DRAGOTEC USA
Dragotec USA, based in Fenton, Iowa, brought a Drago GT 12-row corn head with QuadSuspension and optional aggressive snoot points and short down corn augers to the show. It was attached to a Case IH 8230 combine.
Siefken said automatic self-adjusting deck plates; aggressive, overlapping gathering chains; and long knife rollers on Drago GT and Drago Series II corn heads are a tough combo to beat when harvesting lodged or down corn.
"The aggressive gathering chains bring corn into row units, and the deck plates keep a firm hold of it to be processed by the knife rolls," Siefken said. "We're not hindering crop from coming in or chopping it off before it gets to a safe spot in the row unit."
Self-adjusting deck plates are engineered to continually apply pressure to incoming stalks to bring them into the head, automatically minimizing plate gap where yield loss can occur. Every 1/8-inch gap between the stalk and deck plate can cost a farmer up to 4 bushels per acre, according to the company.
In one study, Siefken said, deck plates made more than 6,100 1/8-inch adjustments per acre. With hydraulic deck plates, he said, a farmer may make adjustments "a few times" in a field.
"They (farmers) have the possibility of losing out on a lot of yield, which is a big deal now," Siefken added.
Drago's optional aggressive snoot points and long or short down corn augers help guide corn into the head. Long down corn augers are recommended for severe cases of lodging. Siefken urged farmers to remove ear savers from corn heads so they don't hinder the flow of corn.
More information is available at www.dragotec.com.
MACDON
A company more known for soybean draper platforms, MacDon got in the corn head business a couple of years ago. MacDon featured its 12-row C3012 CF corn head at the show, which was attached to a John Deere S680 combine. It also sported the rotary end divider option to lift down corn.
Williams said the company is putting a lot of work and money into their C series corn heads, especially to harvest in less-than-ideal conditions. He believes in areas where crop adjusters deem down corn is salvageable, MacDon corn heads will shine.
"The low-profile design of our corn snouts helps us get under ears and bring them in," Williams said. "Pair that with our rotary end dividers, both will help keep the crop where it needs to be.
"Plus, with the way our gathering chains are designed, they grab the stalk early before the OctiRoll knife system gets a hold of it," he continued. "For feeding in down corn, that's a big advantage."
Williams recommended running the C series head at a 23-degree angle close to the ground, which typically allows the row snouts to get under down corn without bringing in dirt.
More information is available at www.macdon.com.
CORN HEAD ATTACHMENTS
Lodged corn can be difficult to combine with standard harvesting equipment, according to a recent ISU release. Powered corn head attachments can reduce the number of missed stalks and ears.
Here's a few:
-- Finger reels attach to the framework of the corn head. They consist of a horizontal rotating shaft with long (3-4 feet) slender steel bars (fingers) that rotate like a grain reel to help move lodged corn stalks into the gathering chains and cross augers.
-- Paddle reels consist of a horizontal rotating shaft with a set of paddles (usually three) per row, approximately 12-18 inches long and 4-8 inches wide. Rotating paddles assist material movement up the gathering chains and into the cross augers, which is especially effective with tangled corn. Unlike a finger reel, the paddles are set slightly lower and farther aft in the head and attached to the frame.
-- Snout cone attachments consist of tapered cones with shallow (1-2 inch) helical flighting. The cones are mounted in line with, and just above, the snouts. The cones rotate to use screw-auger action to lift lodge and tangle stalks up and pull them back over the snouts.
Here's several corn attachment makers:
-- Kelderman, finger reels, www.kelderman.com/specialty/agriculture.
-- Heritage Machine and Welding, Inc., finger reels, www.heritagewelding.com/products/corn-reel.
-- Meteer Manufacturing, finger reels, www.meteer.com.
-- Patriot, finger reels, paddle reels, snout cones, www.patriotequip.com/products/down-corn-equipment.
-- Hawkins Ag, paddle reels, www.hawkinsag.com/corn-reel.
-- Roll-A-Cone, snout cones and paddle reels, www.roll-a-cone.com.
Matthew Wilde can be reached at matt.wilde@dtn.com
Follow him on Twitter @progressivwilde
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The Link LonkSeptember 15, 2020 at 10:41PM
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Farm Show Corn Head, Equipment Demos Put Spotlight on Harvesting Down, Lodged Corn - DTN The Progressive Farmer
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