Build Your Own Narrow Row Planter

Build Your Own Narrow Row Planter PLANTING EQUIPMENT Modifications 3-3-28 An Illinois manufacturer has come up with a conversion kit that turns most any planter into a narrow row planter with 15-in. row spacings. "We came out with a narrow row cultivator two years ago designed to handle 15-in. row spacing. However, we soon found out there was no use building them if farmers couldn't plant rows that narrow," explains John Blessent, Blessent Manufacturing, Urbana, Ill. "We had to come up with something." The kit consists of a bracket for mounting additional IH No. 56 or 58 plate-type planter units between units on existing planter toolbars, and a rear drive mechanism for use when it isn't possible to hook the chain drive to the front. "We'll make the kit to fit any planter with a solid tool bar," explains Blessent. "We can fit John Deere Max-Emerge planters, and many other Deere planters. IH Cyclo planters are more difficult because they don't have solid bars." If you now own a 30-in. planter, for example, you could use the Blessent kit to squeeze IH Model 56 or 58 planter units in between each existing planter unit (regardless of make) to "build" a soybean planter that plants in 15 in. rows. Blessent cites University of Illinois research that shows up to an 8 bu. increase per acre with 20 in. or narrower rows, compared to wider rows. Kits can be lined up in any row configurations but Blessent says the most likely use is to plant corn in 30 in. rows, then adding the additional row units between rows to plant soybeans in 15 in. rows. "In checking with IH dealers, we find that used Model 56 or 58 planter units in good condition are readily available," Blessent points out. Standard kits sell for $98 per unit FOB. Different kits are needed, however, for most planters. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John R. Blessent, Blessent Manufacturing Company, Route 4, Urbana, Ill. 61801 (ph. 217-367-3676).

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