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Best Crop Mulcher On The Market
Here's the best crop mulcher on the market, according to its inventor, Davenport, Wash., farmer Ron Mielke, who introduced the new-style mulching tool, sometimes called a "skewtreader", at the recent Spokane Ag Expo in Spokane, Wash.
He tested it for three years, mulching win-ter wheat stubble once following a light crop and twice following a heavy one. He says it'll work much like a rotary hoe in soybeans and corn too.
"It's the only tool of its kind on the market that's transportable, hydraulically folding to only 14 1/2 ft. wide and 15 ft. tall to ensure it'll travel comfortably down roads and fit safely underneath power lines," Mielke notes. "It's also the only one with independently adjustable front and back gangs, meaning you can vary skew on each from 0 to 16 degrees, depending on soil conditions and how aggressive you want it to be. You can also vary working depth from 1/2 to 5 in.
"Besides aerating soil and chopping stubble into uniform 5 to 8-in. lengths, it's also ideal for dry and liquid chemical in-corporation because the front gangs throw soil in one direction and the back gangs throw it the opposite direction."
The "Mielke Mulcher" features eight pairs of gangs fitted with "spiders" on 5 in. spacings and spaced 17 1/4 in. apart, toothto-tooth. They turn in greaseable triple seal bearings designed specifically to thrust soil out away from ends.
The mulcher's main frame is built of 4 by 4 by 1/4-in. tubing with gang support built of 3 by 3 by 1/4-in. tubing. With frame and spiders, the mulcher weighs 14,000 lbs., at least 30 percent heavier than old-style skewtreaders, ensuring it penetrates hard, dry soil.
It's fitted with four 9.50L by 15-in. 12-ply center tires four or six 9.50L by 15-in. 8-ply tires on each wing, depending on model. Like its self-leveling hydraulic hitch, tires help provide enough flotation to maintain even depth of mulch, Mielke says.
Comes in two sizes: Model 2033 (33-ft. wide) and Model 2047 (47-ft. wide). Sells for $25,750 and $33,250 (maleable spiders); $28,380 and $36,900 (chromium spiders). Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Stoess Manufacturing, P.O. Box 656, Washtucna, Wash. 99371 (ph 509 646-3292; fax 3294).


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1997 - Volume #21, Issue #2