ATV Planter Makes Skips Disappear

ATV Planter Makes Skips Disappear PLANTERS Planters 26-5-27 Keith Van Kleek doesn't like row skips or planting around wet spots in a field, so he came up with a one-row planter that replants row skips and sails across wet spots without compaction. Van Kleek normally leaves the planting to his farm partner and brother Steve. When it comes to row repair, he takes over. "I am kind of fussy, and I don't like rows missing," says Van Kleek of Terril, Iowa. "This way if the planter gets a little wide around the edge of a field, I can go in and add another row. It floats over the top of mudholes and even a little packing doesn't seem to bother. It is also very handy for planting sweet corn." He started with a plate planter unit off an old International 256. He chose that unit for its double disk openers and the fact that it was simple and light and ground-driven. The multi-depth spring loaded wheels came off a Crust Buster field cultivator. Besides lifting the unit, they allow him to adjust each side independently when planting on uneven ground. The lift mechanism was from a 37 International disk while the electric-activated screw jack had a previous life on a snow blower. He made row markers out of closing discs off a Buffalo planter. Planter plates came from everywhere. "I must have 15 different plates. Some I have bought new and others people give me when they hear about the planter," says Van Kleek. While the planter isn't for use in no-till situations, lifting the wheels adds pressure for deeper planting in harder ground. That extra pressure can make all the difference, he says. Once he saw how well the ATV planter worked repairing rows, Van Kleek tackled another need. Waterway wash outs were often too small to permit or justify full size equipment, yet left unchecked could be a problem at harvest. "I needed something small that I could get in with before seeding," says Van Kleek. He started with a wing section off the same Crust Buster that provided wheels for his planter. The section was mounted to a frame along with an old jack. The jack sits on the axle and raises and lowers the cultivator. Van Kleek is busy rigging up a pull type sprayer for his ATV as well as a rock wagon. His Yamaha 400 pulls the planter easily and handles the field cultivator as long as it doesn't get too deep. If he gets any larger accessories, he acknowledges he may have to get a bigger ATV. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Keith Van Kleek, 402S. Schooley St., Terril, Iowa 51364 (E-mail: kvkfarms@terril.com).

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