Combine Double Header Saves $20,000

Combine Double Header Saves $20,000 COMBINES Headers 7-4-8 Iowa farmer John Jensen made a 12-row corn header for his combine by joining together two 6-row headers. "Saved about $20,000 doing it myself," says Jensen. He adapted two used John Deere Model 643 6-row headers to his Deere Model 8820 combine, but he thinks the same idea would work with other brands. "I paid $6,000 for each of the corn heads, $300 for steel, and $300 for miscellaneous parts," he says. "For less than $13,000, I have a 12-row header that would have cost over $33,000 new." Jensen took the left side off one 6-row header, the right side off the other and joined the two together. He had to buy a snout for the center row and two shafts to drive each side. A 5-in. by 3-in. channel iron frame supports the entire header. He did all the welding and other labor in his farm shop. He says the big header only takes 3 min. to attach or detach. The converted corn head was used last year to harvest 1,500 acres of corn. Jensen has also completed a similar conversion of two 6-row Deere Model 653 soybean headers into a 12-row. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John G. Jensen, 8889 N.E. 38th St., Ankeny, Iowa 50021 (ph 515 367-4307).

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