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Corn picker forum -> Corn picker forum -> Which picker to get started with?
Post Info TOPIC: Which picker to get started with?
Adam


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Which picker to get started with?
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Hi, I've been reading on your forum for a while and have some corn growing so decided to finally join your corn picker community. I raise goats and sheep, on a farm in WV. We also raise some meat chickens and hogs to butcher for our own family use. About a year ago I had some extra hay that I traded for a grinder mixer and that started my slippery slope towards a corn picker. I've been buying corn and beans for while making my own feed. After reading and hearing stories about how good ground ear corn feed is for ruminants I thought maybe I'd give some a try. This spring I planted about 2.5 acres of  85 day corn on a field that was almost to rough to bale, after I took off the hay. It looks to be doing well and thankfully we've been getting some good rains. 

I farm mostly as a way of life / hobby, although I do try to make extra money off the sheep and goats, We have a smaller old crib and granary on the farm that I know hasn't had corn in it for at least 30 years, probably more, but it's in decent shape. I have a gravity wagon already and bought an old corn elevator off Craigslist for $100, that I'm working on. So that brings me to my question for you folks.

Here in the east, good new idea 323 new idea pickers are fairly pricey $1,200 for a; may need small repairs to $3,800 for excellent shed kept field ready, and they are usually an hour to 3 hours away. I think just from what I've read, they are about as good a 1 row pull type picker as there is. I am definitely on a budget and not wanting to spend to much to get started and see how this works out. I found a few #7s and some #10's around and seen a 310 sell at auction recently, the #7's and #10's seem to sell in the $400 - $600 range and I've seen several < an hour away. I have read a lot about the different new idea models, and from my understanding the 7 and 10 May shell more at the but and they have less capacity, but I was wandering on 2.5 acres of corn would that be much of an issue and could you just run slower to hopefully not plug up as much. I'm pretty decent at my own repairs and I don't mind working on older machinery. All my farm equipment is much older then me minus the baler and even it's 27 years old. So I'm open to any advice from pick it by hand this year and save up for a 323 to other brands to places to find a deal etc. I have seen a couple oliver's and an international for sale here and there But didn't know as much about them or where to get parts. Seems like most parts for most new ideas can be hunted up with a little effort. Also any comparisons, pitfalls input etc. on the models mentioned would be greatly appreciated. The picking tractor will be my 574 Ih.

Sorry for such a long first post, I just feel like if you have a little background information and what a guys trying to do, then it makes it a little easier to give some input, and advice. Thanks for creating a place like this.

Adam



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TNLee


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Adam I think you would get along fine with the older New Idea. I have used a little of everything in the old line and have found I can get almost anything to work if I take the time to work with it. As for the issue of shelling, most of the newer hybrids seem to be bred to shell easy so that is likely to be an issue with any picker you use. Welcome to the world of corn pickers!



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Adam


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Hi Tn Lee, thanks so much for the reply and welcome. I was kind of thinking I could probably get started with one of the older models and get it going oK. Stuff seemed a good bit more simple back then and usually pretty straight forward. I'm not usually in a hurry to get finished since I enjoy plowing, baling hay etc. so if I have to go really slow it shouldn't be a big deal. I think I'll take a closer look at some of these older models. If price and condition were similar, would You take a 10 over a 7 and what are some of the differences? 



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KA656


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Welcome to a great bunch of people who enjoy corn pickers and talking about them!!  I think for the number of acres and what your are planning, find a picker that is in good shape, tin work straight, has good snapping rolls, parts are accessible, good tires, and fits your budget. The newer the model of picker, the better chances of finding parts. You may find a parts picker along the way as well. I don't have personal experience with a #7 or #10, but there were a lot of them out there as compared to IH or MM or Oliver 1-rom pickers. My dad/his dad had a #7 and said it was a good picker for them, but that was back in the 1940s-50s.  Today, I have a NI 323 that I bought a local consignment sale for $75 in really good shape and it does a good job at picking corn. A farmer down the road has a 323 and complains of the shelling it does. I think two factors are his problem-modern corn and driving too fast. I went down to his place last fall and opened his fields for him with my mounted IH 234 picker and he was amazed as how little it shelled as compared to his. I have stripper plates and drive a different speed.  From my understanding, all pickers shell with todays modern corn. You can pick corn at a higher moisture content than what most corn farmers do today, which will help in the amount of shelling. 

Good luck in your search for a picker. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the New Idea pickers. Keep us posted and share pictures!! 

Keep asking questions!



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RichsToys


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A friend and I brought a couple New Idea no. 7's back to life a couple years ago. One was pretty much rusted solid. There aren't really any bearings in it-just shafts running through bushings and sleeves. Lots of penetrant, sometimes a little heat, pump grease into all the fittings, get on them with a pipe wrench, and pretty soon everything was turning again. There are some wood pieces that may need to be replaced. Those can either be made, or if you get lucky there are still some NOS pieces out there.

We had both units in the field two years ago, and both worked like a champ!



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Adam


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Thanks for the replys, I will keep you posted on how the search goes. Everyone's input has definitely been helpful and I'll keep it all in the back of my mind as I look for a workable deal. I'm just glad I found this place, I have farmed my whole life but the last time I had anything to do with field corn, was about 30 years ago and I was riding in the wagon with my sister getting bonked on the head occasionally with an ear of corn.

I thought I might be the only person out there that thought picking corn on the farm, drying it for free, then grinding it up and feeding it to stock was still a good idea. Without all the trips to town hauling corn in, buying the corn back or paying to dry it and pay storage in the grain bank and getting someone elses possibly nutrient deficient corn, I can't believe it doesn't still make a little since. Especially if your farming on a smaller scale and like to do things for yourself. Our nearest elevator is about an hour away. We also have very limited people that do custom work here, I tried 3 different people with hay and ended up getting my own old equipment, and it's been way more reliable then any of those guys were, the feed quality has been night and day being on my schedule instead of theirs. I'm always interested in more thoughts on the different pickers mentioned so feel free to add to the discussion. 



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Adam


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Forgot to mention, thanks for the pictures of the different pickers! Gets me more wound up to find my own.



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pickertim


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I have a #7 NI picker .It is a good picker. I can vouch for the shelling thing. If the stalks are bad you can spend a lot of time unplugging the gathering unit. Which leads me to the safety thing. Always shut them OFF when unplugging.Mine the last time I used it ,I figured it shelled approximatley 14 bpa in the row. Then #323 will eventually pay for itself in shelled corn savings plus if you are not getting off the tractor so much because of the stalks plugging up ,you will be less likely to try to unplug it with it running.I got a 325 2 row some years back and it paid for itself in 2-3 years on shelled corn savings. plus with the newer design you can run faster if you pick up more land

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Adam


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Well after a few months of looking, hitting a few sales, and watching c list, and some good advice here, I ended up finding a well used but looks mechanically ok, 323 for a price in my range On c list. I went and bought it this morning, but haven't brought it home yet. She ain't pretty but will fit in well with my misfit toys. I'll see how it works out this fall, and if things go ok, it will get added to the list of stuff awaiting a makeover! At least here it won't have to live outside anymore. Not to many people here get wound up about corn pickers so thanks for creating a place to share the excitement. Feel like I'm 10 years old again at people's supply getting a toy size corn picker. Guess things haven't changed much, toys just need a bigger shed.



-- Edited by Adam on Thursday 27th of July 2017 09:22:36 PM



-- Edited by Adam on Thursday 27th of July 2017 09:33:55 PM

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Adam


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Not for sure why my first pic keeps showing sideways, I tried to fix it a few times, but you get the idea anyway. Maybe I'll try and figure it out tomorrow.

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treekiller


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I've seen worse, some oil, grease, & TLC, and you should be just fine.



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Bleeding Orange


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Ground ear corn is great cattle feed. My family has raised home-born calves to market fats for going on 5 generations on ground ear corn. It has enough ground-up roughage in it to stave off founder, but good feed value. We add shell corn to the mix as the animals get closer to market finish. We use NI324/327s to pick about 10 acres of ear corn each year, storing it in a couple of round squirrel cage cribs. We combine the rest, but I don't see us quitting anytime soon. It isn't too bad at our size--we hover around 40-some-odd cows in our operation. I could see it getting too labor-intensive for a big operation, but it works for us.

I think you will like the NI picker. I am not as familiar with the 323 as I am with 324s or 325s, but I have found many parts fit from our old worn-out NI mounted pickers. Almost all the chains (roller and flat) are common sizes, and can be found on farmchains.com. My local AGCO dealer (who is great with the old stuff) has been able to get me parts. I would definitely keep an eye out for a parts unit. They are pretty straightforward to work on, but some spots can sure be a knuckle buster! Ask for help here, there is a lot of knowledge with zero politics.

I chuckled at your use of the term "slippery slope" regarding acquisition of old iron. Pretty easy to build up quite a fleet.

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POWERSTROKE


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Dad bought a semi load of feeder calves every fall, turned them out into the corn fields to forage for stray ears of corn and shell corn. After several weeks they got shut up in the cattle lot and back barn with loafing area on three sides and huge hay mow in the center. Every weekend yours truly got to grind about 50 bushel of corn with the Kneodler burr mill to feed them for the week. That ground ear corn and a couple bales of hay every day was all they got. We had a big crib, all 8000 to 10,000 bushel of ear corn was ground for the 40 or so feeder cattle. In the early 1960'stages Dad would take one of the better looking steers in to be butchered. We got half, Land-Lady got half. As word spread about how good the corn fed beef was Dad sold more and more steers to be butchered. By 1971, last year he fed cattle He sold a dozen for butcher. Been a Long Long time since I tasted beef that good.

Dad raised 500 to 800 head of market hogs from farrow to finish every year but we never butchered a single hog. We ate plenty of pork, but it all came from the grocery store. We did get cases of Oscar Meyer Smokie Links and pork sausage links at the Oscar Meyer Davenport, Iowa plant employee store when we delivered hogs there for the guy Dad drove semi for. And we'don't ear a couple pounds of bacon a week. I bet bacon and eggs for breakfast 3-4 times a week has something to do with my annual Cardiologist appoints now after a triple bypass and a couple stints.m

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Adam


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Really enjoyed the ear corn and animal feeding stories you all shared, makes me feel like it's still a good idea. I appreciate the offer of information on how to work on them too. I got the picker home today! Can't wait to grease it up and see how it runs.

 



-- Edited by Adam on Thursday 3rd of August 2017 09:06:48 PM



-- Edited by Adam on Thursday 3rd of August 2017 09:10:35 PM



-- Edited by Adam on Thursday 3rd of August 2017 09:11:35 PM



-- Edited by Adam on Thursday 3rd of August 2017 09:13:14 PM



-- Edited by Adam on Thursday 3rd of August 2017 09:38:45 PM

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Adam


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Well after the fifth or sixth edit, I think I got a non sideways picture for ya!

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