He Mounts New Spoked Closing Wheels On Front of Planter

He Mounts New Spoked Closing Wheels On Front of Planter PLANTING EQUIPMENT Accessories 18-2-17 Texas fanner Gerald Neaglin mounts new Acra-Plant spoked closing wheels- which were invented by Texas farmer Walt Carroll - on front of his Deere Max-Emerge planter to use as row cleaners. "They work slick, better than I ever dreamed," says Neaglin, of Atascosa. He tested the closing wheels last fall on his 6-row planter, mounting the closing wheels on two row units. They worked so well he plans to use them on all rows this spring and has also mounted them on his cousin's 6-row planter. "The curved, 4-in. long spikes move trash aside while just scraping the top of the soil. They comb through heavy residue without plugging up and don't move any soil, even if I run them 4 in. deep," says Neaglin. "There's no need for guards on them because trash won't wrap up around the wheels. They're built so strong that rocks won't bend or break them. When they hit a rock they actually lift the planter right up. I think they'll last three or four times longer than conventional Martin-type row cleaners. I was already using Acra-Plant closing wheels on back of my planter. "I removed the Deere disc furrowers from my planter and bolted the Acra-Plant closing wheels on, using the disc furrower mounting brackets. Before I used the Deere disc furrowers, I had been using Martin row cleaners. However, I wasn't happy with either of them. The Martin row cleaners worked alright if I didn't run them too deep. However, in heavy corn stubble the tines would often ball up with trash. The tines are only 1 1/4 in. long so if they went a little too deep, the wheel hub tended to gouge the soil and I ended up planting too deep. I had to raise the planter and move it forward until I could plant on level ground again. Also, rocks tended to bend or break the tines. I got tired of buying replacement wheels. When you pay $280 per row for row cleaners they should last for more than one year. "I read a story in FARM SHOW about a farmer who used old rotary hoe wheels as row cleaners. However, I think the Acra-Plant closing wheels work better than rotary hoe wheels because the tines are curved at a sharper angle and do a better job of combing through trash with-out lifting it up. Also, very little modification is required to mount them." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gerald Neaglin, Box 1304, Atascosa, Texas 78052 (ph 210 709-4225). .

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