Grass Catcher Made From Soybean Seed Bag CROPS Miscellaneous 32-4-42 "I wanted to use a grass catcher on my riding lawn mower, but I didn't want to spend the money for a commercial unit. So I decided to make my own out of a big 4-ft. sq. soybean seed bag. It holds much more material than anything I could have bought, so I don't have to empty it as often," says Ron Stoen, Lowry, Minn. He made the grass catcher to fit his Country Clipper zero turn mower equipped with a 60-in. deck. It rides on a pair of 8-in. caster wheels. The front of the catcher bolts to the lawn mower and follows directly behind it. He used 2 1/2-in. angle iron for the frame and plywood for the floor. Loops at each corner of the bag slip over an L-shaped aluminum frame on top of the frame. A large pvc pipe leads from the mower deck up into a hole that Stoen cut into the side of the bag, about two thirds of the way up. "After the bag is full I back up to my mulch pile, slide the bag off the trailer, and put another bag on, leaving the bean bag intact so the grass and leaves won't blow around," says Stoen. "I didn't need to install a blower because the mower's blades travel at just under 19,000 ft. per minute, which is enough to blow the grass into the bag. I made the frame so that I can easily fold it down and use the trailer to haul other stuff. "I paid $15 for the caster wheels and $40 for the chute. My total cost was about $75. A comparable bagger would sell for about $500. Seed bags are easy to find. Many farmers have them laying around." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ron Stoen, Stoen Farm Supply, West Highway 55, Box 155, Lowry, Minn. 56349 (ph 320 283-5283 or 320 283-5856; sfslowry@rune stone.net).

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