New Tiller Planter Is Self-Propelled

New Tiller Planter Is Self-Propelled PLANTING EQUIPMENT Planters 1-1-11 "We make only two trips across the field ù one trip into standing, untilled cornstalks in the spring to prepare the seedbed and plant the crop in a once-over operation, and a second trip in the fall to harvest the crop," explains Harold A. Crow, Milford, Ill. It's all done with the revolutionary self-propelled Tiller-Planter designed and built by him and his son, Alan, who operate as the Hoe Corp. "We have a patent application applied for and hope that something in the near future can be worked out for commercial production of the unit," Harold told FARM SHOW. The Crows plow and plant 80 or more acres a day with their once-over prototype machine, patterned after a similar one they've used for the past five years to plant 560 acres of corn and soybeans. The new prototype (pictured) went to the field last spring to plow, prepare the seedbed, apply insecticide, fertilizer, herbicide and plant at 6 mph. It's powered by a 903 Cummins diesel (320 hp) and equipped with a pto driven Howard Rotavator which the Crows disassembled and turned around so it could be pushed rather than pulled. The Rotavator unit is 180 in. wide and matches width of the rear-mounted White Aire planter units (six 30-in. rows). Other features include 4-wheel hydrostatic drive, 4-wheel steering, 3 pt. hookup front and rear; pto drive on the front, 105 gal. hydraulic oil system, 12 mph road speed, a 500 gal. tank for fertilizer and a 265 gal. tank for herbicides. For more details, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Hoe Corp., Harold Crow, Box 270, Milford, Ill. 60953. (ph. 815 889-4513).

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