Chopper Heads For Ear Corn Only FORAGE HARVESTERS Forage Harvesters (31F) 33-5-7 You can turn your self-propelled forage chopper into an ear corn only chopper. All it takes is an adapter plate from Jim Lindquist to let your favorite ear corn snapper corn head do double duty on the chopper. Since Lindquist built the first one for himself and his brother, the word has spread on how well they work. "We doubled our production this year and are running hard to keep up," he says. "We have models that fit John Deere, Claas, Cat Lexicon and the AGCO brands. We also have a unit that fits older Case/IH harvesters, but not the newer New Holland and Case/IH models." Lindquist's adapter plates let operators mount everything from 4-row to 12-row combine ear corn snapper heads, as well as grain platforms and draper heads. The adapters offer positive feed from the head auger to the chopper feed rolls. "Grinding earlage doesn't take as much power as grinding the whole plant," says Lindquist. "This makes it possible to use a larger head and faster speeds." Lindquist says he came up with his first adapter plate after seeing the impact of chopped ear corn on cattle in beef feedlots and dairy operations. At the time, he and his brother had a beef feedlot. "The animals are more comfortable and playful," he says. "A dairyman who was using ear corn said his cows lasted longer in the milking herd." The only problem was the hassle. It had to be picked, piled and ground later. Lindquist came up with an adapter for the forage chopper he and his brother used, attached the corn head and started chopping. Hesston Company asked him to design an adapter plate for the field Queen Chopper line. Now he provides adapter plates for farmers and custom harvesters alike. Lindquist makes four base models, all priced at $5,600. Parts needed to connect individual corn heads may be extra. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lindquist Welding, P.O. Box 37, 44 Hatfield, Giltner, Neb. 68841 (ph 402 849-2264; lindquist@hamilton.net).

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