New Planter Has No Seed Hopper

2003 - Volume #27, Issue #1, Page #26

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There are a lot of planters on the market, but Richard Follmer, owner of Progressive Farm Products, Inc., Hudson, Illinois, has come up with a design that bulk seed users will want to check out.
  So far, he's made only one prototype, but he's taken several orders and plans to have a number of units available in time for planting next spring.
  The Progressive planter is a 16-row, 30-in. machine on a standard 7 by 7-in. toolbar. The front-folding bar is mounted in front of a cart, which gives it a look similar to the company's popular strip-till tillage machine. There's just one thing missing: a seed hopper.
  Follmer figured that for anyone who buys seed in bulk boxes or bags, a planter-mounted seed hopper is redundant. Instead of a seed hopper, Follmer's planter has an air delivery system that takes seed directly from the bulk boxes to planting units.
  "You plant right out of the box," he says. "The only weight on the bar is planting units and the flotation tires on the seed cart keep compaction low there, too. We'll make it with or without a liquid fertilizer tank and delivery system."
  Follmer showed the planter at shows last fall with Kinze planter units on the bar. "We're selling it as a toolbar and cart with the air delivery system only. That way, you can put your favorite units on it. Any make will work on it, as long as they're designed to fit a standard planter bar," he says. "Several people have said they'd like to see Case IH's new vacuum units on it, and those will work, too."
  He says the Progressive planter will work in any tillage situation, from no-till to strip-till to conventional tillage.
  Follmer designed the planter with help from Don O'Neall, a Downs, Illinois, farmer, who has helped him develop other equipment in the past. Their plans are to sell 12-, 16- and 24-row versions. The 16-row version is under 10 ft. high and folds to 14 1/2 ft. wide for transport.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Follmer, 19500 N 1425, Progressive Farm Products, Inc., Hudson, Ill. 61748 (ph 800 788-1564 or 309 454-1564).

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New Planter Has No Seed Hopper PLANTERS Planters 27-1-26 There are a lot of planters on the market, but Richard Follmer, owner of Progressive Farm Products, Inc., Hudson, Illinois, has come up with a design that bulk seed users will want to check out. So far, he's made only one prototype, but he's taken several orders and plans to have a number of units available in time for planting next spring. The Progressive planter is a 16-row, 30-in. machine on a standard 7 by 7-in. toolbar. The front-folding bar is mounted in front of a cart, which gives it a look similar to the company's popular strip-till tillage machine. There's just one thing missing: a seed hopper. Follmer figured that for anyone who buys seed in bulk boxes or bags, a planter-mounted seed hopper is redundant. Instead of a seed hopper, Follmer's planter has an air delivery system that takes seed directly from the bulk boxes to planting units. "You plant right out of the box," he says. "The only weight on the bar is planting units and the flotation tires on the seed cart keep compaction low there, too. We'll make it with or without a liquid fertilizer tank and delivery system." Follmer showed the planter at shows last fall with Kinze planter units on the bar. "We're selling it as a toolbar and cart with the air delivery system only. That way, you can put your favorite units on it. Any make will work on it, as long as they're designed to fit a standard planter bar," he says. "Several people have said they'd like to see Case IH's new vacuum units on it, and those will work, too." He says the Progressive planter will work in any tillage situation, from no-till to strip-till to conventional tillage. Follmer designed the planter with help from Don O'Neall, a Downs, Illinois, farmer, who has helped him develop other equipment in the past. Their plans are to sell 12-, 16- and 24-row versions. The 16-row version is under 10 ft. high and folds to 14 1/2 ft. wide for transport. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Follmer, 19500 N 1425, Progressive Farm Products, Inc., Hudson, Ill. 61748 (ph 800 788-1564 or 309 454-1564).

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