He Farms With Used Equipment

He Farms With Used Equipment SPECIALTY/SERVICES Specialty/Services 7-4-3 "Every now and then, the boys at the local Deere dealership try to get me to buy new equipment. I just tell them that whenever they decide to pay for it, I'll take new stuff. But, as long as I'm paying for it, I'll just keep what I've got," says Illinois farmer Roger Foster, of Tower Hill. He's a top-notch mechanic with a knack for modifying older machines to make them perform better ù and longer. Take, for example, his "stable" of four vintage combines which he uses regularly every year. The lineup includes a 24-year old Deere 95 with a permanently installed corn head, and three Deere 55's (27, 26 and 16 years old). The 27-year old machine is powered by a 27-year old Chevrolet 283 engine. To get more air to the blower on his Deere 95, and eliminate the problem of husks plugging the screen, he installed two air intake "snorkels" ù one on each side of the combine (see photo). The old 95 also suffered from lack of horsepower as originally equipped. So, seven years ago, Foster equipped it with a 400 Chevrolet engine which had logged 48,000 miles. Before starting harvest last fall, he pulled the engine, gave it a complete overhaul, then reinstalled it. "We raise corn, soybeans and wheat, and having four combines means we don't have to bother changing heads for whatever crop we're harvesting," says Foster. His completely equipped farm shop has big enough doors to accommodate all of his vintage combines. "Many times in the fall we can harvest corn early in the day, then switch to beans as moisture drops. Instead of changing heads, we just change combines," he notes. When harvesting corn, Foster keeps two trucks running. In wheat or beans, he uses three combines and three trucks. "We combine until all trucks are full, then we all stop and go to the elevator. That way, we work together whether combining or hauling. If we have any trouble, we have help immediately available to fix it," says Foster. "Actually, we have nowhere near what we would have invested in just one new combine, and we have a lot more utility," he points out. Foster also has the tires to do the job. His two oldest combines have rice tires on year around. He also has rice tires (28.1 by 26) for the corn machine but puts them on only when needed.

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