Case Corn Picker Model P

[Dick W. Pirkey, Jr.]

Will a Case Model P without a husker pick sweet corn without bruising it, for the fresh corn market??

 

[NY 986]

Will a Case Model P without a husker pick sweet corn without bruising it, for the fresh corn market??

If it has snapping rolls then no. Even pickers such as IH 234 equipped with deck plates were flawed for that purpose. I know that they are not cheap but a Pixall picker would be the way to go.

 

[NY 986]

If it has snapping rolls then no. Even pickers such as IH 234 equipped with deck plates were flawed for that purpose. I know that they are not cheap but a Pixall picker would be the way to go.

Pixall made a 1 row unit but can't put my fingers on a model number at the moment.

 

[Dick W. Pirkey, Jr.]

The only problem is a Case P10 is $1,000 and a Pixall CP100 is $30,000.

 

[NY 986]

The only problem is a Case P10 is $1,000 and a Pixall CP100 is $30,000.

Used ones are around 3,000 to 4,000 dollars but not readily found. If old time corn pickers worked for fresh market sweet corn then everybody around here that is doing fresh market sweet corn would have one or travel many many miles to buy one.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I suppose for your own use any of them would work just skip the butt end on the ear.

 

[Dick W. Pirkey, Jr.]

Used ones are around 3,000 to 4,000 dollars but not readily found. If old time corn pickers worked for fresh market sweet corn then everybody around here that is doing fresh market sweet corn would have one or travel many many miles to buy one.

I agree. I have not seen any that cheap, which is still, way more than I want to spend. You know what I mean?

 

[Dick W. Pirkey, Jr.]

I suppose for your own use any of them would work just skip the butt end on the ear.

Explain please?

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

Explain please?

If I recall right, the butt end of a sweet corn ear gets damaged due to it being soft & getting pinched in the snapping rollers. Corn being harvested for drying & shelling is already dented & firmed up. The rollers will just knock the kernels off, if anything. It also doesn't matter if they get ejected from the husk.

At a quick glance, I can't find what the snapping unit on a sweet corn picker looks like. Thought there was a knife involved?? Maybe.... you can modify your picker to do the same job. If anything, research the picker patents to get an idea of how they work. Might be something on YouTube, too.

Cob uniformity is something to consider in picking a variety to harvest mechanically. Things go a bit easier with even growth & maturity. Less corn chowder in the wagon that way.

Mike

 

[JIM MN]

A picker like the IH 234 with deck-plates and no husking bed should work. Get things adjusted? I did run a two-row mounted sweet corn picker for a canning plant back when? So there are pickers out there?

 

[jon f mn]

I doubt a picker like that would pullbthe ears off. Maybe a jd with those chopping rollers on the header would work.

 

[NY 986]

A picker like the IH 234 with deck-plates and no husking bed should work. Get things adjusted? I did run a two-row mounted sweet corn picker for a canning plant back when? So there are pickers out there?

IH tried real hard to market the 234 here for fresh market sweet corn when they first came out. Customers want a flawless ear for their get togethers and it could not do that. Most ears had end butt damage. Even the canning factories went away from them as the less pragmatic Baby Boomers once they became buyers of groceries wanted a can full of perfect corn kernels. Print and broadcast advertising of the time only emphasized the desire for perfect looking product. This is not a guess by me but the result of talking with Seneca Foods a local based canner of vegetables. I looked into raising sweet corn on our place during the 1990's. Corn could get left on a farm if it was considered past prime for canning meaning getting too dry and starchy. I asked if a contracted farm could do their own harvesting and the answer was no.

 

[NY 986]

If I recall right, the butt end of a sweet corn ear gets damaged due to it being soft & getting pinched in the snapping rollers. Corn being harvested for drying & shelling is already dented & firmed up. The rollers will just knock the kernels off, if anything. It also doesn't matter if they get ejected from the husk.

At a quick glance, I can't find what the snapping unit on a sweet corn picker looks like. Thought there was a knife involved?? Maybe.... you can modify your picker to do the same job. If anything, research the picker patents to get an idea of how they work. Might be something on YouTube, too.

Cob uniformity is something to consider in picking a variety to harvest mechanically. Things go a bit easier with even growth & maturity. Less corn chowder in the wagon that way.

Mike

If someone is a good engineer and fabricator they could modify an existing picker to be like a Pixall.

 

[rrlund]

I wonder if an Allis Chalmers snapper would work? They were a one row with stripper plates and no husking bed.

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

IH tried real hard to market the 234 here for fresh market sweet corn when they first came out. Customers want a flawless ear for their get togethers and it could not do that. Most ears had end butt damage. Even the canning factories went away from them as the less pragmatic Baby Boomers once they became buyers of groceries wanted a can full of perfect corn kernels. Print and broadcast advertising of the time only emphasized the desire for perfect looking product. This is not a guess by me but the result of talking with Seneca Foods a local based canner of vegetables. I looked into raising sweet corn on our place during the 1990's. Corn could get left on a farm if it was considered past prime for canning meaning getting too dry and starchy. I asked if a contracted farm could do their own harvesting and the answer was no.

I could only guess the extra surge of corn coming in from someone doing their own harvesting would not please the guys at the plant. Just imagine corn mountain festering away in the heat if there was a breakdown somewhere in production. Most of those places are bottle-necked by a single line intake, no matter how efficient it is.

Mike

 

[Dick W. Pirkey, Jr.]

I wonder if an Allis Chalmers snapper would work? They were a one row with stripper plates and no husking bed.

Maybe, the Case P has a snapper and no husker bed.

 

[NY 986]

I could only guess the extra surge of corn coming in from someone doing their own harvesting would not please the guys at the plant. Just imagine corn mountain festering away in the heat if there was a breakdown somewhere in production. Most of those places are bottle-necked by a single line intake, no matter how efficient it is.

Mike

That is a large part of it. Also, the plant loses control of harvest quality when their crews are not in the fields. No doubt lesser quality gets labeled differently than premium product but that still means time needed to switch the labeling machine and start a new batch on the production line.

 

[NY 986]

Maybe, the Case P has a snapper and no husker bed.

But the ear would still be vulnerable to significant damage. If you are selling to the general public you will get complaints. If you are selling to the state prison system then not so much but the cons would still reach out to their lawyers about cruel and unusual punishment.

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

That is a large part of it. Also, the plant loses control of harvest quality when their crews are not in the fields. No doubt lesser quality gets labeled differently than premium product but that still means time needed to switch the labeling machine and start a new batch on the production line.

After having known & partied with pickers & pea viners..... "harvest quality" is largely speculative!!!

Mike

 

[NY 986]

After having known & partied with pickers & pea viners..... "harvest quality" is largely speculative!!!

Mike

I've only talked with the management end of the processing plant. They will not contract to plant vegetables on anything other than light loamy soil as the season if dry can cause a bitter taste in the product.