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Transplanter Ideal For Hemp
New hemp farmers looking for transplanters to plant seedlings in the field should check out equipment from Checchi & Magli (C&M). Originally designed for tobacco growers, the C&M system can be used to plant through plastic, direct into the soil, and even has no-till options. While vegetable transplanters can also do those things, they don’t have the big cups and trays to handle the larger hemp seedlings.
    “We have the only carousel that works with tobacco plugs, which are also bigger, and it works with hemp just as well. It lets us transplant seedlings up to 22 in. tall,” says Grant Allen, Allen International and North American territory manager for C&M.
    The C&M transplanters can place as many as 2,000 plants per hour per row. Acres per hour depend on the number of rows and the model. Models include the Trium with carousel for direct soil planting and the WolfPro for planting through plastic. Transplanters are available in configurations of 1 row on up. The 4-row model is most popular, according to Allen, but he has sold up to 8 rows and has customers asking about 12-row machines.
    Demand for the machines has exploded with the hemp industry. Allen recalls selling 20 machines in a year, only a year and a half ago. This year he sold just under 1,000 transplanters and expects to double that number next year. Adding 172 dealers this year should help him meet that goal.
    The transplanter makes a deep space in the row to deposit the plant. Firming wheels push soil in around the roots. Plants are set straight into the ground. Water can be applied as can granular fertilizer and herbicide.
    Allen says the company can set up machines to match a hemp farm’s size and needs. Prices vary accordingly. However, he notes that a standard 4-row machine appropriate for a 200-acre or larger farm runs around $35,000. That would include horizontal racks and a water application option, but not the water tanks. A no-till option, with its heavier toolbar and components, adds around $3,500 per row to the cost.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Allen International, 4904 N. Eagle Nest Lane, Lehi, Utah 84043 (ph 801 794-9774 or 208 520-8222; CandM@allenintl.net; www.besttransplanter.com).


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2020 - Volume #44, Issue #1