechanical problems with the planter corrected That s what makes my particular planter so unique says Rosman The company tells me it s the only one that has caused any problems When Kinze copied the Max-Emerge machine they forgot to copy the reliability We bought the planter new in 1984 and had problems right from the start The 3 1/2 - in cylinder wouldn t lift the filled fertilizer boxes Then the insecticide box drive chains ran off and wrapped up The mounting plates had been drilled over-sized The dealer helped solve this problem by supplying new mounting plates Another major problem was with the dry fertilizer It wouldn t feed out and plugged the auger flighting This happened two or three times per 10 acre fill We d have to empty the fertilizer box with a gallon can disassemble the entire mechanism and then chisel out the rock-hard fertilizer All this was caused by castings which had not been dressed or polished causing fertilizer to build up on them This past spring welds on the lift frame broke loose causing the planter to suddenly drop to the ground Although the planter was now out of warranty Rosman felt Kinze Mfg should have been concerned enough about a serious safety problem to help correct it Minutes before two of us had been working under the planter We could have been killed when it dropped down We spent the next day getting the disabled planter loaded up and hauled to a welding shop Roger Sorensen owner of Sorensen Ford in Harlan which sold Rosman his Kinze planter says neither the roadside display nor the ad has had any adverse effect on his business Most people around here who know the full story just kind of laugh and chuckle about the display I ve sold other Kinze planters in the community The product speaks for itself Says Jon Kinzenbaw owner of Kinze Mfg headquartered at Williamsburg Iowa: We re sorry that Mr Rosman isn t happy with his Kinze planter and are disappointed that he felt compelled to take us to task publically We stood behind our warranty and feel that both the company and our dealer went beyond the call of duty to try to keep Mr Rosman happy I m sure most farmers familiar with Kinze Mfg and its planters understand and appreciate where the planter market would be today if Kinze Mfg hadn t stepped in as a major supplier Ever since FARM SHOW began 10 years ago we ve invited readers to tell it like it is in nominating their best and worst buys The single most popular best buy by an overwhelming margin is the Deere Max-Emerge which Kinze Mfg copied and sells under the Kinze and New Idea labels Among more than 100 farmers who have nominated the Max-Emerge or Kinze all but about four or five have given it high marks as a best buy One disgruntled owner was unhappy because the dealer had improperly set up his newly-purchased Max-Emerge Another was disappointed with the fertilizer attachment on the Max-Emerge he d recently purchased Wisconsin farmer David Frank of Mondovi was unhappy with Deere and Co for refusing to do anything about the inability of 7000 series Max-Emerge to plant accurately on sideh
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