Side Shift Planter Hitch

Side shift planter hitch HITCHES Hitches 17-1-6 A "side-shift" hitch built from the frame of an old 3-pt. wheel "detracker" lets Mark Kennedy, West Concord, Minn. slide his 6-row 30-in. planter 15 in. to the side, allowing him to make a second pass through 30-in. rows to plant between the rows. "It lets me plant narrow-row soybeans without the expense of buying a splitter planter or new drill," says Kennedy. He stripped the detracker down to the frame and then welded a 5-ft. long steel I-beam across the back. He attached a 30-in. hydraulic cylinder to one end of the I-beam and put a 12 by 10-in. steel plate at the other end of the cylinder. A drawbar welded on top of the plate hooks up to the original planter hitch. As the cylinder is extended and retracted, it slides the steel plate and drawbar back and forth across the I-beam to shift the planter sideways. "It lets me shift the planter 15 in. left or right, depending on the direction I'm traveling," says Kennedy. "I plant conventional 30-in. rows on my first pass through the field. Then I mount the de-tracker frame and slide the hitch over 15 inches. I follow the wheel tracks I made from the first pass. When I turn at the end of the field I shift the cylinder back the opposite way. "I plant soybeans at about 60 lbs. per acre on the first pass and 40 lbs. per acre on the second pass. I've used this method for two years and the narrow rows have increased my yields about 5 bu./acre. Even considering the extra gas and time it takes to plant twice, I figure I'm ahead at least $5 to $6 per acre. A splitter planter would produce true 15-in. rows, but would cost $15,000 to $20,000. However, if I had more than 150 acres of soybeans I'd probably buy a splitter planter or newer drill because planting twice takes a lot of time." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Kennedy, Rt. 1, Box 86, West Concord, Minn. 55985 (ph 507 356-4003).

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