You've never seen a planter like this huge self-propelled one-pass rig built by Wayne Vogel, Fremont, Mich., that tills, plants and applies chemicals in one pass.

FARM SHOW readers may remember Vogel, who built his own articulated combine from the ground up (Vol. 7, No. 3) and who also builds a huge commercial self-propelled hand-pick harvesting machine for automating the harvest of hand-pick vegetable crops (Vol. 9, No. 5).

Vogel built his 4-row self-propelled planter with lots of power and traction so he could get into fields as early as possible and cover a lot of ground. It's a one-pass rig equipped with a heavy-duty rototiller. He built the entire machine from the ground up, including the tiller.

"One man can plant and till 700 acres in 2 weeks or less," says Vogel, who built the machine using top quality components.

The 4-WD machine is powered by a 250 Cummins engine. Front wheels are hydraulically driven -- a feature added after the machine was built to aid steering -- while rear wheels are powered mechanically by a 10-speed Fuller transmission and a planetary gear from an industrial loader. A 200 hp belt-driven driveshaft powers the rototiller.

Two 250 gal. rear-mounted tanks apply chemicals through a boom mounted just ahead of the tiller. The rear International Cyclo 800 planter was not modified in any way except to convert it from a trailing model to 3-pt. It plants in 34-in. rows, with each of the outside rows planting between the widely spaced rear tractor duals to avoid compaction.

Vogel has used the planting rig for two seasons over ground that he chisel plows in the fall. It travels at 6 to 8 mph.

In addition to his unusual planter, Vogel has also built a one-of-a-kind self-propelled carrot harvester and a 6-wheel drive spray cart that's got 6-full-size tractor tires that'll carry the rig through virtually any difficult ground conditions.