My JD 71 Planter Experience

[foggy]

John Deere # 71 Planters are a versatile unit planter that can plant a wide variety of seeds. When set on a three point hitch, in one, two or three row configuratrions.....they can make a great food plot planter. Here is my experience with this planter.

I bought a used John Deere # 71 planter (two 30" rows) which was rigged for a three point hitch. Not knowing much about planters......it pays to check for a few things....as I discovered. The planter I bought was missing extra change gears (spockets) to change the seed drop rate. Those are normally found inside the housing where the chain drives the press wheel....my extra sprockets were missing. I also purchased some "plates" for proper soybean planting.

I also printed a manual for the 71 planter from the Yetter site (they made the planters for JD and still make the identical units) The most expensive part was to get the depth control set-up from John Deere. It was completely missing. So.....about $200 later, and some time to figure it out..... I had a all the needed parts.

 

[foggy]

Today I got my depth setting parts and got them installed on my planter. Gettting the proper depth is fundamental to good germination. Here are the parts installed.

 

[foggy]

Now with a look at the manual and the proper drive sprockets installed.....along with the proper planting plates in the hopper.....I could calibrate the seed drop for this planter. I put a piece of duct tape on the wheel to mark it ....lifted the planter........and spun the wheel 5 times to collect the seeds in a pan below the disck openers. Then used a conversion factor to determine the seed rate / acre. The rate was just about right for my soybean population at 180,000 seeds based on 15" rows. (double pass planting)

 

[foggy]

So.....next I set up the depth control to plant about 1.5" deep. I pre-set the depth with some 2x4 lumber and planted some seeds. Then dug them up and checked the depth.....and tweaked about twice to get my setting about right : one "knuckle" deep. ;)

 

[foggy]

Made a few passes.....and checked it again. Then planted about 4 acres with soybeans. I had some ground that was a bit too wet.....and was afraid I would bury the tractor....so I will either come back to those spots or broadcast some seeds and drag them in with my 4 wheeler.


Things seemed to work pretty well....despite some confusion and early set-backs due to parts. It's hard to set something like this up when you don't know what is supposed to "be there". Notice my sandy soils? Rain one day....dust the next day.

If buying a planter for small plots like mine.....a three point MOUNTED PLANTER is a NECESSITY.....so you can pick it up and reposition as needed for irregular shaped plots.

Not sure I "need" a planter.....as I have gotten along quite well with broadcasting and dragging / packing my beans. But this is kinda fun and time will tell whether this is a good option for my needs.

I've kinda wanted a drill. But I can foresee problems with anything other than a three point mounted drill (for my purposes in the woods). Live and learn. ;)

 

[Freeborn]

Good work Foggy, once you get the planter all dialed in you will be happy with its ease and your yield.

 

[tooln]

I've been thinking about getting one. Going to have to wait a while. Been buying to much lately.

 

[MoLandOwner]

Looks good Foggy.

If you want to plant a little easier and even, you can run a pipe out each side of the planter with a heavy chain hanging down as a marker arm. When you lower it down it makes contact with the dirt and as you turn around and come back, just follow the mark down the center of your hood!

 

[foggy]

Looks good Foggy.

If you want to plant a little easier and even, you can run a pipe out each side of the planter with a heavy chain hanging down as a marker arm. When you lower it down it makes contact with the dirt and as you turn around and come back, just follow the mark down the center of your hood!

Good advice MO. Toady I was stuggeling at times to find my wheel tracks and get lined up to plant between the rows. Still.....I'm not sure I could deal with any markers to the side of the tractor. So many trees and brush to tangle with. I was worried I would back into stuff with my press wheels a few times today.

I may have some crooked rows....but it really is not too important for food plot purposes. ;)

It was interesting that the top soil was powder dry.....but at 1.5" deep.....the seeds were laying in moisture. :) Hope they germinate there......and we have some rainfall forecast on Wed. :D

 

[foggy]

I've been thinking about getting one. Going to have to wait a while. Been buying to much lately.

Tooln.....if things don't work out too well here.....mine could be for sale next year. ;) (kidding)

 

[MoLandOwner]

Good advice MO. Toady I was stuggeling at times to find my wheel tracks and get lined up to plant between the rows. Still.....I'm not sure I could deal with any markers to the side of the tractor. So many trees and brush to tangle with. I was worried I would back into stuff with my press wheels a few times today.

I may have some crooked rows....but it really is not too important for food plot purposes. ;)

It was interesting that the top soil was powder dry.....but at 1.5" deep.....the seeds were laying in moisture. :) Hope they germinate there......and we have some rainfall forecast on Wed. :D

Don't give up so easy foggy. Just run one pipe inside another, when you go to leave the field, just pull a pin, slide the marker arm pipe inside the other pipe and head home.

 

[TMIL]

My grandpa used to tell me, "You get more seeds in a crooked row!"

 

[foggy]

Seems like a lifetime ago.......but at one time I did know a thing or three about planters. About forty years back......I designed some Retro-fit wheels to attach to IH planters to have the JD-style "max emerge" press wheel features. Long story.....with me getting screwed outta some money at the end of the day. I swore off farm machinery and went to do other things. Funny how you can forget how this stuff works.....if you want to.

 

[tooln]

Tooln.....if things don't work out too well here.....mine could be for sale next year. ;) (kidding)

I thought maybe you'd just give it to me as part payment of our Lime business. :)

 

[sandbur]

I can see there is still a mechanic in you, Tom.

I am just better off staying away from that stuff.

I can handle a grub hoe and a garden rake pretty well!

 

[foggy]

I can see there is still a mechanic in you, Tom.

I am just better off staying away from that stuff.

I can handle a grub hoe and a garden rake pretty well!

Your far better at the "agronomy" part of farming than I will ever be Art. I just enjoy the machinery stuff from my youth.....operating this stuff.....and sometimes I like bending wrenches.....or figuring out how to improve a machine. Me and lots of "hand work" have never gotten along too well. ;)

 

[foggy]

Same here. I'll stick to a sprayer, spreader and cultipacker. I wish I had the mechanical skill that you have foggy

Stu....I had a friend that was very talented as an artist, poet, writer, or philosopher. But he was not very mechanically inclined.....and wanted so badly to do mechanical stuff for himself. One day his STARTER went out on his Ford industrial tractor.......so he he spent 4 hours to take off his GENERATOR and took it into the shop for rebuild. The guys at the shop are still laughing about that. ;) :D

 

[foggy]

Sounds like something I'd do. I've learned to pay those more talented than I to fix things...before I screw them up worse

Funny how that works......I've always wished I knew more about trees and shrubs and apple grafting. Hard to have a talent for it all. I suppose if we did.....we'd be Dipper? ;) (OK...that's a joke.....No offense intended Dipper :D)

(when I was looking at that sandy plot in my pic above.......I thought about Dipper's "teaching" and what he might say about the lack of organic material in that pic.)

 

[sandbur]

That is what is great about his group.
We all have different talents and are willing to share information with each other.

 

[Riggsgwp->]

Nice job on the planter Foggy. I bet you didn't mind too much you were missing a few parts as it gave you the satisfaction of wrenching on it. I spent some time replacing some bad hub actuators on my truck only to find out I had bad bearings on my driver side. Now I get to work on that. It isn't always fun but you sure do learn a lot by tearing into stuff.