"Construction-Size" Farm Backhoe

"Construction-Size" Farm Backhoe MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Earth Movers 29-1-14 An Illinois farmer and his son bought a used, construction-size Komatsu backhoe. They say the giant-sized machine has paid off. Charles W. Ballinger, Atlanta, Ill., along with his son Charles Allen, own and operate 300 plus acres of Illinois land along with a cow-calf herd and a feedlot. "We had a lot of work that called for a dozer and backhoe," says Charles W. "We contacted a local earth mover for a quote on what it would cost to get our jobs done. He quoted us a figure in the $60,000 range. We got to wondering if we couldn't beat that by buying and operating our own machine. We paid in the neighborhood of $30,000 for the used machine." The Komatsu has a reach of 20 ft., which comes in handy for removing high banks on both sides of their driveway. "The driveway was always certain to drift shut with even a modest snowfall. Now those high banks are gone so there's no place for snow to build up," says Charles. "We've also used the machine to get rid of brush that was clogging up our ditches and waterways." The two men designed and built a blade that fits over the bucket's teeth. The blade is held in place with a single bolt on either side of the bucket. Lengths of angle iron were fitted and welded into place. Spaces in between were closed with fitted steel pieces which were then welded into place. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charles Ballinger, Rt. 1, Atlanta, Ill. 61723 (ph 217 648-2660).

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