2000 - Volume #24, Issue #6, Page #18

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"Side-Shift" Bridge Hitch Connects Two Deere 7000 6-Row Planters

"Side-Shift" Bridge Hitch Connects Two Deere 7000 6-Row Planters PLANTERS Planters 24-6-18 Jason Buckman, Hallsville, Mo., built a bridge hitch to convert a pair of Deere 7000 6-row, 30-in. planters into a 12-row, 15-in. planter. The hitch shifts back and forth as much as 30 in. for transport and for side draft control on hillsides and terraces. The 12-ft. long hitch is made from 6-in. sq. steel tubing. The back end bolts to the rear planter in place of its tongue. The front end of the hitch attaches to a horizontal bar on the front planter. A hydraulic cylinder on the horizontal bar moves the front end of the bridge hitch back and forth up to 30 in. "I use my Deere 4030 85 hp tractor to pull it. I already had the planters and spent about $5,000 to build the hitch, which includes the cost of rebuilding both planters," says Buchman. "A new 12-row split row planter sells for about $18,000. "I used the planter last spring to plant about 250 acres of soybeans. Those 15-in. beans yielded about 10 bu. more per acre than my drilled beans even with a smaller seed population. I may use it next year to also plant corn. It takes one person only about 20 minutes to install the hitch. "The side shift really works nice on terraces because it compensates for the rear planter wanting to track sideways." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jason Buckman, 16401 N. Rt. U, Hallsville, Mo. 65255 (ph 573 881-3557).