Doubled Up Deere Planters

Doubled up Deere planters PLANTERS Planters 9-3-10 Edwin Klenke, Edwardsville, Ill., has been planting no-till soybeans in wheat stubble for years using a conventional Deere Max-Emerge planter equipped with no-till coulters spaced at 30 in. To get narrow 15-in. spacing he would double back through the 30-in. rows. "My neighbor Walter Suessen was planting his no-till beans the same way so we teamed up and hitched the two planters together, one behind the other, offsetting the rear planter to get narrow row spacings in one pass," says Edwin. "The bridge hitch we built to tow both planters offsets the rear planter about 12 in. A bracket fitted with a ball hitch and socket mounts on top of the main frame of the lead planter. The bracket is held in place with four adjustable bolts which allows you to adjust row spacing. Hydraulic hoses were extended to lift the rear planter. We also extended the wiring on the monitors so we could monitor both planters. "Thanks to the ball and socket, the planter has plenty of flexibility for turning and for use on uneven ground. You can turn as sharp as the tractor will turn and we've planted across hills and waterways with no problems. It's also easy to back into corners. "We set row spacing at 12 in. and 18 in. rather than 15 to keep the rear planter wheels from running over planted rows of the lead planter. Cost to build the two-planter hitch was approximately $200." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Edwin Klenke, Rt. 3 Box 126, Edwardsville, Ill. 62025.

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