Spanish Corn Head Folds, Chops, Harvests Down Corn

Spanish Corn Head Folds Chops Harvests Down Corn COMBINES Headers The Maya corn head from Spain folds and unfolds chops stalks and has optional add-ons for picking up down corn It also has a lower price than competitors and a 3-year warranty that indicates its underlying quality Lance Bruch MayaAmerica LLC says “If you hit a fence post and take out a gearbox and gathering chains they’re covered The company feels the gearbox should stop everything without wrecking the component parts They stand behind everything but wear parts ” The warranty isn’t the only reason Bruch and his brother Justin have opened a U S dealership for the Spanish corn head Their family has farming operations in the Ukraine and South America as well as in Iowa They were looking for a dependable corn head that could handle high yielding hybrids including efficiently chopping the stalks “The way the Maya picks the corn is key ” says Bruch “The longer head runs really flat with 36-in deck plates and nearly 30-in long rollers The cutter units sit at a really sharp 20 to 25° angle toward the ground The longer head and deck plates let them run the shaft slower and still chop the corn The sharp angle of the cutter units throws the trash to the ground instead of windrowing it to the left Short headers have to run the shaft faster in part to rechop the windrowed material Bruch says he can run his Maya head-equipped combine at 6 1/2 mph but the header shaft at only 500 rpm s His Deere header required shaft rpm s at 650 to 700 or it would lug down and could take out the gearbox You end up running the combine for the sake of chopping corn instead of picking says Bruch The slower speed means ears aren t flying around there s a lot less shelled corn and the combine takes less fuel Another key feature is the folding head Even the 20-ft 8-row Maya can be ordered with a folding head Ever larger heads require removal and trailering between fields Time spent detaching headers was time not spent combining noted Bruch With the Maya head you just pull to the end of the field push a button and away you go he says There are other folding heads out there but this one is much less expensive With $4 corn price matters The optional down-corn snouts with gathering chains over the top and end snout option with side gathering paddles were also of interest to the Bruch brothers The snouts have gearboxes that mesh with the top sprockets of the gathering chains Bruch estimates switching out will take about half an hour after the first experience The standard low profile long head should do well in down-corn says Bruch For severely lodged corn we recommend installing a down-corn snout on every other row The end snout option with its gathering paddles parallel to the ground is an add-on that only takes about 10 min to put in place or remove A single bolt holds it in place I ve seen a lot of different end snouts but nothing like this with its paddle wheel gathering chain says Bruch I don t think it would be bad to have on all the time Stalk stompers are available for $350 per snout Maya corn heads are available in 6-row fixed frame $49 925 8-row fixed $64 000 ; foldable $79 000 ; and 12-row fixed $90 000 or foldable $107 000 All models come in 20 30 or 38-in row widths Bruch notes that everything on the head is adjustable even the space between the rolls As they wear over time they can be moved closer Stalk choppers can be shut off easily as well Just lift the header pull a pin and flip a lever says Bruch If you are in thin drought corn it could make sense to shut them off Bruch says they have been most impressed by the company s acceptance of new ideas At their suggestion the company is working on a modified chopper with shorter knives for no-tillers It won t chop stalks as fine and will take less power Stalk stompers were also modified with a heavier spring for working in taller corn The company is small enough and young enough that they’re willing to listen and change says Bruch The current owners took over from their father who started it 35 years ago Every header is handmade for quality control We figure they couldn t offer a warranty like they do if they didn t do quality work MayaAmerica will maintain a parts depot in Iowa Bruch says they plan to carry multiple adapter plates for mounting the head on any make or model of combine Parts will be delivered same day or next day with free shipping Heads can be painted to the customer s choice Check out the Maya corn head in action at farmshow com Contact: FARM SHOW Followup MayaAmerica LLC 4622 390th Ave Emmetsburg Iowa 50536 ph 712 480-9080; mayaamerica1@gmail com; www maya-america com

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