Skip Row Corn Head for 20-In Corn

Skip Row Corn Head for 20-In Corn COMBINES Accessories 18-6-33 In an effort to standardizetheir corn and soybean equipment, Illinois farmers Charles and Robert Mueller built an 8-row skip row cornhead to harvest corn in 20-in. rows. They knew that switching their corn over to 20-in. rows to match their beans would mean setting up a new planter and cultivator for the skip row pattern they chose. But building a cornhead to handle their unusual row pattern turned out to be their biggest challenge. They started with a 6-row 30 in. New Holland head and removed the snouts, moving the row units as close together as possible. Then they added two more units. Then they reshaped the snouts to remount them, leaving the center 30-in. snout intact. The Muellers have two years experience with 20-in. corn and beans and say they plan to stick with it. They haven't changed plant populations at all in corn but say they may increase plants per acre a bit next year. They say corn stands better in narrow rows, making it easier to harvest. The reason they needed a skip row was so they could get in and cultivate during the growing season. They farm Mississippi riverbottom land which is infested with viny-type weeds that they can control only with cultivation. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charles & Robert Mueller, 32 Bend Road, E. St. Louis, Ill. 62201 (ph 618 876-4805).

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