40 acre combine selection?

[Frantz]

I'm considering investing in an older combine for 40 acres of grain. It's all in hay now but both I and the landowner want to see the soils brought back to better profitability. I can of course pay to get the harvest done, but if I got an old machine it might be nice to have control myself. So anyhow, are there better machines to look for, or ones to avoid? I want self propelled and under $10K for a field ready machine (or machine I can buy cheap and get field ready). I see some machines for a few grand too, and didn't know if they should be outright avoided or if they can still work. I've never harvested with a combine, so I'm 100% ignorant. I'm not married to any brands, and have local dealers for Agco, JD, and CaseIH local enough. Also figure prices might dip some after this years harvest, is that a safe guess?

 

[mudcreek183]

A 20 series JD or a 14 series International can be picked reasonably.Don't forget you are also need to get heads for it and a truck to haul the grain. The International's are easy to work on and plenty of after market and boneyard parts also.

 

[Bruce from Can.]

40 acres is a nice size bit of grain to learn with. To
get this much grain harvested, you can easy get it
done with a small machine. Years ago I had a AC
Gleaner K model, with a 10? head. Reasonable to
work on, many many built, so parts are reasonably
available, and many parts common over several
models and years. With a smaller machine with a
10? head, you don?t have to worry about removing
the head, and having a header cart , to travel from
one field to the next. And 10? is still not too small for
40 acres.

 

[Frantz]

A 20 series JD or a 14 series International can be picked reasonably.Don't forget you are also need to get heads for it and a truck to haul the grain. The International's are easy to work on and plenty of after market and boneyard parts also.

I'd been considering a 14 series, but since they were first in the line I didn't know if they had issues or if the low price point was just on age.

As for the needing other stuff... I may be new to farming in general with only a few years of hay under my belt, but I certainly learned that fact quickly! My father in law has trucks, wagons, and combines and he's the one I'd hire to help out/rent equipment from. I'm just trying to make my operation more self sufficient.

40 acres is a nice size bit of grain to learn with. To
get this much grain harvested, you can easy get it
done with a small machine. Years ago I had a AC
Gleaner K model, with a 10? head. Reasonable to
work on, many many built, so parts are reasonably
available, and many parts common over several
models and years. With a smaller machine with a
10? head, you don?t have to worry about removing
the head, and having a header cart , to travel from
one field to the next. And 10? is still not too small for
40 acres.

The older Gleaners come up sometimes at really affordable prices. Parts were a concern of mine there with AC being gone. The 10' head would be appealing for the transport reasons mentioned. The farm I'm renting the land from is less than a mile away, but it's a very narrow road in the most direct route.

 

[oliverkid]

1420 Internationals are nice little 4 row machines if you can find one. I would shy away from a 3300 JD cause they were built a little cheesy but
the 4400s were good and JD heads for those machines are plentiful. I personally run 525 and 7300 Oliver's and love them. For 40 acres I
would try to stay in the 3-4 row class. A 6 row machine can get a little clumsy with that small of acreage.

 

[mudcreek183]

Some of the 14 series are going on 40 years old.The only draw back to 1420 is parts they are a lot more after market parts for 1440 and 1460 combines.

 

[1206SWMO]

Yes,a small machine can get the job done...Back in 1969 and 1970 we ran as much as 800 acres a year thru an E Gleaner...It had a 13 ft grain head and a 2 row corn head...A 403 IH replaced it in the fall of 1971..We had neighbors that cut 80 acres a year with a All Crop 60 or 66 Allis..At least 3 neighbors had 3300 JD's on 400-600 acres..Had another neighbor that put 1200-1500 acres a year thru a 4400 JD..

 

[moll]

F Gleaner, nuff said.

 

[rustyacres sd]

Where are you located? Have a Gleaner K with a 13' straight head. May be willing to sell.
This is located near Mitchell, SD

 

[centash]

F or K agreed. Ben

 

[Frantz]

(quoted from post at 19:13:22 07/24/18) Where are you located? Have a Gleaner K with a 13' straight head. May be willing to sell.
This is located near Mitchell, SD

A few states east... in Pennsylvania.

 

[AJB-830]

I use a JD 4420 with a 213 head to harvest my 30 acres of wheat and oats on my hobby farm. I went with the
JD 4420 6 years ago because I have a JD dealer 3 miles away (bought the combine from the dealer) and also
have a friend who fixes JD combines. Condition is probably the most important item when buying a used combine.
Al

 

[RM-MN]

Check the price being paid for grain, then put in the expected cost to turn that 40 acres into a grain field. Add in the expected cost to buy a combine and estimate the cost per year for maintenance. From this, project how long it would take to make it a reasonable investment. Then forget the whole idea and leave it in pasture.

 

[ss55]

Sounds like the ground will be in continuous small grains and not grain-hay-hay-hay rotation? Will you need a corn head and a bean head (floating cutter bar) or just a grain head (fixed cutter bar)? Your profits may depend on finding a combine that you can resell for about the same price as you paid for it without needing to put a lot of expensive repairs into it. I would start by finding which brands have the best dealer/parts support in your area, then find and older obsolete model that was/is popular in your area that is still in good condition. Spending a little more for one in good condition is usually less cost and less downtime in the long run. Easier said than done.

 

[olgentdc]

The stuff is out there if you can find it . To a Good Home , I Have RUNNING ,
WORKING ,combines, heads, choppers , and all fits my Massey 300s , 510 ,
750 and 850 here in southern Ind , all for sale 12 cents per pound (Scrap
price), Plus $750 premium for the 4 with diesel engines. 812-596-4605 . my
farming days are done I survived stage 3 cancer. BUT, Chemo Really messed me
up with crippling Neuropathyin my legs . it forbids me from being in the cold
weather and will get terribly worse with more exposure that spreads into my
organs .

 

[JimIA]

F2/F3 Gleaner. Had a K, now running a F3. The powerfold auger is enough to talk someone in going a bit newer than a F or K.

 

[oliverkid]

Because that's the kind of attitude that built this nation.....

 

[Leroy]

JD only thing to be found in this area. IH forget about it, same as Gleaner forget about it. Good 4400 JD just sold at auction last sat for $4,000 Last I noticed without any heads. Heads sold seperatly, not sure what they brought.

 

[jfreed]

Jim,to a degree I support your unloader auger logic(we run a F2 with a swivel),but to an extent, I miss being able to "pull" the straight F's auger out,line up the contact points and "LOCK-IN" the top brace on the bin and NEVER worry about the "swivel"falling off??

 

[Frantz]

Some people buy vacation houses, I enjoy farming.

Also, I'm trying to learn all the ropes. My wife and I are in the will to inherit the family farm. My father in law has been incredibly helpful with me in what I'm doing but I like to use my own equipment because I can't afford to fix his newer stuff. I view it as a really cheap education.

I started this year with 5 acres of hay from a neighbor. I'm up to 70 now, but only 40 of it is with an owner who wants something more than hay. I figure as I increase my knowledge, skills, equipment, and reputation then more land will open up for me. If not, I'm out a few grand in old equipment that I can sell to the next dreaming farmer for close to what I have in em.

 

[Paul V B]

If brand doesn't matter I would make sure the motor is in good shape in whatever you buy. You don't want to buy a combine and have to
overhaul the engine right away.We are always fixing something on our 1984 combine, just the nature of the beast with an old combine.

 

[olgentdc]

dont matter if they are new or old or something you pay 10 k for hoping you
will get a nice trouble free machine ,,. sooner or later it will give you
overwhelming trouble. but given cool patience, enough time and willing helpful
minds and hands ,you might get it going and have some good til something acts
up and does uglies again .

 

[Frantz]

No doubt. I should probably have said "what two combines"... With my antique farm operation I'm finding redundancy of equipment is really helpful. Still cheaper than new stuff, and more satisfying than hiring out (which I do for some things yet)